Page 166 - Using MIS

134 Chapter 4 Hardware, Software, and Mobile Systems
Why Do Programmers Volunteer Their Services?

To a person who has never enjoyed writing computer programs, it is difficult to understand why
anyone would donate his or her time and skills to contribute to open source projects. Programming
is, however, an intense combination of art and logic, and designing and writing a complicated com-
puter program can be exceedingly pleasurable (and addictive). Many programmers joyfully write
computer programs—day after day. If you have an artistic and logical mind, you ought to try it.
The first reason that people contribute to open source is that it is great fun! Additionally,
some people contribute to open source because it gives them the freedom to choose the proj-
ects they work on. They may have a programming day job that is not terribly interesting—say,
writing a program to manage a computer printer. Their job pays the bills, but it’s not fulfilling.
In the 1950s, Hollywood studio musicians suffered as they recorded the same style of music
over and over for a long string of uninteresting movies. To keep their sanity, those musicians
would gather on Sundays to play jazz, and a number of high-quality jazz clubs resulted. That’s
what open source is to programmers: a place where they can exercise their creativity while
working on projects they find interesting and fulfilling.
Another reason for contributing to open source is to exhibit one’s skill, both for pride and to
find a job or consulting employment. A final reason is to start a business selling services to sup-
port an open source product.

How Does Open Source Work?

The term open source means that the source code of the program is available to the public.
Source code is computer code as written by humans and understandable by humans. Figure 4-16
shows a portion of the computer code written for the PRIDE project (see Chapter 7 opener).
Figure 4-16
Source Code Sample