Forem: SVS HARSHITH

How open source changed the world: The 'WORLD WIDE WEB'

SVS HARSHITH — Mon, 01 Feb 2021 14:09:12 +0000

We all have heard about open source at some point or the other .

So, what is it and why ? how does it work ? and does it really help anything let alone the internet?

Lets answer them one by one.

So for the first question the penguin googled it, and it says :

"denoting software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified."

So , open source is anything that can be used by anyone freely . It is software with source code that anyone can inspect, modify, and enhance.

So in a world which is predominantly capitalistic, why go for free ?

many reasons -

Freedom
Privacy
Community
its free ,well duh !

Open source code is usually stored in a public repository and shared publicly. Anyone can access the repository to use the code independently or contribute improve the project.

Open source software usually comes with a distribution license.
Now a license is what turns a code into an Open source Component .

Its awesome , isn't it ?
To add more to it, here is a list of how it helps the world :

Open standards
Lower cost for the software
More reliable and better quality software
The Internet

The list goes on and on , and yes The Internet .
a thing which we cant live without and it cant live without open source .

To understand how open source is indispensable to the web, we'll need to understand how it started and and how it works .

Tim Berners-Lee, a British scientist, invented the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1989, while working at CERN. It was started so that scientist in various universities around the world could share information among themselves.

On 30 April 1993, CERN put the World Wide Web software in the public domain. Later, CERN made a release available with an open licence, a more sure way to maximise its dissemination.

This is how making the web open source allowed it to flourish.

But this was just the beginning, open sources still has a large role play in the world wide web . as mentioned earlier we need to understand how the web works first to establish this point .

Working of the web -

The computer using the internet is connected to the Internet Service Provider via cables or wireless connections.
Further the ISP is connected to the DNS with the help overhead cables . the DNS sends the details of the webpage you're looking for the to the ISP.
The DNS is connected to the respective servers hosting the website .
The server now in response to the request made sends back data to the computer in the form of packets.

The fundamental functions of the Internet are built on open source technologies. The Linux operating system regulates the operation of Web servers, and the Apache Web server application negotiates data transfer between the worldwide server infrastructure and personal devices.

Countless Internet applications are also open source, some of which are :

Browsers : most of the browsers that we use today are open source , the biggest example would be Firefox which is the 2nd most used web browser
Internet Protocols : many of communication protocols today are open source .
Tech stacks : these are the technology services used to build and run an application . a majority of which are open source , with the help of the open source community various technologies are built and maintained so that anyone can use it or even contribute towards it .

The presence of open source on the Web is so profound that you can essentially build your own Internet , as every aspect of the internet can be built on Open Source software and protocol.

We got more on this topic for you to explore ,To know more head over to this YouTube Video -

We hope you found this insightful.
Do visit our website to know more about us and also follow us on :

Also do not forget to like and comment.

Until then,
stay safe, and May the Source Be With You!

print("hello DEV");

SVS HARSHITH — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 14:54:42 +0000

Who we are?

Founded in 2003 by a group of FOSS enthusiasts, GNU/Linux Users' Group is an active organization involving students of National Institute of Technology, Durgapur. We are a group of developers, contributors and designers who are open-source enthusiasts and aim to spread the culture among other students. We believe in learning through sharing and hence work towards instigating the interest and love for open source in as many students as possible.

What do we do?

We provide budding enthusiasts like ourselves a forum to contribute and learn about FOSS. Through varied workshops on Open-Source Technologies throughout the year, we spread the idea of Open Source to beginners and veterans alike. We provide help and resources to everyone who wants to make the web world a better place.

Our Projects

We have a bunch of notable Open Source projects which have been used very effectively in production:

The official website of our institution, National Institute of Technology, has been developed and is currently maintained by us.
Technologies used in this endeavour are Javascript/HTML/VueJS/Python.
- Official Link
- Repo link
FreeMex:
It is an Online Stock market simulation app for enthusiasts of the stock market. In this simulation, stock prices are fetched from NASDAQ in real-time and allow the players to buy and sell stocks from their pre-given virtual currency. Depending on the performance of their stock, players move up and down the leaderboard in real-time, depending on their net worth. This Project uses JS/HTML/CSS on the front-end and a Django REST Framework on the back-end. The entire code for Freemex can be found here
OnlineJ:
OnlineJ or OJ is our own competitive programming platform. We use OnlineJ to host a variety of our competitive programming competitions on a national and international scale. OJ can host multiple competitions simultaneously and work as a full-fledged feature-rich IDE.
The current version of CodeCracker is built-in NextJS and React, and the backend is based on Python (Django) and NodeJS. The source code can be found here
Digital Fortress:
An Interactive and intricate Quiz game which blends in trivia with knowledge. Based on the Step by step process of unlocking clues and moving ahead, Digital Fortress is a staple among the students of NIT Durgapur. DF encompasses clues tied into real places on a map, which the player can decode to move ahead.
This project employs a back-end based on Django and frontend on React Js. The entire source code can be found here -
Front-end
Back-end
FreePL and FantasyFootball :
Fantasy Cricket and Football applications where teams can create a team by bidding on different players.
It is based on the MEVN tech stack.
The entire source code can be found here

All of these projects and much more can be found at our GitHub account at : https://github.com/lugnitdgp

Our Events

CTF :
Being a development based community, it is only necessary that we promote secure web practices and also instruct young developers in the ways of web security and vulnerabilities. And for that a CTF is the ideal place to begin. Every year, GLUG's developers host a CTF during any one of the tech fests, wherein people from all over the world participate for fun and learning. You can read the editorial by the last CTF's top contender here.
GSoC Heat :
It is no secret that in the world of Open Source Developers, one of the best opportunities and competitions young developers can take part in is the Google Summer of Code. During GSoC Heat, GLUG invites students from the entire institution to come and listen to the experiences of actual GSoC crackers of our club and institution. We also simulate a GSoC on an accelerated time frame on our own projects hosted on GitHub for students to have a good idea of the technologies at play, and the subtle nuances which make a good developer.
Linux Boot-camp :
Staying true to our name, we believe it is our obligation to promote Linux among young students, and this we have the Linux Boot-camp, wherein we instruct and help out students of the institution to install Linux on their laptops, and give them a quick run-through to get started on this wonderful journey of self-discovery, which is Linux.
Git workshop :
It is no secret that modern Open Source will not be anywhere as sophisticated without Git. And thus, a mastery of the words add, commit and push becomes of paramount importance when it comes to starting out as young developers. The Git workshop is aimed at instructing students into the ways of Version Control Systems.
Junior Code Cracker :
Junior Code Cracker or JCC is our annual code-cracking contest for first-year students wherein they solve logical problems and participate in a final competitive programming contest.
Code Cracker :
It is the annual ACM-ICPC style online coding contest which we host on our own online judge OnlineJ . The contests witness participation from coders all over the globe.
Hack me :
A workshop to help students build a complete and short project from scratch, in just a few hours with no prerequisites of any knowledge whatsoever.

Other than these we hold a lot more exciting events and fun online games round the year. Check them out on our Official Website

We are thereby delighted to announce our presence on Dev.to, and we look forward to strengthening and supporting the Open Source community.

Team GLUG looks forward to interacting with the developers’ community through this platform. In the coming weeks, you can look forward to getting all the latest technical news and tidbits from us, along with tutorials on a few technologies to help the reader a basic idea and gist of how to develop applications. We hope you love our work, and do comment and let us know your thoughts!

You can also follow us on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nitdgplug
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lugnitdgp/
YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYZPnN5vP5B1sINLLkI1aDA

Until then,

May The Source Be With You!