You can view part of the source code, outdated. They leave out the source of some UI features iirc. So you cant verify that the binary you installed was actually made from that source code (because, again, they only publish part of the source code).
Open source typically means that the code is public and comes with extensive freedoms to use, modify, and distribute (the degree to which these are allowed is governed by the software license).
Source available, on the other hand, generally means that the code is publicly available for review but is otherwise proprietary and/or restricts the freedoms that an open source project provides.
The differences are more nuanced than the above summary might suggest, as they come from different philosophies on what open source should mean and how people should be able to interact with and use open source projects.
Open Source ultimately means the code can be sold without modification. But then you can get tricky so for instance if you use this (particularly licensed) open source code, all other code you use in conjunction with this open source code also has to be open source.
Here is a fun thing:
Linksys (Cisco) and the GPL Enforcement (Early 2000s):
Context: Linksys used Linux, which is licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL), for the firmware of the WRT54G wireless router.
The Force: The Free Software Foundation (FSF) and the open-source community discovered Linksys was not sharing its modified code, which is required by the GPL.
Outcome: After legal pressure and a lawsuit in 2003, Cisco agreed to release the source code. This led to the creation of popular third-party firmware like OpenWrt and DD-WRT. (ai overview)
IIRC it’s not exactly open source, but you can still view the source code.
You can view part of the source code, outdated. They leave out the source of some UI features iirc. So you cant verify that the binary you installed was actually made from that source code (because, again, they only publish part of the source code).
But you weren’t going to actually verify that either way so who cares?
Because there are a lot of people who are way smarter than me who will verify it, and then sound the alarm when they find something.
There might be. There also might not be.
I’m confused what the differentiation is. Ipen source means the code is open to be viewed
Open source typically means that the code is public and comes with extensive freedoms to use, modify, and distribute (the degree to which these are allowed is governed by the software license).
Source available, on the other hand, generally means that the code is publicly available for review but is otherwise proprietary and/or restricts the freedoms that an open source project provides.
The differences are more nuanced than the above summary might suggest, as they come from different philosophies on what open source should mean and how people should be able to interact with and use open source projects.
Open Source ultimately means the code can be sold without modification. But then you can get tricky so for instance if you use this (particularly licensed) open source code, all other code you use in conjunction with this open source code also has to be open source.
Here is a fun thing:
Linksys (Cisco) and the GPL Enforcement (Early 2000s): Context: Linksys used Linux, which is licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL), for the firmware of the WRT54G wireless router. The Force: The Free Software Foundation (FSF) and the open-source community discovered Linksys was not sharing its modified code, which is required by the GPL. Outcome: After legal pressure and a lawsuit in 2003, Cisco agreed to release the source code. This led to the creation of popular third-party firmware like OpenWrt and DD-WRT. (ai overview)