BA471 Open Source Software

• Feller, J. & Fitzgerald, B. (2000/2002) Understanding Open Source Software.
• Raymond, E. (1999) The Cathedral and the Bazaar.
• Fink, M. (2002) The Business and Economics of Linux and Open Source.
• Moody, G. (2002) Rebel Code: Linux and the Open Source Revolution.
• Rosen, L. (2004) Open Source Licensing.
  

 

• Feller & Fitzgerald (2002, p. 12) "Open Source Software is software distributed under the Open Source Definition":
• Free redistribution.
• Source code included.
• Allows modification and derived works. Derivatives must be allowed to follow the OSD.
• Redistribution can only be restricted when patches are offered with the source and the patches follow the OSD.
• No discrimination against persons or groups.
• No discrimination against fields or endeavor.
• All rights attached to the program carry over to its users.
• License is not specific to a product or its distribution.
• License must not infect other software.

• Open software is not necessarily gratis.
• Open software is licensed under a variety of licenses.
• Some examples of well known OSS:
• Linux and FreeBSD OSs.
• Apache HTTP server*.
• MySQL*.
  
• Open Office*.
• Fedora (DL/DAM).
  
• Sendmail*.
• BIND*.
• Mozilla/FireFox*.
• gcc/g++/gdb*.
• X Window*.
• R.
• GIMP*.
• Gnuplot & Grace (formerly ACE/gr and xmgr).
• Programming languages such as Python*, Perl*, TCL/Tk* and PHP*.
• *: OSS that is often bundled with Linux distributions.
  

• Reputation of well-known, well-used OSS:
• Free; i.e., (mostly) gratis, modifiable and distributable.
• Stable.
  
• Lots of peer support.
• Little 'vendor' support (at least, not gratis).
• Fragmented documentation.
• Unpredictable, sketchy release schedules.
• Only easy to install if you (sort of) know what you are doing.
• Apps have limited functionality compared to commercial counterparts (e.g., GIMP, R, Gnuplot or Grace):
• However!!!: OSS apps. are often designed/architected with the OSS world in mind:
• They often contain sophisticated APIs and/or a 4th-generation programming language.
• Default application/package contains only basic/minimum functionality.
• Users themselves extend functionality through the use of the APIs.
• Users make the extensions available to the community.

• Some important players:
• Gurus: 
• Richard Stallman (Free Software Foundation): free software as a right; an ethical principle.
• Eric Raymond (Open Source Initiative): open software as an efficient development methodology (The Cathedral and the Bazaar):
• Treating your users as co-developers is your least-hassle route to rapid code improvement and effective debugging.
  
• Given a large enough beta-tester and co-developer base, almost every problem will be characterized quickly and the fix obvious to someone (Torvalds: Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow.)
• If you treat your beta -testers as if they are your most valuable resource, they will respond by becoming your most valuable resource.
• Provided the development coordinator has a communications medium at least as good at the Internet, and knows how to lead without coercion, many heads are inevitably better than one.

• Free software ≠ Open Software.

• Linus Torvalds (Linux).
• Tim Berners-Lee (the Web).
• Guido van Rossum (Python).
• Larry Wall (Perl).
• John Oosterhout (Tcl).
• Brian Behlendorf (Apache).

• Bazaars:
• SourceForge.
• FreshMeat.
• FSF.
• Etc.

• Why does OSS exist?
• Problem: if most OSS is 'gratis,' how can it exist? Who supplies the goods?
  
• Raymond: Homesteading the Noosphere: gift culture.
• Motivational factors:
• Individual contributors: solve a problem and share the solution with the world:
• Itch --> scratching --> open sourcing.
• Sainthood; ethical motivation.
  
• For the love of programming.
• Recognition & reputation.
• OSS community as a home.
• Business models.
  

• Organizational players/companies:
• Pure Play (examples):
• Red Hat.
• VA Software.
• Cosource.

• Hybrid (examples):
• IBM; e.g., Linux server rentals.
• Netscape; e.g., Mozilla/Firefox.
• Sun Microsystems; e.g., OpenOffice.
• SGI;  e.g., Samba.
• Etc.

• Incidentals:
• Itch --> scratching --> risk minimization through open sourcing.
  

• Some important questions:
• Is OSS sustainable? Are the paybacks worth the investments?
• How are the market leaders (e.g., MacroMedia, Microsoft, IBM, HP) going to react/position themselves?
• If users mostly download the binaries and not the source code, does it matter that it's open? (F&F p. 173).
• If, as people such as Larry McVoy (SCO, Sun) claim, open source is only possible because for-profit/closed-source companies allow their engineers to contribute code, isn't open source killing its supplier? (Moody, p. 314).