Adobe’s commitment to open source software has improved exponentially since the company first announced plans to centralize open source efforts in 2017. After streamlining the submission process for developers and making it easier for people to contribute to projects, Adobe went from being ranked as the 32nd largest corporate open source contributor to the 14th in less than two years.
It’s apparent that open source is a major priority for Adobe. Matt Asay, the Head of Developer Ecosystem for Adobe, says that, “It’s hard to even imagine how a product like Adobe Experience Manager could function without open source, given that over half the underlying code comes from the open source community.”
But what exactly does “open source” mean? And what is the Adobe open source community like? Here’s what you need to know:
Criteria for Open Source Software
Any software you purchase or download is usually in its compiled version. This means that the developer’s source code is hidden so that competitors can’t copy or alter it. With open source software, the source code is included and modifications are encouraged. Some software developers say that if people contribute with their own original ideas, the app will become more useful and stay relevant over time.
According to the Open Source Initiative, open source software needs to abide by the following criteria:
- The program must be freely distributed.
- The source code needs to be included.
- Anyone can contribute to the project.
- Modified versions of the code can be distributed.
- The license must be technology-neutral, unrestrictive on other programs, and not specific to a particular product.
About the Adobe I/O Community
The Adobe open source community has contributed over 43 gigabytes of code and has taken part in hundreds of public repos in dozens of different languages. The community has flourished into a collaborative and inspiring environment where people can share ideas, codes, and contribute to ongoing projects. With Adobe Experience Platform, users are free to customize their websites while having access to real-time data, central storage, and machine learning capabilities.
Adobe’s long-term membership with the Linux Foundation has also led to several new opportunities to collaborate with other businesses through the ToDo Group and the Open API Initiative. Exciting things are happening in the Adobe open source community, but don’t take my word for it; click here to check it out for yourself!
