My latest article over at Free Software Magazine is available. This time, I’m looking at the role of free software in development, both of free and proprietary applications. I discuss the benefits of free software and the pitfalls of proprietary solutions. Here’s an extract of the intro:

Developing software within the free software model can be achieved with all sorts of different tools, but choosing the right tools can make a big difference to the success of your project. Even if you are developing a proprietary solution, there are benefits to using free software tools to achieve it. But what free software tools are available? In this article I’m going to look at the development tools available, from languages and libraries to development environments, as well as examining the issues surrounding the use of free software tools by comparison to their proprietary equivalents.

You can read the full article.