How/why do all the thousands of packages that are available as open source and enable basically everyone to code and make programs stay free? Everything else in the world is turned into a product to make a profit.
This is similar to the extensive resources available on the internet like StackOverflow where people literally give people answers to their problems for nothing. Like, someone could work for a company and use other peoples work and benefit from it.
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There’s a few reasons.
One is the community aspect of programming. The number of programmers who have themselves been helped out by open-source solutions and programs is astounding. Pretty much every programmer in the past 20 years, regardless of experience, has benefited from StackOverflow (or similar resources). Many of those programmers feel obligated to give back. And this crowdsourcing of solutions makes programming a profession where progress can be made with a quick google search. It advances the profession as a whole which benefits all participants.
Companies also try to encourage this sense of community. For one, it creates more competent programmers overall which is a net benefit in any industry. Crowdsourcing solutions overall saves time and expense, so many companies see supporting this culture as a positive cost saver.
Another reason is portfolio building. Quite a few programmers have expanded their network, displayed their skills, and found lucrative opportunities by creating open source repositories.
Many open-source projects are also improved through crowdsourcing. Other programmers can suggest changes to the main repository or create a fork of their own where they can improve the program, which can create new tools and techniques that save everyone time.
All of this makes programming an accessible profession. The community supports it because it helps themselves. The companies support it because it leads to better and faster results. And it opens up the skillset to new people who keep the cycle going.
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