In the 1960s, making software was very hard. Many projects took a long time, cost too much money, and didn’t work right. People called this the "software crisis." To fix these problems, they created software engineering. Software engineering is a careful way to plan and make software. It helps make sure the software is finished on time, does not cost too much, and works well.
Agile methods and the Waterfall model are two ways to create software.
Waterfall model: This method follows steps one after another. First, you plan, then design, next build, then test,
and finally release the software. Each step must be finished before the next begins.
Agile methods: This approach is more flexible. Work is done in small parts called sprints.
Teams can change and improve the software as they go, making it easier to adapt to new ideas and needs.
The main difference is that Waterfall is a straight path with fixed steps, while Agile is flexible and allows changes during the process.
Think of Netflix like a team that practices for emergencies. Sometimes, they turn off some of their computers on purpose, just to see if everything still works. This is like doing a fire drill to make sure everyone knows what to do if something goes wrong. By doing these tests, Netflix can find and fix problems before we notice them. So, we can keep enjoying our favorite shows without any interruptions.
Open-source software is software that anyone can see, use, and change for free. Big companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon help with open-source software to share ideas and improve the software for everyone. By contributing, these companies can also use these tools in their own products and support the community of developers.
Maintaining software can end up costing more than making it in the first place because it needs regular updates and fixes. If the software wasn’t built carefully from the start, fixing problems later can be hard and take more time. This is called technical debt. It’s like building a house quickly by skipping some steps. Later, you have to spend more money and effort to fix those shortcuts. So, technical debt makes keeping the software working properly more expensive.
Geeks For Geeks