Open Source : 1 Open Source
Open Source Definition : 2 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
Software similar to but are not Open Source : 3 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.
Open Source Licenses : 4 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.
Future Issues : 5 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.
Pros of Open Source – projects that are successful : 6 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
Cons of Open Source : 7 Cons of Open Source Dead-end Software
Fragmentation
Future Issues
Niche Projects
Take Home Message: : 8 Take Home Message: Before embarking on use of open source products:
Educate your staff about the difference between proprietary, open source, and freeware software;
Educate yourself about the legal, business and technical risks involved in using open source software, and balance them in making a business decision as to what kind of software to use.
Procure for best value, taking into account the risks and benefits of using proprietary vs. open source software along with other business and technical best value criteria
References : 9 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
References : 10 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
References : 11 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