open source

The rise of proprietary software (Mid 1970's)

As computers became less expensive and more accessible, non-technical office workers and home users wanted them. In targeting these growing markets, software companies built their business models on control of their source code. Most users don't want or need access to source code, and executives and investors wanted their companies to control key assets (e.g. intellectual property). Companies sold the compiled binary as proprietary software, and kept the source code secret. In other words, they sold the product and kept the process.

Introduction to open source:

To promote the values of free software, Richard Stallman created the GNU General Public License (GPL) and founded the Free Software Foundation (FSF). The GPL is infectious: any software created with free software must also be free software. Stallman calls this "copyleft" because it preserves the rights of the user not the creator.

The GPL is a political manifesto as well as a software license.

The idea of unfettered, infectious software was too radical for most software companies. "The GPL is a political manifesto as well as a software license... This political dialogue has put some people off." (Perens, in Dibona, p. 181) Stallman and the FSF aren't hostile to businesses that "respect the users' freedom." (Stallman, in Dibona, p. 61) But most companies couldn't imagine how to build a business model on free software.

The success of Linux and the growth of the Internet focused more attention on free software. Some proponents redefined a more moderate view to appeal to the business world. This became open source.

The Open Source Definition

The Open Source Definition is used by the open source initiative to determine whether a software license can be considered open source. The definition was based on the Debian Free Software Guidelines, written and adapted primarily by Bruce Perens. Perens did not base his writing on the "four freedoms" of Free Software from the FSF, which were only widely available later

Introduction

Open source doesn't just mean access to the source code. The distribution terms of open-source software must comply with the following criteria:

1. Free Redistribution

The license shall 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 shall not require a 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. Where some form of a product is not distributed with source code, there must be a well-publicized means of obtaining the source code for no more than a reasonable reproduction cost preferably, downloading via the Internet without charge. The source code must be the preferred form in which a programmer would modify the program. Deliberately obfuscated source code is not allowed. Intermediate forms such as the output of a preprocessor or translator are not allowed.

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.

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. The license must explicitly permit distribution of software built from modified source code. The license may require derived works to carry a different name or version number from the original software.

5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups

The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons.

6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor

The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program in a specific field of endeavor. For example, it may not restrict the program from being used in a business, or from being used for genetic research.

7. Distribution of License

The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the program is redistributed without the need for execution of an additional license by those parties.

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. If the program is extracted from that distribution and used or distributed within the terms of the program's license, all parties to whom the program is redistributed should have the same rights as those that are granted in conjunction with the original software distribution.

9. License Must Not Restrict Other Software

The license must not place restrictions on other software that is distributed along with the licensed software. For example, the license must not insist that all other programs distributed on the same medium must be open-source software.

10. License Must Be Technology-Neutral

No provision of the license may be predicated on any individual technology or style of interface.

The current storm (Today)

... "Linux" means different things to different people. Wall Street traders interpret it as a synonym for "cash money," while the Internet hippie views it as the modern-day software equivalent of "make love not war." (Williams, 2000)

Clearly, open source software is reaching the mainstream. The debate is stronger than ever, and the ubiquity of the Internet and publicity of key open source projects has changed the scope. Microsoft and its business allies continue to disparage open source, creating a vivid conflict in marketing, the media, and mindshare. Apple builds their OS X on Darwin, a derivation of open sourceBSD. IBM, Sun, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Oracle, andmany more are investing in open source. National governments are considering policies and legislation promoting open source.

Like a silent storm, open source runs much of the Internet and the Web (especially Web servers and gateways). It's making inroads on servers, desktops, mobile devices, everywhere. While Stallman, Torvalds, Raymond, and others are strongly influential in the future of open source, it has become a global phenomenon with an unclear future and uncertain implications.

Future

     In future open source will be an most developed one.