You may have heard that much of the world's technology infrastructure runs on Linux, and that free and open source software (FOSS) is crucial to the technology we use every day. But behind the scenes, there are the unsung heroes of FOSS — the ones without whom every system we use would struggle to function. And at the very least, we should know their names.
SQLite – the silent platform that runs under the hood of countless applications
Databases are dry, but extremely important. SQLite is an open source database management system, completely independent and stores all data in a single file. It does not need a server, does not need a complex database management system, but is the most widely used solution in the world.
SQLite is everywhere: from web browsers to messaging apps. According to the homepage, SQLite appears in:
' Every Android device. Every iPhone, iOS, Mac. Every Windows 10 machine. Every Firefox, Chrome, Safari browser. Every version of Skype, iTunes, Dropbox. TurboTax, QuickBooks, PHP, Python, TVs, set-top boxes, car multimedia systems, and millions of other apps. '
Without SQLite, most of the software you use every day would be significantly slower — and many developers wouldn't be able to build their own database solutions.
OpenSSL – the shield that prevents data from leaking on the Internet
OpenSSL is why you see a padlock icon next to a website address. It's the foundation of HTTPS, providing secure logins, data encryption, API protection, and keeping your messages safe.
OpenSSL is so important that whenever a serious vulnerability like Heartbleed appears , the entire technology world immediately raises an alarm. It is one of the most frequently updated and patched FOSS projects. Without OpenSSL, activities like online shopping or banking would be nearly impossible to perform securely.
FFmpeg – makes video and audio 'run smoothly'
Not only famous for its humorous social media accounts, FFmpeg is a powerful video/audio processing toolkit. It can encode, decode, and process all kinds of multimedia formats — the true 'multi-tool' of the media world.
If you use an app to watch or download videos, FFmpeg is almost certainly running silently in the background, making sure that the videos you post to social media play well on all platforms.
Libpng and libjpeg – familiar image processing libraries
Every time you open an image, download an image, view an image on the web, or take a photo with your mobile device, chances are libpng and libjpeg are doing the work behind the scenes.
These two libraries help applications read, write, and process PNG and JPEG images — the two most popular image standards today. While WebP and AVIF are gaining momentum, PNG and JPEG still stand tall thanks to the wide compatibility and popularity of these open source libraries.
As you can see, software development is time-consuming and expensive, so having these building blocks open and free is invaluable. Without them, the tech world would be much more expensive and users would have fewer choices.