What is Open Source Editorial Staff Open Source Updated: 28 March 2016 What is Open source? The term “open source” used to refers to a computer program in which the source code is available to the public for use it and/or modification from its original design free of charge.Open source code is typically created as a collaborative effort in which programmers improve upon the code and share the changes within the community. What is open source software? Open source software is software whose source code is available to public for use it or modification or enhancement by anyone. The open source software allows others to not only study the code but also improve it by testing, bug reporting, and submitting patches. Supporters of this development model argue that the open development environment allows software developers to quickly find and fix security loop holes and bugs in the software.