4 ms·
The phrase doesn't literally mean anything. Does the phrase "open door" mean the door is freely available? Does the phrase "open book" mean the book is freely a
by olddustytrail 4y ago
The phrase doesn't literally mean anything. Does the phrase "open door" mean the door is freely available? Does the phrase "open book" mean the book is freely available?
It's great that the phrase "open source" has been so intuitively understood but to claim it has an obvious literal meaning is just nonsense.
- _gabe_ 4y agoI could care less about the terminology people use, but I feel like all your examples would point to the intuitive meaning that "open source" implies. An open door implies you can see what's behind the door, as opposed to a closed door. An open book implies you can see what's inside a book, as opposed to a closed book. Likewise, open source implies that you can see inside the source code, as opposed to closed source. So I think the claim that it has no obvious literal meaning is a bit hyperbolic, but I get where your thinking, since most developers automatically associate "open source" with "free code".
- olddustytrail 4y agoExcept the phrase "open door" doesn't mean that. It's a door you can walk through, not see through. Perhaps Glass Source would be a more accurate phrase for code you can see but not touch.