To develop and deploy applications quickly, developers often leverage open-source solutions, which are existing solutions available on the web for free or much less expensive than similar commercial products. For example, developers may choose an open-source version of the Linux operating system or one of many open-source database-management systems. Advantages of using open-source solutions include the following:
Reduced licensing costs
Faster time to market
Access to the underlying source code
Community support
Disadvantages of open-source solutions include the following:
Liabilities and warranties
Compatibility issues
Learning curve if the solution is new