IN this week's Chronicle, there is an entire section dedicated to open source coding. The plus it it is that it's easily shared and essentially free. It's defined by G. A. Jackson , when a programmer creates software for a computer, he or she starts out by specifying the steps and calculations that the software is to execute, describing them in a high-level language--typically C or Java, which we now use instead of the old fashioned Cobol type languages. The source code becomes open when it meets three conditions: 1. It must be written in a documented high-leve language (Java, for example) so that other programmers can understand it, 2. It must be complete, without any hidden functions and 3. others can recompile as they see fit.
Why else would this be important?
Monday, October 18, 2004
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