Open Source
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
Open source means the recipe is public. Anyone can read it, copy it, tweak it, and share their version. It's the opposite of a secret sauce. Most of the internet runs on open source software that millions of people built together for free.
Real Talk
Open source software has its source code publicly available under a license that allows anyone to view, use, modify, and distribute it. Common licenses include MIT, Apache 2.0, and GPL. It enables community-driven development and transparency.
When You'll Hear This
"We built on top of an open source framework." / "Should we open source this, or keep it proprietary?"
Related Terms
Dependency
A dependency is a package your project relies on to work. Your app depends on React to render UI, axios to make requests, and dotenv to read config.
Documentation
Documentation is written explanation of how your code works and why.
Package
A package is a bundle of code someone else wrote and published so you don't have to reinvent the wheel. Need to parse dates? There's a package for that.
README (README)
A README is the instruction manual taped to the front of a code project. It tells newcomers what the project does, how to install it, and how to use it.
Semver (Semver)
Semver is the numbering system for software versions: MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH.