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Brief background about my personal views

• I am a proponent of Open Source– Open Source is no longer just a fringe phenomenon. It is

now part of main stream technology solutions

• I also realize that a lot of times there is a place for commercial products within a project.– A project may have a need that only a commercial product

could fill.

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Open Source Definition

• Free Distribution• Source Code• Derived Works• Integrity of the Author’s Source Code• No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups• No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor• Distribution of License• License Must Not be Specific to a Product• License Must Not Contaminate Other Software• The License must be technology-neutral

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Open Source Definition1

1. Free Distribution “The license may not restrict any party from selling or giving away the

software as a component of an aggregate software distribution containing programs from several different sources. The license may not require royalty or other fee for such sale.”

2. Source Code“The program must include source code, and must allow distribution in

source code as well as compiled form”.

3. Derived Works“The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must allow

them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the original software.” However, there is no requirement that it has to be distributed under the original license.

1. The Open Source Definition Original Draft by Bruce Perens. Copyright 2003 by Open Source Initiative http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition.php

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Open Source Definition Cont.1

4. Integrity of the Author’s Source Code “The license may restrict source code from being distributed in modified

form only if the license allows the distribution of ‘patch files’ with the source code for the purpose of modifying the program at build time.”

5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups

6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor

7. Distribution of License – “The license must be automatic, no signature required.”

1. The Open Source Definition The Open Source Definition Original Draft by Bruce Perens. Copyright 2003 by Open Source Initiative http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition.php

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Open Source Definition Cont.1

8. License Must Not Be Specific to a Product “The rights attached to the program must not depend on the program’s

being part of a particular software distribution.”

9. License Must Not Contaminate Other Software“The license must not place restrictions on other software that is

distributed along with the licensed software.”

10. The License must be technology-neutral “No provision of the license may be predicated on any individual technology or

style of interface.”

1. The Open Source Definition Original Draft by Bruce Perens. Copyright 2003 by Open Source Initiative. http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition.php

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Software similar to but are not Open Source

• Public domain – A software author who chooses to release his or her

software into the public domain surrenders the copyright. Other people can then use the author’s work as they see fit.

• Freeware– Open Source software is also different from

“freeware” software. In freeware, the developer offers a standard license, but does not give access to source code or the right to make derivative works.

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Open Source Licenses

• It is not freeware and it is not public domain

• Three Main License Branches – GNU General Public License (GPL)

• Requires derivate works to also fall under the GPL.

– Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD)• Does not require derivate works to also fall under the BSD

license

– Licenses created by commercial companies that decided to release part of there application as Open Source.

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GNU General Public License (GPL)

• The essence of the GPL is revealed in its preamble: “When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not price.”

• If you distribute copies of such a program, whether free or for a fee, you must give the recipients all the rights you have. You must make sure that they, too, receive and can get the source code.

• Each work that is distributed or published that in whole or in part contains or is derived from the program or any part thereof must be licensed as a whole at no charge to third parties under the terms of the GPL.

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GNU General Public License (GPL)

• There is some ambiguity in the license.

• There has been concern that using any code written under the GPL into another program will require the second program to be licensed under the GPL.

• There are questions whether applications that interface with or run on GPL software may be tainted and fall under the GPL.

• This concern has made some commercial developers wary of using GPL software.

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Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD)

• The BSD License is similar to the GPL, but does not require derivative works to be subject to the same terms as the initial BSD License.

• Under the BSD Licenses, distribution of source code is permitted, but not mandated for derivative works. Programs under the BSD Licenses can be combined with proprietary software.

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Brief example of the difference between GPL and BSD

• Say a developer downloads an email program that is under the GPL and a text editor that is under a BSD license.

• The developer makes changes to both applications. He/she decides to distribute his/her version.

• The text editor can be distribute any way desired, including selling it as a commercial product.

• The email program must be released under the GPL. This means the program must be released as open source and future derivates of this version by anyone else must also be released under the GPL.

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Future Issues

• The Open Source licenses have never been conclusively tested in court.

• Interpretation issues: The loose, community, plain language approach to the Open Source licenses may prove inadequate as specific legal issues arise and lawyers and courts begin to take a closer look at the Open Source licenses.

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Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA)

• The UCITA is a controversial new law related to “computer information” with the expectation that it will be adopted in all 50 states in the United States. UCITA is designed as a gap filler statute that provides default provisions for software licenses in the event there are gaps or silences.

• Critics feel the resulting draft is heavily biased in favor of large software publishers. Opponents say UCITA threatens a host of rights American consumers have always enjoyed.

• Will Open Sources licenses be covered under UCITA?

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Pros of Open Source – projects that are successful

• Peer View• Published Results• Motivated Developers/Community• Community• Iterative Process• Released by Engineers• Low Cost• High Quality• No Vendor lock-in

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Pros - Open Source Development Model

• Peer View– More eyes, fewer bugs.– Only the best code and ideas make it into a final release.

• Published Results– Because the code is available, bugs are fixed quickly.– Many teams can work on different modules

simultaneously.– Enhancements take full advantage of existing code.

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Pros - Open Source Development Model

• Motivated Developers/Community– Developers are highly motivated because they

volunteered themselves to work on something that interests them.

• Community– A community is created, made up of users, co-

debuggers, co-coders. The internet allows an unlimited size to the community. The community offers user support.

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Pros Open - Source Development Model

• Iterative Process– Versions of a project are released in a very short

iterative approach. This allows quick turn around for users’ and co-developers’ feedback.

• Released by Engineers– Stable versions of a project are released when

engineers think the version is ready – instead of rushing to make a non-software related deadline.

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Pros of Open Source - Source Development Model

• Low Cost

• High Quality– Within the Open Source community the number one

motivation to participate in an Open Source project is Prestige. As a result developers are motivated to produce the best possible code they could make.

– Within the Open Source development process, poor code is naturally rejected or replaced by better code. And as the project evolves, the best developers tend to come to the forefront while developers with lesser skills tend drop to the background.

No Vendor lock-in

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Cons of Open Source

• Dead-end Software• Fragmentation• Future Issues• Niche Projects

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Cons of Open Source

• Dead-end software – Open Source projects may fail to gain – or retain – large numbers of coding volunteers, which could lead to a dead project. How does this differ from a company going out of business or deciding to drop support? A least in Open Source the source code is available.

• Fragmentation. Code base may “fork” (be split) into multiple projects), which could lead to incompatible versions. In practice, this rarely happens because developers would rather improve than revolt.

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Cons Cont.

• Future Issues– As discussed earlier

• Niche projects– Niche referring to the fact that an organization or person

wants to create a project that is so specific to their needs that only the creator(s) have interest in the project.

– An Open Source project requires a motivated community. Creating this motivated community for a Niche project will prove difficult

– As a result many times there is a balance between motivated developers and niche projects. In a project one may need to seek a balance between the creator’s goals and something that would attract a community.

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References

• A Primer on Open Source Licensing Legal Issues: Copyright, Copyleft and Copyfuture

– By Dennis M. Kennedy– http://www.denniskennedy.com/opensourcedmk.pdf

• Executive Overview: Linux and Open Source– By Ted Schadler, Charles Rustein, Angela Tseng– http://www.cbi.cgey.com/journal/Issue8/Open_Source.html

• Open Source: Beyond the Fairy Tales– By Richard P. Gabriel, Ron Goldman– http://www.cbi.cgey.com/journal/Issue8/Open_Source.html

• Not quite open source, but closer– By Stig Hackvän– http://www.linuxworld.com/linuxworld/lw-1998-12/lw-12-java.html

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References

• The Open Source Definition– Original Draft by Bruce Perens. Copyright 2003 by Open Source Initiative.

http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition.php

• The Open Source Reader– By Felipe Csaszar – http://www.csaszar.org/interesting/The_Open_Source_Reader.pdf

• The Cathedral and the Bazaar– By Eric S. Raymond

– Page 8 of The Open Source Reader

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References

• Java 2 source code release: More open, but not open source

– By Scott Plamondon– http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-03-1999/jw-03-java2.html

• UCITA– By Ed Foster– http://archive.infoworld.com/ucita/

• For quantitative info on open source vs. proprietary software particularly Linux see

– http://www.dwheeler.com/oss_fs_why.html

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References

• For information about the Open Source Development process, Open Source culture, how to be an effective leader of an Open Source project. See “The Cathedral and the Bazaar” and

• Homesteading the Noosphere– By Eric S. Raymond

– Page 22 of The Open Source Reader

• The Magic Cauldron– By Eric S. Raymond

– Page 37 of The Open Source Reader