Looking at the huge number of free software in the internet today, one would think that programming a software is one of the easiest thing to do, OK, even if it is the easiest thing to do, is learning to write program an easy thing to do? If you ask me, I would say NO. The fact is that the cost of becoming a software developer is high. If you decide to take a programming course, you pay and if you decide to teach yourself, you buy a computer, books, pay for internet service in the cafe or get a data plan from an ISP. Which ever way you choose to pursue a career in programming, the cost of becoming a programmer is still high. And be rest assured that having these materials (I mean the books and computers) is still not a guarantee that you will become a coder. You need to love it, you need enough time and the brain too to become a programmer.
If the cost of becoming a programmer is as expensive as this, why are there so many free software out there? A question I ask myself every day. Why do people work so hard every day just to create something that will not fetch them money. The answer to this question is, no matter what happens, there will always be heroes among us. I read a book which told me that people work for two main reasons: Money and Fame. Some people work for money, why some work because they want to be famous/popular ( Please help me in differentiating Famous and Popular, English is not my Mother's language).
Someone told me that programmers use some of these software to tell the world that they can do the job, but what about these software that has no trace of the owners? Maybe some of these developers are being supported by companies or the users of their programs, because irrespective of the programs not being sponsored, these developers still keep on maintaining these software and some of these software have no Ads on them.
I really don't know why this happens, but the fact still remains that the paid or supported software are still more reliable, because you always have somebody at the other end who is ready to tell you what to do when something goes wrong with the product, and the products are being maintained, issues are being fixed. Because no software is perfect, they become perfect with time. That's why you see programs like Microsoft Visual Studio, Adobe Photoshop, CorelDraw, etc. excelling with new versions being released every year. Yes, big companies are behind the programs I listed above, should these big companies not be the one giving out programs for free?, of course they are rich and they should give out the programs free of charge for charity. But have you wondered why it might never happen? You have guessed it! They are in business, if they start giving everything for free, they will run out of fund and there will be little or no money to pay their employees.
If these companies can't give out their programs for free, why should a single person build a whole software that looks similar to the company's product only to give it out for free? Believe it or not, releasing a software to the public is not just where it ends, you have to provide the users of your program a good technical support and you also have to work hard to perfect your product. So why not add a price tag at the initial release of the product or look for someone to sponsor the project. Yes, we have heard people saying "I'm not interested in making profit". That is not true when it comes to software development, you might not be interested in making money profit, but there is just something you look forward to achieving and that thing will always lead to money if you decide to follow its trail. Some people say "software development is my hobby". Tuaaa!, STORY FOR THE gods! How can you be working five hours daily for 6 months just to develop a full program in the name of "It is my hobby"? If software development is your hobby, what is now your profession? Well, if that's the case, you might be having a very terrible career, because your hobby takes more of your time than your profession. Another fact is that most of these programs are not being developed by school kids, they being developed by men.
Here are some advice to some developers:
If you are going to release a free software, make it an open source project so that other developers can download the source and work on it, in that way you can be rest assured that the project will always be supported and updated. Don't just compile and release only the binaries without the source, it will make you work hard for nothing especially when there are many users of the program.
Seek for sponsors or support if you are to develop a very complex and useful software you plan to release for free.
Having witnessed the full life cycle of a software and the headache involved, I know what it takes to make a complete software, So I wrote this post based on my experience. Please tell me what you think in the comment section. Thanks for reading.
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