About Open Source

 

 Assignment 1

Open Source Software 

 

The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology. Before the term open source became widely adopted, developers and producers used a variety of phrases to describe the concept; open source gained hold with the rise of the Internet, and the attendant need for massive retooling of the computing source code. Opening the source code enabled a self-enhancing diversity of production models, communication paths, and interactive communities. Subsequently, the new phrase "open-source software" was born to describe the environment that the new copyright, licensing, domain, and consumer issues created.

The open-source model includes the concept of concurrent yet different agendas and differing approaches in production, in contrast with more centralized models of development such as those typically used in commercial software companies. A main principle and practice of open-source software development is peer production by bartering and collaboration, with the end-product, source-material, "blueprints," and documentation available at no cost to the public. This is increasingly being applied in other fields of endeavor, such as biotechnology. 

Advantages of open source software

Motivations for using and developing open source software are mixed, ranging from philosophical and ethical reasons to pure practical issues. In this subsection, some of the most widely proposed practical advantages will be introduced. For a discussion on some of the ethical issues (which is not covered in this document), .

Usually, the first perceived advantage of open source models is the fact that open source software is made available gratis or at a low cost. But this characteristic is not exclusive to open source software, and several proprietary software products are made available in similar ways (a prominent case could be Microsoft's Internet Explorer). What really distinguishes open source software from software available without fee is the combination of effects due to the characteristics discussed All of them combined produce a synergistic impact which is the cause of the real advantages of the open source model. Let us provide some more detail on how do these characteristics turn into advantages:

• The availability of the source code and the right to modify it is very important. It enables the unlimited tuning and improvement of a software product. It also makes it possible to port the code to new hardware, to adapt it to changing conditions, and to reach a detailed understanding of how the system works. This is why many experts are reaching the conclusion that to really extend the lifetime of an application, it must be available in source form. In fact, no binary-only application more than 10 years old now survives in unmodified form, while several open source software systems from the 1980s are still in widespread use (although in many cases conveniently adapted to new environments). Source code availability also makes it much easier to isolate bugs, and (for a programmer) to fix them.
• The right to redistribute modifications and improvements to the code, and to reuse other open source code, permits all the advantages due to the modifiability of the software to be shared by large communities. This is usually the point that differentiates open source software licences from ``nearly free'' ones. In substance, the fact that redistribution rights cannot be revoked, and that they are universal, is what attracts a substantial crowd of developers to work around open source software projects.
• The right to use the software in any way. This, combined with redistribution rights, ensures (if the software is useful enough), a large population of users, which helps in turn to build up a market for support and customization of the software, which can only attract more and more developers to work in the project. This in turn helps to improve the quality of the product, and to improve its functionality. Which, once more, will cause more and more users to give the product a try, and probably to use it regularly.

The issue about non-exclusive rights on the software, which has just being mentioned, deserves some more attention. When no one holds exclusive rights on a given code (sometimes mentioned as ``life or death rights''), several traditional problems of the proprietary software model can be overcome:

• There is no one with the power to restrict in a unilateral way how the software is used, even in a retroactive way. Such a power manifests, for instance, when a proprietary software vendor decides not to upgrade some software product for some old platform. In this case, customers can only stick to the old version of the software, or switch to another product. If open source software is used, customers can also fund some development for the desired platform, or look for other vendors to provide the upgrades (of the very same product).
• There is no single entity on which the future of the software depends. This is a very common concern with proprietary software. Let us say that a company uses a software product, and relies on the software manufacturer for upgrades and continued development. If the software manufacturer closes doors, or decides to discontinue development of the product, no one has the right to take the program and continue development on it, effectively killing its usability in the market. This has happened many times, and this problem is amplified by the recent mergers in the software market, that usually lead to ``cannibalization'' of some software product to allow just one or two to get to the market. Open source software effectively protects against this, because if the group or company that originated the code decides to stop development, it is always possible to fund another software group to continue the maintenance and improvement, without legal nor practical limitations.
• No ``black boxes'' are possible. This point is so important that open source is now considered by many experts as one of the necessary conditions for dependable applications. There are several reasons for this importance. One of them is related to the dependability of the services provided by a given software. By having the source code available, it is possible to perform a thorough inspection and verify the correctness of the algorithm and the implementation scheme used. This is also possible in part even with closed source or nearly free licences. The difference lies in the fact that users are allowed to modify everything they find appropriate to suit their needs. A glaring example is the Linux kernel and its ``international patches'', a set of enhancements with legal problems in some countries. These patches include support for encrypted communications, and can be legally used in large parts of the world. The patches have being developed by concerned parties in countries where such a development is allowed, and therefore users in those countries can use those enhancements. With binary only products no inspection is possible, with closed source or nearly free licences inspection is possible, but modifications are forbidden, so the inherent advantage of having source code available is rendered ineffective.
• There is always the possibility of ``forking'', or creating an alternative code base if the current one is in some way perceived as wrongly managed. This is sometimes considered a disadvantage, having to manage not only one code base, but two. A ``fork'' is a subdivision of the code base in two different parts, each managed by a different group. Forks happens for technical or licence reasons, for example because a particular release is made under a non-free licence, the previous one is used as a base for subsequent free releases. Technical motivations are common, because there are sometimes many different way to perform a task, and it is not possible to decide which is better. So if the two camps cannot reach a consensus and the user base is large enough the code splits in two, and both continue development. If the reasons for the split are overcome, usually the two camps agree on a reunification. A recent example is the decision to reunify the compilers gcc and egcs, and to make one of them (egcs) the new base compiler. In other cases a fork is used as a way to coordinate work. An example is the Linux kernel, where two distinct code bases are used, one ``stable'' and one ``experimental''. This way it is possible to introduce new and potentially dangerous technologies without disrupting the stable ones. So, people interested in leading edge technologies can try them, and people that uses the Linux kernel in production environments can count on stable and tested features.

But the main point about forking is that it introduces several levels of competition within the model. For instance, before forking, several programmers can work harder to keep everybody happy integrating as many well-engineered features as possible, to prevent a fork by people whose needs are not addressed. After a fork, both branches tend to compete for the user base with very similar products: only good quality and quick improvement can maintain them in the market.

• No per-copy fees can be asked for modified versions, and anyone can use the current code base to start new projects. Working knowledge can be gathered at a minimal cost. This is what made Internet software systems such an important factor in the new economy: students, and people trying new technologies were able to integrate and adopt them immediately, without the hurdles of commercial or non-disclosure licence agreements. In addition, the right to freely modify them allowed for the incredible expansion in the number of communication protocols and systems, each perfectly tailored to the needs of their users. This is also a reason for the overwhelming success of the Linux kernel, widely employed by students thanks to its near-zero cost, and subsequently used by the same students in the startups originated by them, when they turn into entrepreneurs after leaving University.
• There are fewer conflicting priorities due to marketing pressures. This is a simple consequence of the fact that there is no single commercial entity pushing for precise delivery dates or features that must be supported. Usually open source software is delivered ``when it is ready'', and when the development team feels that its quality is good enough. This means that software usually does not need as many ``service packs'', updates and such, reducing the maintenance cost. Of course this could be turned into disadvantage if a product is indefinitely delayed, or if some feature is missing one release after another. But in this case, the competition between projects may help. If a project starts failing to meet the expectations of its users, it often happens that a new project is forked, using the same code base, to fill this gap. This happens especially if a market exists for some new features, or for better quality versions of the application.

Operating system

An operating system (OS) is software, consisting of programs and data, that runs on computers, manages computer hardware resources, and provides common services for execution of various application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system. Without an operating system, a user cannot run an application program on their computer, unless the application program is self booting.

For hardware functions such as input and output and memory allocation, the operating system acts as an intermediary between application programs and the computer hardware,[1][2] although the application code is usually executed directly by the hardware and will frequently call the OS or be interrupted by it. Operating systems are found on almost any device that contains a computer—from cellular phones and video game consoles to supercomputers and web servers.

Examples of popular modern operating systems are: BSD, Linux, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, and Unix.

Assignment 2

History Open source

History of free and open source software

The concept of open source and the free sharing of technological information existed long before computers. For example, cooking recipes have been shared since the beginning of human culture. Open source can pertain to businesses and to computers, software and technology.

In the early years of automobile development, a group of capital monopolists owned the rights to a 2-cycle gasoline engine patent originally filed by George B. Selden.By controlling this patent, they were able to monopolize the industry and force car manufacturers to adhere to their demands, or risk a lawsuit. In 1911, independent automaker Henry Ford won a challenge to the Selden patent. The result was that the Selden patent became virtually worthless and a new association (which would eventually become the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association) was formed. The new association instituted a cross-licensing agreement among all US auto manufacturers: although each company would develop technology and file patents, these patents were shared openly and without the exchange of money between all the manufacturers. By the time the US entered World War 2, 92 Ford patents and 515 patents from other companies were being shared between these manufacturers, without any exchange of money (or lawsuits).

Very similar to open standards, researchers with access to Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) used a process called Request for Comments to develop telecommunication network protocols. This collaborative process of the 1960s led to the birth of the Internet in 1969.

Early instances of open source and free software include IBM's source releases of its operating systems and other programs in the 1950s and 1960s, and the SHARE user group that formed to facilitate the exchange of software. Open source on the Internet began when the Internet was just a message board, and progressed to more advanced presentation and sharing forms like a Web site. There are now many Web sites, organizations and businesses that promote the open-source sharing of everything from computer code to mechanics of improving a product, technique, or medical advancement.

The label “open source” was adopted by some people in the free software movement at a strategy session held at Palo Alto, California, in reaction to Netscape's January 1998 announcement of a source code release for Navigator. The group of individuals at the session included Christine Peterson who suggested “open source”, Todd Anderson, Larry Augustin, Jon Hall, Sam Ockman, Michael Tiemann and Eric S. Raymond. Over the next week, Raymond and others worked on spreading the word. Linus Torvalds gave an all-important sanction the following day. Phil Hughes offered a pulpit in Linux Journal. Richard Stallman, pioneer of the free software movement, flirted with adopting the term, but changed his mind.Those people who adopted the term used the opportunity before the release of Navigator's source code to free themselves of the ideological and confrontational connotations of the term "free software". Netscape released its source code under the Netscape Public License and later under the Mozilla Public License.

The term was given a big boost at an event organized in April 1998 by technology publisher Tim O'Reilly. Originally titled the “Freeware Summit” and later known as the “Open Source Summit”, The event brought together the leaders of many of the most important free and open-source projects, including Linus Torvalds, Larry Wall, Brian Behlendorf, Eric Allman, Guido van Rossum, Michael Tiemann, Paul Vixie, Jamie Zawinski of Netscape, and Eric Raymond. At that meeting, the confusion caused by the name free software was brought up. Tiemann argued for “sourceware” as a new term, while Raymond argued for “open source.” The assembled developers took a vote, and the winner was announced at a press conference that evening. Five days later, Raymond made the first public call to the free software community to adopt the new term.The Open Source Initiative was formed shortly thereafter.

Starting in the early 2000s, a number of companies began to publish a portion of their source code to claim they were open source, while keeping key parts closed. This led to the development of the now widely used terms free open-source software and commercial open-source software to distinguish between truly open and hybrid forms of open source.

How To Promote And Develop Intrest for other people to use open source software?

 From our opinion the first thing is make sure the open source software can be easy to use and free its mean like a other freeware. the user use this software can modify follow from there creativity . Function for this software must be complicated like other shareware. Complicated doesn't mean the software is difficult to use . The software must be in full edition . The best idea we have to make a best seller or promotion is by make a promotion in a popular freeware website and user can  download free . The packet installation for this software must have toturial for the user. By the way the software must develop not too complicated.

Suggest name of the blog and forum that discuss about Open Source?

http://vanillaforums.org/

http://www.phpbb.com/