Open source software is like a natural organism, and its community, an ecosystem.
Recently I just learned how to use git and hop in the sexy github. My research and study heavily based on Python and its open source community. After a period of trial and fails, both exciting and depressing, I believe I have acquired some essential surviving skills and gradually I found the beauty, advantages and also weakness in it, getting used to it and also learn to deal with it.
Then I began to wondering, it feels like a living organism. Yesterday, i found two video of Python Code Swarm Visualization, then I speak to myself, IN FACT IT IS A LIVING ORGANISM.
the features, the classes, like 'DNA' it carried with, spread across the network, through 'branch and pull', self-adapting, through 'push and commit'. each package has its own dependency both environmentally and functionally, plus its popularity and user population. Some of them die out, while some strive. However, same in ecosystem, those who survive not always beautiful.
Well you may argue that there are a quite significant differences between natural organism and artifacts , which is a big interest open thing to me!