Java Reference
In-Depth Information
Open Source projects are more agile than commercial
products in their evolution. Often Open Source projects have
shorter release cycles than their commercial counterparts, if
for no other reason than the fact that most projects provide
nightly snapshots or direct access to the source code
repository. In addition, organizations don't have to wait for a
vendor's next release to get a bug fixed. Having source code
provides a means for the organization to fix the bug itself.
Organizations willing to contribute to Open Source projects
can also have influence on the future direction of the project.
Unlike proprietary development, Open Source has the
advantage of being reviewed and tested by potentially
hundreds or thousands of users. Unit and regression testing is
an important part of software quality. Open Source projects
such as the Jakarta Commons project requires that JUnit tests
be available and passed before version releases. Having
access to JUnit tests can reduce risks by providing means of
testing new releases against the unit tests of the currently
utilized release. The results of the tests can be used as a risk
management tool to determine the impact of an upgrade on a
project. Open Source can contribute to an individual's career
development. Developers can use the source code to learn
new techniques or APIs. Open Source can also lower the
barriers of entry by allowing for more economical means of
evaluating new technologies. For inexperienced Java
developers, contributing to an Open Source project may be a
way of demonstrating knowledge to an employer or potential
employer. It's common for developers to evaluate a
technology and prototype proof-of-concept applications using
an Open Source project as a development environment while
deploying on a commercial platform for production use.
Disadvantages
