Closed Source (also known as Proprietary Software) refers to software whose source code is not publicly accessible and can only be viewed, modified, or distributed by the owner or developer. In contrast to Open Source software, where the source code is made publicly available, Closed Source software keeps the source code strictly confidential.
Protected Source Code: The source code is not visible to the public. Only the developer or the company owning the software has access to it, preventing third parties from understanding the internal workings or making changes.
License Restrictions: Closed Source software is usually distributed under restrictive licenses that strictly regulate usage, modification, and redistribution. Users are only allowed to use the software within the terms set by the license.
Access Restrictions: Only authorized developers or teams within the company have permission to modify the code or add new features.
Commercial Use: Closed Source software is often offered as a commercial product. Users typically need to purchase a license or subscribe to use the software. Common examples include Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop.
Lower Transparency: Users cannot verify the code for vulnerabilities or hidden features (e.g., backdoors). This can be a concern if security and trust are important factors.
Some well-known Closed Source programs and platforms include:
Closed Source software is proprietary software whose source code is not publicly available. It is typically developed and offered commercially by companies. Users can use the software, but they cannot view or modify the source code. This provides benefits in terms of intellectual property protection and quality assurance but sacrifices flexibility and transparency.
Source code (also referred to as code or source text) is the human-readable set of instructions written by programmers to define the functionality and behavior of a program. It consists of a sequence of commands and statements written in a specific programming language, such as Java, Python, C++, JavaScript, and many others.
Human-readable: Source code is designed to be readable and understandable by humans. It is often structured with comments and well-organized commands to make the logic easier to follow.
Programming Languages: Source code is written in different programming languages, each with its own syntax and rules. Every language is suited for specific purposes and applications.
Machine-independent: Source code in its raw form is not directly executable. It must be translated into machine-readable code (machine code) so that the computer can understand and execute it. This translation is done by a compiler or an interpreter.
Editing and Maintenance: Developers can modify, extend, and improve source code to add new features or fix bugs. The source code is the foundation for all further development and maintenance activities of a software project.
A simple example in Python to show what source code looks like:
# A simple Python source code that prints "Hello, World!"
print("Hello, World!")
This code consists of a single command (print
) that outputs the text "Hello, World!" on the screen. Although it is just one line, the interpreter (in this case, the Python interpreter) must read, understand, and translate the source code into machine code so that the computer can execute the instruction.
Source code is the core of any software development. It defines the logic, behavior, and functionality of software. Some key aspects of source code are:
Source code is the fundamental, human-readable text that makes up software programs. It is written by developers to define a program's functionality and must be translated into machine code by a compiler or interpreter before a computer can execute it.
CaptainHook is a PHP-based Git hook manager that helps developers automate tasks related to Git repositories. It allows you to easily configure and manage Git hooks, which are scripts that run automatically at certain points during the Git workflow (e.g., before committing or pushing code). This is particularly useful for enforcing coding standards, running tests, validating commit messages, or preventing bad code from being committed.
CaptainHook can be integrated into projects via Composer, and it offers flexibility for customizing hooks and plugins, making it easy to enforce project-specific rules. It supports multiple PHP versions, with the latest requiring PHP 8.0.
Breaking Changes refer to modifications in software, an API, or a library that cause existing code or dependencies to stop functioning as expected. These changes break backward compatibility, meaning older versions of the code that rely on the previous version will no longer work without adjustments.
Typical examples of Breaking Changes include:
Dealing with Breaking Changes usually involves developers updating or adapting their software to remain compatible with new versions. Typically, Breaking Changes are introduced in major version releases to signal to users that there may be incompatibilities.
A Changelog is a file or document that lists the changes and updates made to software or a project. It provides a chronological record of new features, bug fixes, improvements, and breaking changes (changes that break backward compatibility). A changelog helps users and developers track the development progress of a software project and understand what changes have been made in a particular version.
1.2.0
), often following SemVer (Semantic Versioning) principles.# Changelog
## [1.2.0] - 2023-09-19
### Added
- New user authentication system.
- Ability to reset passwords via email.
### Fixed
- Resolved bug with session timeout after 30 minutes of inactivity.
### Changed
- Updated the UI for the login screen.
## [1.1.0] - 2023-08-10
### Added
- New dark mode theme for the dashboard.
### Security
- Patched vulnerability in file upload functionality.
Changelogs are particularly common in open-source projects, as they provide the community with a transparent and clear overview of the project's development.
Conventional Commits are a simple standard for commit messages in Git that propose a consistent format for all commits. This consistency facilitates automation tasks such as version control, changelog generation, and tracking changes.
The format of Conventional Commits follows a structured pattern, typically as:
<type>[optional scope]: <description>
[optional body]
[optional footer(s)]
Type (Required): Describes the type of change in the commit. Standard types include:
Scope (Optional): Describes the section of the code or application affected, such as a module or component.
fix(auth): corrected password hashing algorithm
Description (Required): A short, concise description of the change, written in the imperative form (e.g., “add feature” instead of “added feature”).
Body (Optional): A more detailed description of the change, providing additional context or technical details.
Footer (Optional): Used for notes about breaking changes or references to issues or tickets.
BREAKING CHANGE: remove deprecated authentication method
feat(parser): add ability to parse arrays
The parser now supports parsing arrays into lists.
This allows arrays to be passed as arguments to methods.
BREAKING CHANGE: Arrays are now parsed differently
Conventional Commits are especially helpful in projects using SemVer (Semantic Versioning) because they enable automatic versioning based on commit types.
In software development, a pipeline refers to an automated sequence of steps used to move code from the development phase to deployment in a production environment. Pipelines are a core component of Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Deployment (CD), practices that aim to develop and deploy software faster, more reliably, and consistently.
Source Control:
Build Process:
Automated Testing:
Deployment:
Monitoring and Feedback:
These pipelines are crucial in modern software development, especially in environments that embrace agile methodologies and DevOps practices.
A merge conflict occurs in version control systems like Git when two different changes to the same file cannot be automatically merged. This happens when multiple developers are working on the same parts of a file simultaneously, and their changes clash.
Imagine two developers are working on the same file in a project:
main
).feature-branch
).When Developer B tries to merge their branch (feature-branch
) with the main branch (main
), Git detects that the same line has been changed in both branches and cannot automatically decide which change to keep. This results in a merge conflict.
In the file, a conflict might look like this:
<<<<<<< HEAD
Change by Developer A
=======
Change by Developer B
>>>>>>> feature-branch
Here, the developer needs to manually resolve the conflict and adjust the file accordingly.
An Interactive Rebase is an advanced feature of the Git version control system that allows you to revise, reorder, combine, or delete multiple commits in a branch. Unlike a standard rebase, where commits are simply "reapplied" onto a new base commit, an interactive rebase lets you manipulate each commit individually during the rebase process.
main
or master
), you can clean up the commit history by merging or removing unnecessary commits.Suppose you want to modify the last 4 commits on a branch. You would run the following command:
git rebase -i HEAD~4
1. Selecting Commits:
pick
, followed by the commit message.Example:
pick a1b2c3d Commit message 1
pick b2c3d4e Commit message 2
pick c3d4e5f Commit message 3
pick d4e5f6g Commit message 4
2. Editing Commits:
pick
commands with other keywords to perform different actions:
pick
: Keep the commit as is.reword
: Change the commit message.edit
: Stop the rebase to allow changes to the commit.squash
: Combine the commit with the previous one.fixup
: Combine the commit with the previous one without keeping the commit message.drop
: Remove the commit.Example of an edited list:
pick a1b2c3d Commit message 1
squash b2c3d4e Commit message 2
reword c3d4e5f New commit message 3
drop d4e5f6g Commit message 4
3. Save and Execute:
4. Resolving Conflicts:
git rebase --continue
.Interactive rebase is a powerful tool in Git that allows you to clean up, reorganize, and optimize the commit history. While it requires some practice and understanding of Git concepts, it provides great flexibility to keep a project's history clear and understandable.
Continuous Deployment (CD) is an approach in software development where code changes are automatically deployed to the production environment after passing automated testing. This means that new features, bug fixes, and other changes can go live immediately after successful testing. Here are the main characteristics and benefits of Continuous Deployment:
Automation: The entire process from code change to production is automated, including building the software, testing, and deployment.
Rapid Delivery: Changes are deployed immediately after successful testing, significantly reducing the time between development and end-user availability.
High Quality and Reliability: Extensive automated testing and monitoring ensure that only high-quality and stable code reaches production.
Reduced Risks: Since changes are deployed frequently and in small increments, the risks are lower compared to large, infrequent releases. Issues can be identified and fixed faster.
Customer Satisfaction: Customers benefit from new features and improvements more quickly, enhancing satisfaction.
Continuous Feedback: Developers receive faster feedback on their changes, allowing for quicker identification and resolution of issues.
A typical Continuous Deployment process might include the following steps:
Code Change: A developer makes a change in the code and pushes it to a version control system (e.g., Git).
Automated Build: A Continuous Integration (CI) server (e.g., Jenkins, CircleCI) pulls the latest code, builds the application, and runs unit and integration tests.
Automated Testing: The code undergoes a series of automated tests, including unit tests, integration tests, and possibly end-to-end tests.
Deployment: If all tests pass successfully, the code is automatically deployed to the production environment.
Monitoring and Feedback: After deployment, the application is monitored to ensure it functions correctly. Feedback from the production environment can be used for further improvements.
Continuous Deployment differs from Continuous Delivery (also CD), where the code is regularly and automatically built and tested, but a manual release step is required to deploy it to production. Continuous Deployment takes this a step further by automating the final deployment step as well.