Table of contents
1.
Introduction
2.
Linux 
3.
.NET Foundation
4.
Git
5.
Open Source Initiative
6.
Mozilla Firefox
7.
Python Software Foundation
8.
LibreOffice
9.
MySQL
10.
Frequently Asked Questions
11.
Conclusion
Last Updated: Mar 27, 2024
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Popular Open Source Organizations/Projects

Author Amit Singh
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Introduction

Open Source Software is a type of software that is released under a license with the source code of that software which allows the holder of the copyright grants users the right, for any reason, to use, sample, modify, and distribute the software. Generally, these software programs are free of cost. There is also a large number of contributors that are behind these software programs.

Let’s see some popular open source organizations/projects used widely for professional and personal use.

Linux 

Linux is a popular and most-used open source software available on the market. It is widely popular because of its support and the features like security and stability, and the ability to put life into old computers. It is most commonly used on web servers and android devices. Ubuntu, Kali Linux, and Red Hat Linux are open-source operating systems based on Linux.

Linus Torvalds was the man behind the Linux operating system kernel development in 1991. 

.NET Foundation

.NET Foundation is an organization behind the creation of the .net framework, which is open-source software. It was incorporated by Microsoft on March 31, 2004. The .NET framework is used by software developers to develop desktop applications and websites. Its projects also include .NET compiler platform, ASP .NET, .NET Core and Xamarin Forms. Most well-known websites like StackOverFlow, Microsoft, and GoDaddy run on ASP.NET.

Git

Git is a prevalent open-source system for distributed version control. It helps in managing everything in large as well as small projects with good performance and efficiency. It was developed by Linus Torvalds (the creator of Linux) in 2005. Git keeps track of the projects and the files as they are manipulated over time by different users.

Open Source Initiative

Open source initiative is a nonprofit organization that defines open source software. It provides the user with access to the software and the source code, through which the software can be rewritten easily as per the needs without much complication. But open source is not just about the code; it is also the support from the communities, collaborations from the programmers, and innovation.

Mozilla Firefox

Mozilla Firefox is a browser developed by Mozilla Open Source Support (MOSS). It provides thousands of plugins that you can work with. It offers many functionalities such as security and privacy checks such as blocking crypto mining scripts and social trackers, and utilities like web extensions, autoplay blocking, text to speech, and many more.

Python Software Foundation

Python Software Foundation (PSF) is also a nonprofit corporation that gave birth to the python programming language, which is now one of the best programming languages in computer science. Python is widely popular for its support and community. Nowadays, Python is gaining so much popularity that it is being used in most the firms that work with data analysis and machine learning. Also, most of the libraries and frameworks available for Python, like OpenCV, Django, and TensorFlow, are open source and free of cost. 

LibreOffice

Libreoffice is also an open-source office suite. It was previously known as OpenOffice. It provides you with all the tools you require to work on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. As compared to the Microsoft Office suite, LibreOffice is completely free. It also provides you with many exciting features like live chat and a forum that can help you resolve any issue. It is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS as well.

MySQL

MySQL is the most popular relational database management system which is open source. It provides the functionality of creating as well as maintaining relational databases. These databases are integrated into various web-based software applications.

 

Check out most important Git Interview Questions here.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Is Google open source?
    Open source organizations provide their projects free of charge and provide their source code to the user to modify it as per their requirements. In google, almost all the products are either paid or subscription-based. And it doesn’t provide source code with the products as well. So no, Google is not an open-source company.
  2. How do Open Source companies make money?
    As it is known that open source projects are free of charge, but these companies need to pay their employees and handle their other financial expenses. These companies follow different business models such as Support, Hosting, Restrictive Licensing, Open core, and Hybrid Licensing.
  3. What do you mean by open source?
    Open source is a term that in computer science originally referred to open source software (OSS). Open-source software is code designed to be publicly accessible, which means anyone can see, modify, and distribute the code as they see fit.
  4. Who owns open source?
    When discussing open source projects, the creator owns the software but provides a license to other “contributors” to reproduce, modify, and redistribute the software. The rights offered to contributors and users of the software are often standardized.

Conclusion

In this article, we have studied open source software and various open source organizations that are creating and managing this software. The list of open sources in computer science is very long, but these are the ones very commonly used. 

We hope that this article has provided you with the help to enhance your knowledge regarding open source organizations and their projects and if you would like to learn more, check out our articles on GSOC (Google Summer of Code)Outreachy Guide and FOSSASIA Codehat

Refer to our guided paths on Coding Ninjas Studio to learn more about DSA, Competitive Programming, JavaScript, System Design, etc. Enroll in our courses and refer to the mock test and problems available, Take a look at the interview experiences and interview bundle for placement preparations.

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