Open Source Software and its Relation to osCommerce
E-commerce sites such as osCommerce function through the use and continued success of open source software – in fact, open source software is what makes these sites free. So what exactly is open source software? The purpose of article is to help you better understand what open source software is.
Basically, open source is based on the idea that when people have access to a software’s source code they can change, improve and evolve a piece of software at astonishing speeds – a characteristic that ends up produces really great software that meets the needs of its users.
Open source software is not just free code for website and software. Open source software is “governed” by the Open Source Initiative. According to the website for the Open Source Initiative it must meet several criteria to actually qualify as open source:
First of all open source software must not restrict anyone from selling (or giving away) the software. In other words, it cannot require a royalty or fee. For a product to be open source, it must also provide the source code so that the users can easily evolve the software to fit their needs and any software created with free software must be free as well. Furthermore, open source software distribution cannot discriminate against people or fields.
So, how did this concept begin? Most experts on open source software will agree that the concept of open source software began with the creation of the internet which was created and improved upon by it’s users who continually changed the code to make it work for them.
Then, when computers were first used, programs were often sent as a printed version that had to be entered into the computer line by line. Programmers not only entered the programs onto the computers, they also were able to “play” with the programs and make changes as well as share there ideas with others.
Once computer became more mainstream and people other than programmers began using programs, the need (and desire) for the source code declined. This is when software companies began realizing the economical benefits of keeping their source code for software private. This also began the influx of new and incompatible operating systems which further declined the ability for programmers to share and collaborate with one another. While there are benefits to creating and selling software in this manner, some programmers realized the limits this posed on the usability of the software.
Without keeping the source code open, the users were bound to the limits of the software and were not able to alter it to fit their individual needs. This is what began the development of the GNU Public License operating system for open source software. The premise behind renewing the concept of open source software is that software development would be faster and more efficient in giving people the programs they need and want to use.
Today, open source software is becoming more and more mainstream and is used quite frequently on the internet for websites and browsers.
How does it all relate to osCommerce?
Obvious by its name, osCommerce is based on the concept of open source software. This means that osCommerce is free to use and the community members can feed off of one another to continually develop the code that they use. The store owners don’t simply purchase a software program (such as a shopping cart code) that they need to implement as is. They can design, develop and evolve their store presence to meet their changing needs. The beauty of open source code in a situation such as this is that the members of the community can help one another develop new code on an ongoing basis.
Posted in
Software at August 4th, 2011.
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Obtaining cheap search engine optimization that works!
So you have a website, just like millions of other people; however you want your site to get some traffic! That is understandable, however not always the easiest task. In this tutorial I am going to tell you what I have learned from over a decade of experience in search optimization.
First off, I would recommend some sort of budget for search optimization. Surprisingly you can get some decent search optimization for $100-$200 per month that will help your site long term. You really need to develop a strategy that you will stick with for 6 months to a year to really see some noticeable results. There are several things that play in to search optimization, and I am goign to try to explain ways to get the best, yet cheap search engine optimization services.
Initially, you need to hire someone to perform search engine optimization on your site. This will optimize your pages so that the search engines actually index your site under key terms that you want to rank high under. We have a great tuturial available at http://www.01searchrankings.com
After your site is completely optimized you must focus on getting quality links in to your web site. Quality links from other web sites to your own is what google weighs on heavily when providing credibility to a site so that it can rank high.
Obtaining links can be done in a variety of methods, and we recommend you take a diverse approach. In order to get links to your site, you must first find sites that are willing to exchange links with you. They will usually ask for a link back to them, which is completely fine. We recommend starting the easiest way by using a back link builder tool that helps you find sites that are willing to link to you. Go to http://www.webconfs.com/backlink-builder.php for a great tool. Several other methods to gaining links in to your web site is to write articles (such as this one), post in blogs and other web sites with links to your sites. Make sure you do this without spamming sites, because you will end up getting your links removed.
If you just don’t have the time to manage these services, we recommend you find a good company at a web site such as scriptlance or something of that nature to help you with these services. They usually offer escrow services to protect you from scams and you can see how talented the companies are based on their ratings and the numbers of transactions they have completed.
Lastly, you need to always make sure that you have a steady flow of links coming in. Performing these services once and then stopping will not help in the long run, search engines put algorithms in place to be able to tell if inbound links are sudden bursts or ongoing improvements.
On average, it takes 6 months to a year to notice any results on a brand new web site. There are unfortunately so many different variables that each site is different. Just make sure you find a quality search optimization company to help you with your needs.
Posted in
Tutorials at August 3rd, 2011.
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After Shockwave, Java is the most popular tool for developing free online games. It is a popular programming language which was developed by James Gosling during the 1990s. It is somewhat related to C++ but is much more simple, and is an object oriented language. Java was developed because C++ was considered to be too complex and when using it there were many errors.
C++ also lacked the ability for distributed programming. Gosling and his colleagues wanted to produce a system that could be used on various platforms, from computer to handheld devices. By 1994 Java begin to be used on the internet. They felt that the internet would become interactive, and this would be the perfect environment to use their programming language. They were right. Java has become one of the most well known platforms in use today on the internet.
Many developers of free online games have quickly realized its potential. While Shockwave has replaced Java as the most popular engine used for online games, Java is still the tool of choice among many developers. Java became very popular when Netscape decided to support the program with their browsers. Most people use Java by the "applets" which are supported by their online browsers.
Yahoo has often been credited with heavily using Java to produce online games. Yahoo games is the portion of their website in which players can play games by themselves or against other players. While most of these games are Java applets, others have to be downloaded onto the computer. Reviews are even featured where users can post their thoughts about the quality of the game. Yahoo is one of the most prominent promoters of free online games. Everything from fantasy sports to card games are available.
Despite this, there are some criticisms of the Java programming language. Shockwave has a 3D engine which is much more powerful, and many developers have chose it rather than Java. Others complain that it is not a very pure object oriented programming language. Those who dislike object oriented languages will not design free online games with Java. Programs written in Java may also run slower than programs written in other languages.
Despite these complaints, Java has become one of the most popular languages used for developing independent games. Advances in this language should allow it to produce games which are much higher in quality and graphical detail. Many popular games can be played at the Java website.
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Posted in
Game developing at August 3rd, 2011.
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