Open Source Programming VS Closed Source Programming

Open source is a general software license that has revolutionized the software development industry. Before open source software development was limited to the combined effort of a few corporate-hired software engineers working in small groups. The open source movement has changed the way the software is developed. Open source uses broad community-based development techniques that replace a small group of profesional programmers with a large base of experienced individuals. While most large corporations are reluctant to give up the proprietary business model, some have started to realize the benefits of open source in the development of their software. In fact, free open source software, when coupled with service and support, can be profitable for major corporations. This website contains valuable information regarding the open source movement’s advantages, disadvantages, and its repercussions on the global software market.

Open source and proprietary developers have been in a heated battle over market share.
But with billions of dollars in the corporate pocket, are the open sourcers fighting an uphill battle?

Open Source Programming

Software companies from across the world have embraced the open source business model. From flavors of Linux to enterprise-class web server software, an increasing number of software companies are opening their source code to developers. Examples of this practice can be found almost everywhere. File sharing programs like Limewire have an open source model which pays private programmers to update small parts of the program. Sourceforge.net, arguably the largest online open source community, has pioneered the collaboration of open source projects. To date, they have nearly 1.25 million users and over 100 thousand projects. Sun Microsystems, a publicly traded corporation, has begun to make source for popular software like Solaris and Java open. These movements towards open source represent the general trend in the software industry.

Open source software has filled a void left by the proprietary giants. Utilities that would normally be overlooked by major corporations are being developed by individuals and shared around the world. These small programs can prove useful for both private end users and small businesses. The future of software development depends on peoples ability to openly share source amoung developers and to effectivly deliver final products to end users.

Fedora Core 4, an open source opperating system, is shown here in full swing.

Check out these links for good open source software!

Sourceforge.net
Opensource.org
mySQL.com
Red Hat Linux
Sun Microsystems

Closed Source Programming

Proprietary software, unlike open source software, is a pay-to-use service. Propriety software is developed by a small number of professionals working in a corporate think tank. These companies, to protect their intellectual property, provide the end user with only the binary code of a program (the part that only a computer can read). Because these companies make money by selling their programs, rather than their support packages, the source code proves invaluable.

Although the general trend of software development companies is to go open source, the biggest companies have resisted the temptation of open source. Microsoft, the infamous software giant, has been a leader in the proprietary software business model since the dawn of the computer age. Apple, the company holding the second largest share of the market, is also strictly proprietary. Apple even manufactures proprietary hardware, specific to Apple software. The fact that the two largest companies in the software industry have resisted opening their source code shows that proprietary software is still alive and profitable.

Apple computers have always dominated the multi-media market and are a strong force for proprietary software

Check out the following links to proprietary software companies:

Microsoft
Apple

Advantages And Disadvantages

Migration. It is difficult for end-users and development companies to drop their proprietary software to move to an open source model. Immature. Open source software has inexperienced developers as compared to professional developers of proprietary software companies. Hard to Deploy. Most open source software solutions don’t have GUI, making it nearly impossible for many end users to install the software.
Lacking support. Since there is no monetary incentive, open source projects can lose steam over time while proprietary software is continually improved.

Introduction To Javascript And The simplest way to use it.

Javascript

The Introduction Part

JavaScript is a client-side scripting language that many webmasters find quite useful. Essentially, JavaScript performs simple actions within the viewer's web browser. This is advantageous because it means that the viewer doesn't need to wait for the website to communicate with the server again.

JavaScript was designed to be similar to many other programming languages (for example, its syntax is quite like the C programming language). It is streamlined, with simple naming conventions, and is designed to be easy to learn. Many web designers learn JavaScript not long after becoming familiar with the basics of static web content such as HTML and CSS. (Andreessen)

Conceptually, JavaScript is similar to AJAX in that in runs within the web browser to perform simple tasks. There are numerous uses for this sort of technology; even though it won't provide the fully dynamic feel that a data-driven website will--JavaScript doesn't interact with much data on the server. Effective use of JavaScript can make your website more intuitive, and can provide your users with a more productive experience. (Web Programming)

Examples: JavaScript, in some form, is used in many websites today. Common examples include user data validation, pop-up windows, and increased responsiveness to user actions. The first is common when the user is expected to enter data; for example, if a website asks for a telephone number and an email address, but the user enters data that does not meet the specific format of telephone numbers (xxx-xxx-xxxx) or email addresses (x@y.z), JavaScript can be used to stop the submission of that data and prompt the user to correct their error. Since many forms of interactivity rely on users submitting data or comments, this form of verification is useful. So, too, is JavaScript used to create pop-up windows and boxes that ask the users to confirm their actions--this can prevent users from taking significant actions, like ordering a product online, inadvertently. As a final example, JavaScript is also used to highlight things for the user; some sites will change the background of a textbox in which the user is currently typing or the link over which the user is currently hovering his or her mouse cursor to highlight such facts to the user. Such highlighting can make submitting data and navigating a website easier.

Using it...

Getting started with JavaScript is quite easy. JavaScript is a client-side technology, which means that there’s no new software installed on the web server for it. JavaScript is part of the actual webpage itself, next to the HTML code. It has a special tag of its own, called the <script> tag. JavaScript code is contained within these tags in the header—a special section—of the HTML page.

JavaScript is also relatively easy to learn and is similar to languages such as Java, C, and C#. To get started with JavaScript, create a basic HTML page, and in the header, add a <script> tag. For example, you could write the following between the <head> tags:

<script language="JavaScript">

alert("Welcome to my page.");

</script>

This would create an alert box that pops up when the visitors views the page and displays a welcome message. Click here to visit this page with the above alert added using Javascript. This feature is one of the most basic in JavaScript.

JavaScript is best used tastefully and sparingly. Most users don’t want to be bombarded with messages each time they click a link—so don’t bombard them! Most users, however, do want to be informed when they’ve submitted invalid data into a form, so it’s certainly appropriate to inform them, often using JavaScript, of such.

There are excellent free resources for JavaScript all over the web. We encourage you to explore it, both for its own merits and as a gateway to more complex, but similar, technologies. The three resources below are excellent overviews for beginners.

Computer fundamentals; Best Information in Short.

The Computer Fundamentals

Disk Operating System (DOS) - it is a collection of special programs that supervise and control the operation of the personal computer. 
Functions of DOS: (a.) interprets and executes commands. (b.) manages the disks, files and directories. (c.) oversees and communicates with peripheral devices. 


Parts of DOS: 


(a.) DOS System Files - it consists of three files: two hidden system files and visible system files: 
(1.) COMMAND.COM - this is the DOS Command Processor and is the interface between the user and DOS. As a command processor, it handles the execution of commands. It is loaded to the computer"s memory upon booting. It is responsible for displaying the system prompt. It access key from the keyboard and interprets the commands so that they can be acted upon by DOS. 
(2.) IBMBIO.COM (Basic Input/Output) - handles the input and output between the computer and its peripheral devices like the disk or the printer. It is hard-coded in the ROM of the microcomputer and cannot be touched by the computer user. It provides basic functions for the computer to communicate with the user. It provides the background and foreground colors on a color monitor. 
(3.) IBMDOS.COM - forms the heart of DOS. It receives all request for DOS service functions and converts them into a form understandable by IBMBIO.COM. It reads and writes data on a storage device. It refers back to the BIOS to handle input and output functions. Application programs could not run without DOS. 




(b.)Internal DOS Commands - these are the programs that reside in the memory of the computer. These commands are referred to as "resident commands". When you type in internal commands, MS-DOS performs them immediately because they were loaded into the computers memory when the system was booted up. 
Examples of Internal DOS Commands: 
CHDIR - changes from one directory or sub-directory to another. 
CLS - clears the screen. 
COPY - copies one or more files to another storage location. 
DATE - displays or sets the date. 
DEL - deletes files from a storage location. 
DIR - lists a file from a directory or sub-directory. 
MKDIR - creates a new sub-directory. 
PATH - displays or sets a search path for executable files. 
TIME - displays or sets the time. 
VER - displays the MS-DOS version number. 
PROMPT - use to set a new DOS prompt or reset the normal DOS prompt. 
RENAME - use to change a file names within the same disk directory.

Everything About Operating System, It's Types, Functions, History and Working.

Operating System meaning and definition...

In simple words Operating systems are software's which help user's to interact with a machine . For a normal user a computer without operating system is just a useless machine. Operating systems are not only used in computers but it's installed in almost all user friendly machines operated by humans like mobile phones, robots etc. Now when we consider the computer systems the purpose of operating systems is not only to provide a convenient user interface but also to organize the hardware and software installed in the machine.



Types of Operating System


Real-time A real-time operating system is a multitasking operating system that aims at executing real-time applications. Real-time operating systems often use specialized scheduling algorithms.
Multi-user vs. Single-user A multi-user operating system allows multiple users to access a computer system concurrently. Time-sharing system can be classified as multi-user systems as they enable a mu Multi-tasking vs. Single-tasking When a single program is allowed to run at a time, the system is grouped under a single-tasking system.


Distributed A distributed operating system manages a group of independent computers and makes them appear to be a single computer. The development of networked computers that could be linked.


Embedded Embedded operating systems are designed to be used in embedded computer systems. They are designed to operate on small machines like PDAs with less autonomy.
Chrome OS - Chrome OS is the new operating system developed by Google and it cannot be added in any of the classification listed above. It's not actually an operating system but its a web browser.



History of operating systems


In the 1940s, the earliest electronic digital systems had no operating systems. Electronic systems of this time were so primitive compared to those of today that instructions were often entered into the system one bit at a time on rows of mechanical switches or by jumper wires on plug boards. These were special-purpose systems that, for example, generated ballistics tables for the military or controlled the printing of payroll checks from data on punched paper cards. After programmable general purpose computers were invented, machine languages (consisting of strings of the binary digits 0 and 1 on punched paper tape) were introduced that sped up the programming process (Stern, 1981).


Working Of Operating System

Description of Diagram

Consider the figure; here the user gives instruction through software. Software passes instruction to operating system and OS to hardware. The return path is from hardware to OS and then from OS to software (result). For example you click on the 'X' button to close Windows media player. Then the instruction to that software is passed to Windows operating system and then to the CPU. The CPU executes it and the result you see on desktop is closing of Windows media player.

5 Functions of Operating System

1) Provide user interface - As said earlier without a proper user interface its difficult to manage a machine. It is possible to interact with a machine using the commands, but it's easy to learn all

2) Input/output management - We can add additional hardware's to a computer and configure them easily with the help of an operating system. Printer, external hard disk, scanner, USB drives are some of

3) Memory and CPU management - Operating system allocates the memory and other resources for the other programs in a computer. The memory allocation and CPU usage of each program is controlled by OS a

4) Multitasking - Multitasking is another feature of operating systems (not in DOS). We can do more than one tasks at the same time in an operating system. For example you can listen to music in media

5) Networking - Its easy to do networking with the help of operating systems. You can share files, folders or even hardware resources like printer through a network with the help of operating systems.