We explain what the source code is and what are the various applications it has. Also, what is open source.
What is the source code?
In computing, source code is called the set of lines of text that express, in a given programming language, the steps that the computer must follow for the correct execution of a specific program. That is, it is the instructions that the original programmer of the software compiled so that they could be transmitted to a computer system and interpreted in a precise and timely manner.
Source code is usually visible during some specific operations of the software, but its instructions will be incomprehensible except for those who handle the specific language in which it was programmed. This also occurs with web pages and other types of software elements, programmed in web-languages (such as HTML or Java Script) and then executed or interpreted by the Internet browser window.
The area of computing that is dedicated to the creation of these source codes is software engineering, dedicated to the creation of computer programs. Said creativity is also supported by copyright laws, in the sense that the source code is the exclusive work and creation of its programmers, unalterable and irreproducible by third parties, much like the content of a literary work.
Open Source
There are programs that are not guided by copyright guidelines regarding their source code, allowing its users to modify, edit and share it more or less freely, forming a kind of specialized user community. These programs are called “open source”, since anyone can intervene their essential instructions and create their own or individual versions of the original program, called in turn “distributions”. Examples of such software are Unix and Linux operating programs, among many others.