Using Open Source
Yumetech,
Inc. is heavily involved in developing open standards for real-time 3D
graphics, and our members are active contributors to the Open Source
movement. We believe that this approach is the best method of providing
cross-platform, stable and accepted standards for creating 3D content
for broad distribution. Open source software possesses a number of
characteristics that provide real advantages over closed, proprietary
software models: dependability, longevity, and lower costs.
Dependability
Open
source is now considered by many experts as a necessary condition for
dependable applications. Making the source code available allows
developers to perform thorough inspections of the software and verify
both algorithms and the implementation scheme. While may be possible
make such inspections with closed source or nearly free licences, open
source software users are allowed to modify everything they find
appropriate to suit their needs. Binary software allows no inspection,
and closed source or nearly free licences prohibit users from making
modifications to the code.
Longevity
Many experts
assert that extending the lifetime of an application requires access to
its source code. Open source software provides its source code and
gives developers the right to modify it without a licensing fee. In
other words, developers can tune and improve the software without
financial encumbrance. Thus developers are able to port the code to new
hardware and to adapt it to changing requirements. More importantly,
they are able to gain a detailed understanding of how the software
works. It should be noted that no binary-only application more than 10
years old now survives in unmodified form. However, several open source
software systems from the 1980s are still in widespread use thanks to
modifications made by various developers. Making the source code freely
available also makes it much easier to identify and correct bugs.
Cost
With
open source software, per-copy fees can for modified versions are
eliminated. Anyone can use the current code base to start new projects.
In this way, working knowledge can be gathered at a minimal or zero
cost. This factor is what made Internet software systems so prevalent
in the new economy: students and other developers trying new
technologies were able to integrate and adopt them immediately without
having to deal with commercial or non-disclosure licence agreements.
Moreover, the right to freely modify the software allowed revolutionary
developments that fulfilled the needs of users..
