Open or closed: who can change the code?
The instructions inside an operating system are called code. Some codes are open source: anyone may read them and, if they know how, change them to make something better. Think of a recipe on the kitchen wall that everyone may read and improve. Other codes are closed: only the maker can see and change them, like a secret family recipe. Both ways have supporters. With open code many people can find mistakes. With closed code one company is responsible for fixing them. There are phone systems of both kinds, and they do the same basic jobs: messaging, browsing the web, video chat and touch. So the code does not decide what you can do every day. Some computers do special jobs and have their own special system: one kind is used to build programs for robots, and another kind runs a self-driving car. We do not use names here, only kinds. If you want to know which kind your own devices use, ask a grown-up; the answer is simply ‘a computer system’ or ‘a phone system’.
| Open source | Closed source | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can read the code? | anyone | only the maker |
| Who can change it? | anyone who knows how | only the maker |
| Like… | a recipe on the wall for everyone | a secret family recipe |
Match the descriptions. Write on paper strips: (1) ‘Everyone may read my code’; (2) ‘Only my maker can change my code’; (3) ‘I run a car that drives itself’; (4) ‘I run the computers in a school lab’. Match each to: open source, closed source, special system, computer system. Compare with a partner.
| A | B |
|---|---|
| a recipe on the wall, everyone can read | a recipe kept in a locked box |