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Questions tagged [open-source]

QUESTIONS ABOUT LICENSING ARE OFF-TOPIC. You may ask questions about open source licensing on https://opensource.stackexchange.com. This tag is for asking about designing programs that interact with open source software.

Open source software is software whose source code is published and made available to the public, enabling anyone to copy, modify and redistribute the source code without paying royalties or fees. Open source code evolves through community cooperation. These communities are composed of individual programmers as well as very large companies.

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What's the canonical retort to "it's open source, submit a patch"?

The danger of ever suggesting some feature on a product, especially open source, is that you'll get the response, "why don't you do it?". That's valid, and it's cool that you can make the change yourself. But we know practically that products do…
Vincent Scheib
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Preparing to release code as open-source

I have developed a fully functional tool which I would like not only to share with anyone interested but also get support from the community. This tool is cross-platform, written in C++ with Qt, the code is well commented but I still lack any…
Raphael
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Checklist for starting an open-source project

To start an open-source project is not just to throw up the source code on some public repository and then being happy with that. You should have technical (besides user) documentation, information on how to contribute etc. If creating a checklist…
Anto
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Releasing open source software too soon

What is the moral responsibility of releasing open source software too soon? For instance, a close-to-complete product that hasn't been fully tested. What is the expectation of the programmer? Wait until it is fully tested, or release to open…
Thomas Stringer
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Why develop free, open source programs?

Why would someone use his own time to develop an open-source project for free and without compensation?
Diego
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Does open source licensing my code limit me later?

Suppose I develop a useful library and decide to publish it as open source. Some time later I have a business need to do something that wouldn't comply with the open source licence. Am I allowed to do that? How should I publish the software in a way…
configurator
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How to go about "taking over" an open-source project?

There's an open-source project that I'm interested in and use regularly. It's licensed under the Apache License 2.0 and it has basically no activity any more. It's hosted on Google Code and I'm interested in continuing it's development. I'm new to…
LuxuryMode
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Is there an alternative to Google Code Search?

Per the Official Google Blog: Code Search, which was designed to help people search for open source code all over the web, will be shut down along with the Code Search API on January 15, 2012. Google Code Search is now gone, and since that…
blunders
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Developing my momentum on open source projects

I've been struggling to develop momentum contributing to open source projects. I have in the past tried with gcc and contributed a fix to libstdc++ but it was a once off and even though I spent months in my spare time on the dev mailing list and…
sashang
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Softpedia published some of my open source projects — how to react?

(FYI: I've just moved this question over from Stackoverflow on recommendation.) I just received a few emails, informing me that softpedia.com has added some of my "products" to their "database of scripts, code snippets and web applications". My…
polarblau
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Isn't open source bad for developers themselves?

Why do programmers even like the idea of open source? I am not talking about the creators of those projects, of course they get fame, but I am talking about the industry in general, why are we so fond of the open source concept when it brings so…
Andy
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How do you phrase “it's open source, submit a patch” so that it's friendly?

In the answers of What's the canonical retort to "it's open source, submit a patch"?, many people voiced the opinion that simply asking people to submit a patch is arrogant and rude. But it seems to me that as a developer on any open source project,…
Jo Liss
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Getting involved with an Open Source Project

I am heading into my senior year in computer engineering and have gotten a internship for this summer and fall. Since I will not be doing homework I would love to take this opportunity to get involved with an open source project of some sort. I am…
Tarmon
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As a young student aspiring to have a career as a programmer, how should I feel about open source software?

Every once in a while on some technology websites a headline like this will pop up: http://www.osor.eu/news/nl-moving-to-open-source-would-save-government-one-to-four-billion My initial thought about government and organizations moving to open…
Matt
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When is the right time to join open source project for programmer?

Most of the newcomers in programming start with basic projects to start with programming. Most of the C++ progammers spend some time with puzzles and contests but this is not always helpful. Sometimes you've to spend some time on real projects.…
Mahesh
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