Open Source Software is software for which the underlying programming code is

available to the users so that they may read it, make changes to it, and build new versions of the software incorporating their changes.

Difference between OSS and Proprietary software

Distinction between OSS and proprietary software is the way in which it is developed. Proprietary software is created by a relatively small group of developers within a particular company. They complete a program and then try to remove as many flaws as possible before the software goes to market. Any flaws, which remain after shipping time, become the consumer’s problem,leading to lost work and frustration. Purchasers of proprietary software become involuntary testers. What's more, if users find a flaw, even if they know how to solve it,the software license prohibits them from making the fix themselves.

         Open source software, in contrast, is often developed by loosely organized communities of programming enthusiasts, collaborating via the Internet.

 Some well-known successful examples of OSS are:

_ Operating systems (GNU/Linux, Unix).

_ Web servers (Apache).

_ Programming languages (Perl).

_ Mail forwarding (Sendmail).

_ Databases (MySQL).