UNIT I: FOSS NOTES

Introduction:
Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) is software that is distributed below a licence that permits users
to run, modify, and distribute the software and its supply code freely. The term "free" in FOSS refers to
the liberty to use the software program for any reason, to observe and alter the software program's supply
code, and to distribute copies of the software program to others.

The term "open source" emphasizes the collaborative, transparent, and network-pushed development
procedure that underlies FOSS initiatives. A few examples of FOSS encompass the Linux working
machine, the Apache net server, and the Mozilla Firefox net browser. FOSS is often contrasted with
proprietary software programs, which are commonly advanced and dispensed by way of a single
employer and is situated in restrictive licensing phrases that restrict users' freedom to use, regulate, and
distribute the software program.

Open Source:
The term open source refers to something people can modify and share because its design is publicly
accessible.

The term originated in the context of software development to designate a specific approach to creating
computer programs. Today, however, “open source” designates a broader set of values — what we call
“the open source way.” Open source projects, products, or initiatives embrace and celebrate principles of
open exchange, collaborative participation, rapid prototyping, transparency, meritocracy, and community-
oriented development.

Free and Open source software:

Free and open-source software (FOSS) allows users and programmers to edit, modify or reuse the
software’s source code. This gives developers the opportunity to improve program functionality by
modifying it.
The term “free” indicates that the software does not have constraints on copyrights. The term “open
source” indicates the software is in its project form, enabling easy software development from expert
developers collaborating worldwide without any need for reverse engineering.

Closed Source Software:

Closed source software refers to the computer software which source code is closes means public is not
given access to the source code. In short it is referred as CSS. In closed source software the source code is
protected. Only the original authors of software can access, copy, and alter that software. In a case with
closed source software, you are not purchasing the software, but only pay to use it. The price of closed
source software is high and users need to have valid and authenticated license to use the software. As is
issues an authenticated license so it also put a lot restriction on users based on usability and modification
of software.

Some examples of closed source software are Skype, Google earth, Java, Adobe Flash, Virtual Box,
Adobe Reader, Microsoft office, Microsoft Windows, WinRAR, mac OS, Adobe Flash Player etc.
History of FOSS
With the rise of personal computers in the early 70’s, there was a boom in the people who started getting
involved in the software industry. With hardware and software products separated, software as such was
ready to develop as a market. But many software vendors were concerned about the viability of this
market, as it was unclear which legal protection they would receive. As a result of which, a consensus
emerged amongst lawmakers and lobbyists to copyright software. The US and Europe were quick to
adopt these laws, wherein each copy of the software was treated as a book: the vendors got a royalty of
each copy sold. But between the lines of the law, there were a few things that got many frustrated with
proprietary software.

For one, while software was sold as a ‘book’ by the vendors, they did not actually sell the software. They
included long legal documents that solemnly declared that the software was merely licensed and that the
user had no rights other than as provided in this license. There were restrictions on the right to reverse
engineer a program. That is, I cannot look at the program, deconstruct it, and clone a program with the
features I feel will improve it.

As a general rule, buyers of a product are expected and permitted to examine what they buy and to
discover how it works, but nothing beyond that. The big problem in this scenario here is, buyer cannot
find out how to fix a bug when it arises. Buyer has to go to the vendor, who can access the code, and they
will charge me for maintenance fees for fixing that bug.

As a result, companies started closing out their source code to the outside world, treating it as their
intellectual property. This frustrated MIT hacker, Richard M Stallman, to a great extent and felt that this
‘hoarding’ of software cannot be allowed. Another trigger for the FOSS movement was when a company
called Symbolics took an open source language called LISP (used by MIT Artificial Labs) and then made
it proprietary. These laid the seeds for the FSF (Free Software Foundation).

To meet the definition of "free software", the FSF requires the software's licensing respect the civil
liberties / human rights of what the FSF calls the software user's "Four Essential Freedoms".
1. The freedom to run the program as wish, for any purpose (freedom 0).
2. The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as
wish (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
3. The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help others (freedom 2).
4. The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others (freedom 3).
By doing this, the whole community get a chance to benefit from the changes. Access to
the source code is a precondition for this.

Open source license:

Open-source licenses are software licenses that allow content to be used, modified, and shared. They
facilitate free and open-source software (FOSS) development. Intellectual property (IP) laws restrict the
modification and sharing of creative works. Free and open-source licenses use these existing legal
structures for an inverse purpose. They grant the recipient the rights to use the software, examine the
source code, modify it, and distribute the modifications.
The two main categories of open-source licenses are permissive and copyleft.
What is copyleft?
When a person gets copyright of the software, his main intention is to prevent other people from
distributing the software. Copyleft is exactly the opposite of copyright. When a person gets a copyleft, he
is imposing on the user who modifies anything in the original software that they must keep their version
of the software open-source so that it is publically available. Based on the viral effect of a copyleft, there
are two categories of copyleft licenses:
 Weak Copyleft: These are free software licenses that make it compulsory that source code that
descended from software licensed under it, will remain under the same, weak copyleft, license.
However, it should be noted that it is possible to still link to weak copyleft code from code under a
different license (which can also be a proprietary license), or otherwise incorporate it in a larger
software. In simple terms, a weak copyleft license applies only to the original copyleft work.
 Strong Copyleft: These licenses go a step further from weak ones and make it mandatory that any
software that links or otherwise incorporates its code would be licensed under compatible licenses,
which are a subset of the various available open-source licenses. Because of this, these licenses have
been called “viral”. In simple terms, a strong copyleft license applies to all its derived works and the
software components in the package.
What is permissive?
A permissive license is an open-source license that guarantees the freedom to use, modify, and
redistribute, while also permitting proprietary derivative works. In other words, when a user modifies a
software, he or she is not obligated to make their altered software open-source, however, the user usually
needs to give credit to the original project.

Some of the open source licenses explained as follows:

GNU General Public License (GPL)

The most ubiquitous copyleft license and one that does sometimes strike fear into the hearts of legal
teams, the GPL is a specific implementation of the “copyleft” concept created by Richard Stallman in
order to prevent GNU software from becoming proprietary.

Because the GPL is a strong copyleft license, any software that is written based on any GPL component
must be itself released as open source under the same license or a later version. Projects that use these
components, no matter the percentage of total code, are legally required to release the complete source
code plus all of the rights to modify and distribute that code. This includes other components your project
might use, such as linked libraries, which means you cannot usually mix GPL’ed code with other copyleft
licensed code.

The trigger for this reciprocity obligation is distribution. If you use or modify GPL’ed code but do not
distribute it to the public, there is no legal requirement to make that source code available to the public.
This creates something of a loophole when using GPL’ed code to create Software as a Service (SaaS)
applications that are never actually distributed to the user. The Affero GNU General Public License
(AGPL) closes that loophole and explicitly considers users interacting with software over a network to be
distribution.

More permissive versions of the GPL exist, including the Lesser GNU Public License (LGPL) and the
GPL with an added classpath exception clause. Implemented properly, you can use unmodified versions
of software (usually libraries) falling under these weak copyleft licenses without an obligation to release
the rest of your code under a GPL.
The Apache License
The Apache 2.0 License is a popular and widely deployed open source software license released by the
Apache Software Foundation (ASF).

One of the most permissive open source software licenses, the Apache license allows you to release your
modified version of an Apache-licensed product under any license you may choose. You are permitted to
freely use, modify, distribute, and sell software under an Apache License whether your use case is
personal, internal, or commercial.

Unlike other permissive licenses that are applicable only to copyrights and not patents, the Apache
License explicitly grants rights to users that can be applied to both copyrights and patents. The rights
given are perpetual, worldwide, and irrevocable, but also non-exclusive, meaning you can use the licensed
work and so can anyone else.

To redistribute software with any Apache licensed components, you must include a copy of the license,
provide a clear Apache License attribution, and add modification notices to any files you modify.

You can choose to release the modified or derived products under different licenses, but the unmodified
parts of the software must retain the Apache License. Another rule is that you cannot name your modified
version in any way that suggests that the final product is either endorsed or created by the ASF.

Lastly, if you want to add a copyright statement about all of the modifications you’ve done to any
Apache-licensed software, you are free to do so. The Apache License doesn’t require you to release
modified code under the same license so you can choose to add specific license terms and conditions that
govern how others use, reproduce, or distribute your modified code.

Microsoft Public Licenses (Ms-PL)

The Microsoft Public License is a free and open source software license released by Microsoft for its own
open source projects.

The Ms-PL is a short, concise, and straightforwardly written license that allows you to freely reproduce
and distribute original or derivative works of any software that it governs. In doing so, however, you may
not use any contributors’ names, logos, or trademarks. The Ms-PL also protects software authors by
explicitly offering no express warranties or guarantees, meaning authors are not liable if their code
doesn’t work well in some cases.

When distributing software under the Ms-PL, modified or unmodified, in whole or in part, you are not
obligated to distribute the source code. You are, however, required to retain all copyright, patent,
trademark, and attribution notices that were originally present. If you do choose to distribute any portion
of the software, modified or unmodified, in its source code form, you must do so only under the Ms-PL
by including a complete copy of the license in the distribution. If you instead choose to release the code in
a compiled or object code form, you may release it under any compatible license.

Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD)

BSD Licenses are a family of permissive licenses. A BSD License allows you to freely modify and
distribute your software’s code in the source or binary format so long as you retain a copy of the
copyright notice, list of conditions, and the disclaimer.

The original 4-clause BSD License contains an advertising clause requiring certain acknowledgement of
previous authors in any advertising for software that makes use of BSD licensed code. The most
commonly used BSD license, the 3-clause Modified BSD License, removes the advertising clause and the
2-clause FreeBSD License removes both the advertising and non-endorsement clauses.

Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL)

The CDDL is an open source license published by Sun Microsystems (now Oracle) to replace the Sun
Public License (SPL) and is considered to be SPL version 2. It is inspired by the Mozilla Public License
(MPL). The CDDL is often considered a cleaned-up version of the MPL and was made to facilitate
reusability.

You are free to reproduce and distribute any original or derivative works of any software licensed under
the CDDL but you must not remove or make any changes to any copyright, patent, or trademark notices
present in the software. You must also retain any notices of licensing or any descriptive text that gives
attribution to any contributor or the initial author.

When you distribute your software in any form other than source code, you are required to make the
source code of any file containing CDDL’ed code, whether modified or in its original form, available
under the CDDL and to include a copy of the license in the distribution. The executable form and any
project files not containing CDDL’ed code may be released under the CDDL or any compatible licenses.

Additionally, for each modification that you make you must identify yourself as a modifier by including a
notice in your modified files.

The CDDL is considered a weak copyleft license as its use does not grant downstream users of the
program the same rights you received by requiring your entire code become open source, like with strong
copyleft licenses such as the GPL. Only files including CDDL’ed code or modifications to CDDL’ed
code are under any copyleft obligations. Other files and the executable of the whole program can be under
any license that is compatible with the CDDL.

Eclipse Public License (EPL)

The Eclipse license is a weak copyleft license. If you modify code under the EPL and distribute the
source code as part of your program, you’re required to license the modified code under the EPL. If you
distribute such a program in its object code form, you’re required to state that the EPL’ed source code is
available to the recipient upon request and to share the method for making that request.

The Eclipse Foundation makes it clear that “merely interfacing or interoperating” with an Eclipse plugin
does not make your code a derivative work of the plugin. As with all weak copyleft licenses, if you wish
to use a different license for the rest of your code, keeping the EPL’ed code in a separate file is the best
practice, if not a requirement.

The EPL protects the author from possible lawsuits or damages caused if a company used their
component in a commercial product. Any warranties made by a commercial contributor to EPL’ed code is
theirs alone and not that of previous contributors. Like many other open source licenses, the EPL also
includes an explicit patent grant.

MIT License
The MIT License is one of the most permissive and popular licenses out there. There are actually two
variants of the same license that are frequently called “The MIT License”: the Expat License and the X11
License. Being the shorter and first variation, as well as the one the Software Package Data Exchange
(SPDX) identifies as “MIT”, we will refer to the Expat License as the MIT License.
The MIT License includes language expressing that the software is presented as-is and without warranty.
As a permissive license, there is no requirement that modifications to MIT Licensed code be also released
under the MIT License making it a great choice for proprietary and commercial uses. The license’s only
requirement of a user is that the license be included in “all copies or substantial portions of the Software”.
At less than 200 words, that’s just a few lines of comments in the code. There’s a reason the MIT License
accounts for nearly a third of all uses of open source licenses.

Need of FOSS:
First, knowing the software on what you are working boosts your confidence as it gives you the control
over the system. If something goes wrong or you want any specific feature to be added, you can easily
customize the open-source software.
Second, you can learn by watching the source code of the software and in future create an even better one.
Third, with so many brains working on software, the bugs are fixed quicker and faster come the upgrades.
There is one slight problem that open-source software users might encounter is that when someone
modifies the software and you upgrade it, the new source code can clash with your tweaks.

Features of FOSS:

Innovation
Open-source software helps facilitate more rapid innovation as it encourages the sharing of resources and
information that in turn support more technical development. Such software encourages the collaboration
of ideas, resources, and data which has contributed to many of the most essential tech developments of
our generation. Indeed, open source code is increasingly incorporated into many other software products,
allowing developers to save time and effort by leveraging code developed by others. Moreover, it also
helps the software and the code to evolve, improve, and remain relevant while enabling more tech
endeavours.

Freedom
One of the key benefits of open source software is that it is a platform where programmers are provided
with freedom at no substantial cost. With open-source software, organizations and programmers can
operate and use the source code in whatever way they want. Moreover, they can study the software and
curate it according to their requirement for more effective computing. Apart from the original version of
the software, users also have the opportunity to help other developers and programmers to utilize the
open-source software by further redistributing the modified copy.

Integrity
Since the source code of proprietary, close-sourced software cannot be modified or redesigned, it poses a
potential threat of security breaches to those using it. However, with open source software, organizations
have the liberty to analyze the code and make changes to it by adding security-based codes to the
software. Furthermore, the users of open source software have a large user community who collectively
identify and tackle any issues or security vulnerabilities in the software with the help of beta testers for a
safer experience. Open source thereby benefits from many eyes and hands.

Continuity
A major reason why organizations prefer to utilize and optimize open-source software is because of the
business continuity it provides them. According to 67% of IT experts in EMEA, open-source software is
more efficient and performs better in business continuity than proprietary software. By being readily
available and accessible, companies do not have to delay operations to construct and code software from
scratch, which saves time and cost, while enhancing employees’ effectiveness.
Giving Back to the Community
Open-source software is beneficial to many people. Individual programmers can utilize the accessible
software as a learning medium to improve their coding skills. Moreover, businesses make use of it and
modify it for the development of their own services and technology, redistributing the modified versions
to other developers to continue the chain. Consumers and society as a whole benefit from the improved
and refined technology and commodities that are created due to the flexibility of open data and open-
source software.

Difference between FOSS and Commercial Software:

Aspect OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE
Open-source software is computer software Commercial software is computer software
developed either by an individual, group, or that only the person, team, or organization
an organization to meet certain requirements that created it can modify also they have
Definition
and it is available openly for the general exclusive rights over the software. Anyone
public for any modifications based on its who needs to use it has to pay for its valid
developing body’s interest. and authorized license.
The cost of commercial software varies from
Cost The cost of open-source software is free.
moderate to expensive.
Technical Open source provides limited technical Commercial software provides guaranteed
Support support. technical support.
Open-source software is available under free Commercial software is available under high
Licensing
licensing. licensing cost.
In open-source software users need to rely on In commercial software users get dedicated
User Support
community support. support from the vendor.
In open-source software installation and
Installation In open-source software installation and
updates are administered by the software
and Updates updates are administered by the user.
vendor.
Limited hands-on training and online On-site and Online training are available
Training
resources are available for open-source from the commercial software vendor side
Resources
software application training. for software application training.
Here in open-source software users can But in commercial software mainly vendor
Customization
customize. offers customization.
In this rapid community response helps in In this mainly the vendor is responsible for
Bug Fixing
fixing the bugs and malfunctions. fixing the malfunctions.
In open-source software the source code is In commercial software, the source code is
Source Code
public. protected.
The source of fond commercial software
The source of funds for open-source software
Funding depends on its software sale/product
mainly depends on donations and support.
licensing.
Firefox, OpenOffice, Zimbra, VCL media Windows Operating System, MS Office,
Examples player, and Thunderbird are some examples SAP, Oracle, and Adobe Photoshop are some
of open-source software. examples of commercial software.
Advantages and Disadvantages of FOSS:

Advantages:
 Flexibility: Users can make changes in the software as per their needs. Furthermore, a user can add
additional features. On the other hand, one can also delete the useless features.
 Stability: A good advantage is that even if the developers of the software stops looking after the
software it will not disappear. Since there are many people in the open source community to look after
the software. Hence, users can use the software for the long term.
 Security and Reliability: Since several people are developing and enhancing the software. Therefore,
software is more secure and reliable.
 Easier Evaluation: As the source code is available. therefore, users can easily view the code. hence,
they can understand the bugs and capabilities of the software.
 Better Support: Since, many number of people like developers, companies, and other users are dealing
with the software. Hence, it is quite easy to get any kind of technical support.
 Possible Savings: such software usually have a low cost in comparison to other software. Hence they
are easily affordable.

Disadvantages:

1. No clear line of purpose

Since it is open source software, at times, it might not be the exact thing that YOU are looking for, being
modified and heavily edited by various users. It does not follow a straight line of purpose, but rather, is
constantly influenced by the users who are testing, modifying, and adding to it.
2. Not user friendly
Being a product that probably started as a pet project of a developer for his own purposes, it might not be
as user friendly and easy to use as its paid counterparts. There is need to be trained first, or hire someone
with expertise in it to use Open Source software.
3. Not entirely free
Although the software itself might be free, most of the time, there are many hidden costs, such as paid
support, in-software purchases, etc.
4. Lack of support
Once again, the lack of proper, official support is a huge drawback, as support usually comes from the
community using the Open Source software, who are not really obligated to help you, and might not
always be available.
5. Compatibility issues
Although the Open Source software itself is compatible everywhere, certain other paid software might not
be compatible with it, and without a suitable alternative that is supported by the Open Source software, it
becomes another problem for a customer. For example, Ubuntu is an open-source Operating System, but
Adobe Photoshop is not compatible with it.

Applications of FOSS:
Some of the best open-Source Applications are as follows:
1. Linux is widely used for servers and devices.
2. Mozilla Firefox and Chromium are open-source web browser choices.
3. LibreOffice and Apache OpenOffice are free alternatives to Microsoft Office.
4. WordPress and Joomla aid in website creation.
5. GIMP is for image editing, and Blender is for 3D content creation.
6. Postgre SQL and MySQL manage data in databases.
 7. Apache and Nginx host websites and distribute traffic.
8. Eclipse and Git are development tools.
9. QGIS assists with maps and geographic data.

Popular FOSS:
Mozilla Firefox:
Firefox is a free, Open Source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation and Mozilla
Corporation in 2004. The Firefox web browser can be used with Windows, Mac and Linux operating
systems, as well as Android and iOS mobile devices. Firefox uses the Google search page as its
homepage and default search engine.
Firefox is guided by The Mozilla Manifesto, a set of principles the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation
developed. Firefox's privacy and open source principles make it a unique web browser. Unlike Apple's
Safari and Google Chrome, Firefox does not sell users' personal data to advertisers or to services like
Google.
Firefox introduced and popularized many of today's standard browser features. When the Firefox browser
was first released under the name Mozilla Firefox, it was one of the first browsers to offer a bookmark
toolbar and tabbed browsing, which lets users open tabs in the same window and switch back and forth
among them. Mozilla Firefox also offered a pop-up blocker and a plugin that let developers add new,
downloadable features known as add-ons or browser extensions.
In 2016, Firefox announced Firefox Quantum, an update to its search engine that improved user
experience and processing power. Quantum transitioned Firefox to a multiprocess architecture that uses
less memory with many browser tabs open.

Features of Firefox
The Firefox Quantum browser comes with several features, including the following:
 Extensions and add-ons are security and ease-of-use features Firefox's open source community
creates. To Google Translate is a Firefox extension that uses Google Translate to automatically
translate pages into a user's desired language.
 Multiprocess memory use enables Firefox Quantum to use less memory than previous versions when
users have multiple webpages open in tabs.
 Private browsing with improved privacy features automatically erases passwords, cookies and history
after a browsing session. Firefox's private browsing modes also block hidden trackers embedded in
ads that slow performance.
 Ad blocker prevents ads from showing on webpages, including video ads, ads with trackers and third-
party cookies.
 Customization settings let users change their browser's colors and add themes, such as Space Galaxy,
which includes images and colors associated with space.
 Fingerprint blocking prevents companies from creating unique profiles of users based on their
hardware, software, add-ons, default web browser and other preferences, such as fonts. Companies
use these fingerprints for targeted advertising campaigns and for surveillance capitalism
 Syncing enables users to access their Firefox settings and data, including passwords and open tabs,
across multiple devices by storing their data on a private, encrypted key on Firefox servers.
 Picture-in-Picture lets users watch videos while on other pages. It pops a video into a separate
window and pins it to the screen.
 Password manager stores users' passwords and syncs them across devices.
Linux:

Linux is the best-known and most-used open-source operating system. As an operating system, Linux is
software that sits underneath all of the other software on a computer, receiving requests from those
programs and relaying these requests to the computer’s hardware.
The OS manages the computer’s hardware and software resources and provides services to programs
running on the computer. The OS is an interface or a layer between the applications running on the
computer and the hardware. Users start and stop most applications. Linux starts when the computer turns
on and stops when the computer turns off.

Windows and macOS are proprietary software systems. Linux is an Open-Source operating system. The
OpenSource.org license applies to open-source software. It grants everyone the right to use, study,
change, and distribute it to anyone for any purpose. Proprietary software, also known as Closed Source
software, has commercial licenses. It does not share the source code, and the user does not have access to
look at or change the program.

Features of Linux Operating System

The main features of Linux operating system are
• Portable: Linux operating system can work on different types of hardwares as well as Linux kernel
supports the installation of any kind of hardware platform.
• Open Source: Source code of LINUX operating system is freely available and, to enhance the
ability of the LINUX operating system, many teams work in collaboration.
• Multiuser: Linux operating system is a multiuser system, which means, multiple users can access
the system resources like RAM, Memory or Application programs at the same time.
• Multiprogramming: Linux operating system is a multiprogramming system, which means multiple
applications can run at the same time.
• Hierarchical File System: Linux operating system affords a standard file structure in which system
files or user files are arranged.
• Shell: Linux operating system offers a special interpreter program, that can be used to execute
commands of the OS. It can be used to do several types of operations like call application
programs, and so on.
• Security: Linux operating system offers user security systems using authentication features like
encryption of data or password protection or controlled access to particular files.

LibreOffice:

LibreOffice is a powerful, free and private office suite - the successor project to OpenOffice - used by
millions of people around the world. It's compatible with Microsoft Office (365) and is backed by a non-
profit organisation, The Document Foundation. LibreOffice includes Writer (word processing), Calc
(spreadsheets), Impress (presentations), Draw (vector graphics and flowcharts), Base (databases), and
Math (formula editing).

LibreOffice helps to create documents with professional and clean look, regardless of their purpose: a
letter, a master thesis, a brochure, financial reports, marketing presentations, technical drawings and
diagrams. LibreOffice makes your work look great while you focus on the content, thanks to its powerful
styles system and structuring tools.

LibreOffice is compatible with a wide range of document formats such as Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx),
Excel (.xls, .xlsx), PowerPoint (.ppt, .pptx) and Publisher. But LibreOffice goes much further with its
native support for a modern and open standard, the Open Document Format (ODF).
Beyond the many features shipped by default, LibreOffice is easily extensible through its powerful
extensions mechanisms. LibreOffice is Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), available for everyone to
use, share and modify, and produced by a worldwide community of hundreds of developers. Our software
is tested and used daily by a large and devoted user community – which give rise to new talent and new
ideas.

LibreOffice is the actively developed successor project to OpenOffice, which in turn was based on
StarOffice. Many years of development have gone into the software, and it has been used in its various
incarnations by millions. Today, LibreOffice is by far the most active continuation of the OpenOffice.org
codebase, with releases every six months and hundreds of contributors. Also, LibreOffice uses libraries
from the Document Liberation Project, handing control back to content creators.

Anyone can download and use LibreOffice for free, but it doesn't include technical support or other value-
added services.

Python:
Python is a set of instructions that we give in the form of a Program to our computer to perform any
specific task. It is a Programming language having properties like it is interpreted, object-oriented and it is
high-level too. Due to its beginner-friendly syntax, it became a clear choice for beginners to start their
programming journey. The major focus behind creating it is making it easier for developers to read and
understand, also reducing the lines of code.

Features of Python
Python has plenty of features that make it the most demanding and popular. Let’s read about a few of the
best features that Python has:

 Easy to read and understand

 Interpreted language
 Object-oriented programming language
 Free and open-source
 Versatile and Extensible
 Multi-platform
 Hundreds of libraries and frameworks
 Flexible, supports GUI
 Dynamically typed
 Huge and active community
 These also state the reasons why you should choose Python to learn as a beginner, or also to use it
for development purposes as a developer, and a lot more.

Uses and Applications of Python

Python being so popular and so technologically advanced has multiple use cases and has real-life
applications. Some of the most common Python applications which are very common are discussed
below.

1. Web Development
Developers prefer Python for web Development, due to its easy and feature-rich framework. They can
create Dynamic websites with the best user experience using Python frameworks. Some of the
frameworks are -Django, for Backend development and Flask, for Frontend development.
2. Data Science
Data scientists can build powerful AI models using Python snippets. Due to its easily understandable
feature, it allows developers to write complex algorithms.

3. CAD
Python is suitable programming language to work on CAD (computer-aided designs) designs, to create
2D and 3D models digitally. Using Python for CAD development allows easy deployment and integration
across cross-platforms.

4. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Using libraries like Pandas, and TensorFlow, experts can work on data analysis and machine learning
applications for statistical analysis, data manipulation, etc. Python is one of the most used Programming
languages in this field.

5. Game Development
Python can also be used by developers to build games using Pygame to develop 2D and 3D games.

PHP:

PHP is an open-source, server-side programming language that can be used to create websites,
applications, customer relationship management systems and more. It is a widely-used general-purpose
language that can be embedded into HTML. This functionality with HTML means that the PHP language
has remained popular with developers as it helps to simplify HTML code.

What is PHP used for?

PHP programming can be used to create most things that a software developer needs. However, there are
three main areas in which it thrives.

Server-side scripting
Server-side Script is PHP’s main strength. If you are just learning to code and want to explore server-side
scripting, PHP is a great language to learn. To get cracking with PHP server-side scripting you’ll need to
have a PHP parser, web server and web browser.

Command-line scripting
Command-line scripting is ideal for scripts made using cron (Linux) or Task Scheduler (Windows). It is
also great for simple text processing.

Writing desktop applications

PHP is probably not the best language to use to create desktop applications but for the advanced web
developer, it provides you with many more options than its competitors.

Advantages of PHP
PHP has endured as a popular programming language for almost three decades owing to the number of
benefits it offers users and developers. The most significant of these are:

1. It is cross-platform: As mentioned above, PHP can be run on any major operating system, so you
don’t have to worry about compatibility. This also means that you can work on a project team and not
have to worry about members being able to access code!
2. It’s open-source: Open source means that PHP is a free programming language, so you don’t have to
worry about additional costs when building your project

3. Many developers understand it: The longevity of PHP means there’s already a large community out
there to support you, and a large amount of legacy code to help you get started with projects.

4. It works brilliantly with HTML: PHP can help simplify your projects and works seamlessly with this
dominant programming language.

5. As a language, it is relatively easy to learn: Because of its simplicity, PHP is quicker and easier to
pick up than some other alternatives.
6. There are plenty of tools available: There are tools to help you with just about anything for PHP, from
integration, code hinting, syntax highlighting and more, there is a lot of support for you.

7. It offers great load times for websites: With website performance becoming more and more tied to
speed, PHP’s quick load can really help you succeed.

Blender:

Blender is the free and open source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—
modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, even video editing
and game creation. Blender is well suited to individuals and small studios that benefit from its unified
pipeline and responsive development process.
Blender is cross-platform and runs equally well on Linux, Windows, and Macintosh computers. Its
interface uses OpenGL to provide a consistent experience. As a community-driven project under the GNU
General Public License (GPL), the public is empowered to make small and large changes to the code
base, which leads to new features, responsive bug fixes, and better usability. Blender has no price tag, but
anyone can invest, participate, and help to advance a powerful collaborative tool.

Key Features of Blender

o Blender has some of the amazing features such as for development of 3D content the blender
provides a wide range of essential tools that includes modelling, rendering, animation & rigging,
video editing, VFX, compositing, texturing, and many simulation forms.
o Blender tool is a cross-platform tool which is developed in collaboration with a uniform OpenGL
GUI on all major platforms. It is also customizable with Python scripts.
o It has high quality 3D architecture that enables fast and efficient creation of workflow.
o Blender allows a wide variety of tasks to be done, and when first attempting to understand the
fundamentals, it can seem overwhelming. However, after a few hours of practice, it is possible to
familiarize yourself with Blender with a bit of inspiration and the right learning content.
o It can be said as a weapon, by considering all that Blender can do. And all of that work is only
done by just pressing buttons or manipulating brushes. As it is well said that the great artists do
not create masterpieces, but by studying and practicing subjects such as human anatomy,
composition, lighting, principles of animation, etc greatness can be mastered.