Open source
Open-source software is software whose source code is available under a license permitting use, study, modification, and redistribution.
Introduction to Generative AI, Second Edition
The open source movement is a social and technical ecosystem that promotes freely accessible, modifiable, and redistributable software or models.
- How it is used
- Frames open AI models as an alternative to development concentrated in major companies, while examining benefits and risks.
- How deep it goes
- Defines open source, distinguishes open-weight models, and compares deployment trade-offs without explaining training or implementation.
- Examples
- Uses Llama, DeepSeek, and Stable Diffusion releases to illustrate wider access and community experimentation.
- What you can do after
- Evaluate/understand whether a model is open source or merely open-weight and weigh its access, customization, licensing, and safety trade-offs.
Read how Introduction to Generative AI, Second Edition explains open source →
Lead Developer Career Guide
A software project whose source code is publicly available under an open-source license permitting use, modification, and redistribution.
- How it is used
- Positions open-source contributions as both collaborative skill-building and evidence of teamwork for job applications.
- How deep it goes
- Walks through project selection, documentation, first contact, and small contributions, but does not detail code implementation.
- Examples
- Uses GitHub repositories, bug reports, pull requests, documentation, translation, and contributions to libraries such as React.
- What you can do after
- Apply it via GitHub by finding a suitable project, starting small, communicating with contributors, and submitting a pull request.
Data for All
Open-source software is software distributed under terms that grant users rights to use, inspect, modify, and redistribute its source code.
- How it is used
- Frames software sharing as a companion to Open Data and an application of ideas about managing common resources.
- How deep it goes
- Defines license-granted rights and explains collaboration and trust, without detailing licenses or software development procedures.
- Examples
- Uses forests, irrigation, and policing as precedents for shared-resource management, rather than a named software project.
- What you can do after
- Evaluate/understand it by identifying the rights a software license grants and why inspectable code can support public trust.
Think Like a CTO
A software development and distribution model in which source code is available under a license permitting use, modification, and redistribution.
- How it is used
- Positions open source as a way to reuse community code in technology decisions while managing license and ownership risks.
- How deep it goes
- Defines open source, distinguishes license categories, and gives operational guidance for reuse and publication without detailing license language.
- Examples
- Uses Linux, MySQL, Firefox, and software libraries as reuse examples, plus a due-diligence case involving copied code.
- What you can do after
- Operate/configure it through approved-license lists and component registers; evaluate company code for ownership and maintenance before publishing.
Related concepts
- Kubernetesincludes · Kubernetes is an open-source platform for orchestrating and automating the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized workloads across computing clusters.
- OpenTofu CLIincludes · OpenTofu CLI is the command-line interface for initializing, planning, applying, and managing declarative infrastructure configurations with OpenTofu.
- WordPressincludes · WordPress is an open-source content management system and publishing platform for creating, managing, and serving websites and digital content.
- Terraformincludes · Terraform is an open-source infrastructure-as-code tool for defining, provisioning, and managing infrastructure resources through declarative configuration.
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