Well recently I saw a question in Quora, asking “Why should we go for open-source? Other developers can steal our code.”

So, here I am trying to answer this question to the best of my capability. This would be a short and precise one.

So, why should one go for open-sourcing their code which they have spent maybe hours or days or months coding. So when you open source your project, you expose your code’s vulnerable side to other developers. Other developers will look into your code. They might try them out for themselves and then point out bugs. This will help you debug faster. Some might even provide you with a much better approach to the problem (an optimized one). This will eventually lead to your personal benefit.

When you open-source your project, or a part of your project, you actually tell the world that you have found the solution to a particular problem. Later on if someone else also stumbles upon the same problem then he/she can quickly visit your code and get their desired solution.

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam once said

“Teaching is a very noble profession that shapes the character, caliber, and future of an individual. If the people remember me as a good teacher, that will be the biggest honor for me.”

When you are actually open-sourcing your project, you are helping someone gain knowledge which is equivalent to teaching.

Moreover, we developers/programmers constantly google up our errors or doubts. We look into GitHub to get our solution. GitHub is nothing but an open-source platform. So, is it fair that we are taking help from others and then not giving back the same for others. If you are taking help then you should also be helping others. I would highly recommend every programmer/developer to create and maintain a GitHub account. This will not only benefit you but also others who would be working in the same domain as you are. After all, Information should be free, right?

Bonus

How many of you have heard about Hacktober Fest?

If you have come this far then I am assuming you don’t know what Hacktober Fest is. So, basically Hacktoberfest is a month-long celebration of open source software run by DigitalOcean in partnership with GitHub and Twilio. Hacktoberfest is open to everyone in our global community! To participate in this event, all you gotta do is create an account in their official page, and then make four pull requests. If your PR’s gets approved then, you will be entitled to get free swags.

Hacktober 2019 is over. Let’s all just wait for Hacktober 2020. In the mean time, you might wanna just check out their official website.

Note:

I am not promoting any brand or organisation. I am just sharing my personal opinion.