UNIT I

Open source software (OSS) is software that is distributed with its source code, making it
available for use, modification, and distribution with its original rights. Source code is the
part of software that most computer users don’t ever see; it’s the code computer programmers
manipulate to control how a program or application behaves. Programmers who have access
to source code can change a program by adding to it, changing it, or fixing parts of it that
aren’t working properly. OSS typically includes a license that allows programmers to modify
the software to best fit their needs and control how the software can be distributed.

What is the Open Source Initiative?

The Open Source Initiative (OSI) was created to promote and protect open source software
and communities.ii In short, the OSI acts as a central informational and governing repository
of open source software. It provides rules and guidelines for how to use and interact with
OSS, as well as providing code licensing information, support, definitions, and general
community collaboration to help make the use and treatment of open source understandable
and ethical.ii

How does OSS work?

Open source code is usually stored in a public repository and shared publicly. Anyone can
access the repository to use the code independently or contribute improvements to the design
and functionality of the overall project.
OSS usually comes with a distribution license. This license includes terms that define how
developers can use, study, modify, and most importantly, distribute the software. iii According
to the Synopsys Black Duck® KnowledgeBase, five of the most popular licenses are:

 MIT License
 GNU General Public License (GPL) 2.0—this is more restrictive and requires that
copies of modified code are made available for public use
 Apache License 2.0
 GNU General Public License (GPL) 3.0
 BSD License 2.0 (3-clause, New or Revised)—this is less restrictiveiv

When source code is changed, OSS must include what was altered as well as the methods
involved. Depending on the license terms, the software resulting from these modifications
may or may not be required to be made available for free.

What are some examples of OSS?

 GNU/Linux
 Mozilla Firefox
 VLC media player
 SugarCRM
 GIMP
 VNC
  Apache web server
 LibreOffice
 jQuery

What are the differences between open source and closed source software?

Factors Open source Closed source

Price Available for nominal or zero Cost varies based upon the scale of
licensing and usage charges. the software.

Freedom to Completely customizable but it Change requests must be made to the

customize depends on the open source company selling the software. This
license. Requires in-house includes bug fixes, features, and
expertise. enhancements.

User-friendliness Typically less user-friendly, but Typically more user-friendly. As a

it can depend on the goals of for-profit product, adoptability and
the project and those user experience are often key
maintaining it. considerations.

After-sales Some very popular pieces of Dedicated support teams are in place.
support open source software (e.g., The level of service available depends
OSS distributed by Red Hat or on the service-level agreement (SLA).
SUSE) have plenty of support.
Otherwise, users can find help
through user forums and
mailing lists.

Security Source code is open for review The company distributing the
by anyone and everyone. There software (i.e., software owner)
is a widespread theory that guarantees a certain level of support,
more eyes on the code makes it depending on the terms of the SLA.
harder for bugs to survive. Because the source code is closed for
However, security bugs and review, there can be security issues. If
flaws may still exist and pose issues are found, the software
significant risk. distributor is responsible for fixing
them.

Vendor lock-in No vendor lock-in due to the In most cases, large investments are
associated cost. Integration into made in proprietary software.
systems may create technical Switching to a different vendor or to
dependency. an open source solution can be costly.

Stability This will depend on the current Older, market-based solutions are
user base, the parties more stable. New products have
maintaining the software, and similar challenges as open source
the number of years in the products. If a distributor discontinues
market. an application, the customer may be
out of luck.
Popularity Some open source solutions are In some industries, proprietary
very popular and are even software is more popular, especially if
market leaders (e.g., Linux, it has been in the market for many
Apache). years.

Total cost of TCO is lower and upfront due TCO is much higher and depends on
ownership (TCO) to minimal or no usage cost, the size of the user base.
and depends on the level of
maintenance required.

Community The community participating in Closed community.

participation development, review, critique,
and enhancement of the
software is the essence of open
source.

Interoperability This will depend on the level of This will depend on the development
with other open maintenance and goals of the standards.
source software group, but it is typically better
than closed source software.

Tax calculation Difficult due to undefined Definite.

monetary value.

Enhancements or Can be developed by the user if Request must be made to the software
new features needed. owner.

Suitability for OSS might not be technically Most proprietary software goes
production well-designed or tested in a through multiple rounds of testing.
environment large-scale production However, things can still go wrong
environment. when deployed in a production
environment.

Financial The financial industry tends to Financial institutions prefer

institution avoid open source solutions. If proprietary software.
considerations used, a vetting process must
take place.

Warranty No warranty available. Best for companies with security

policies requiring a warranty and
liability indemnity.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of open source software?

Advantages

 Open source software is free.

  Open source is flexible; developers can examine how the code works and freely make
changes to dysfunctional or problematic aspects of the application to better fit their
unique needs.
 Open source is stable; the source code is publicly distributed, so users can depend on
it for their long-term projects since they know that the code’s creators cannot simply
discontinue the project or let it fall into disrepair.
 Open source fosters ingenuity; programmers can use pre-existing code to improve the
software and even come up with their own innovations.
 Open source comes with a built-in community that continuously modifies and
improves the source code.
 Open source provides great learning opportunities for new programmers.v

Disadvantages

 Open source can be harder to use and adopt due to difficulty setting it up and the lack
of friendly user interfaces.
 Open source can pose compatibility issues. When attempting to program proprietary
hardware with OSS, there is often a need for specialized drivers that are typically only
available from the hardware manufacturer.  
 Open source software can pose liability issues. Unlike commercial software, which is
fully controlled by the vendor, open source rarely contains any warranty, liability, or
infringement indemnity protection. This leaves the consumer of the OSS responsible
for maintaining compliance with legal obligations.
 Open source can incur unexpected costs in training users, importing data, and setting
up required hardware.

Open Source Principles.

 Licencees are free to use Open Source Software for any purpose whatsoever.
 Licencees are free to make copies of open source software and to distribute them
without payment of royalties to a licensor.
 Licencees are free to create derivative works of open source software and to distribute
them without payment of royalties to a licensor.
 Licencees are free to access and use the source code of open source software
 Licencees are free toto combine open source and other software.
Open Standard Requirements for software
 The criteria
 No intentional Secrets
 Avalibility
 Patents
 No Agreements
 No OSR-Incomplete Dependencies
Open Sources Successes
 More on server than client side
o More expert users of servers
o Server Operating systems
 Linux
 o Certain Server software
 Web
 Mail
 DNS
o So far less so with other server software
 Database(MySQL rising, less easy to measure)
 Software for technical users
What do you mean by free software?
Free software is software that can be freely used, modified, and redistributed with
only one restriction: any redistributed version of the software must be distributed with the
original terms of free use, modification, and distribution.
The most common is “Open Source Software”, which has since evoloved to refer to a
subtly different sense of freedom. Free software is also known as “Software libre”, “free
libre”, and Open Source software” (“FOSS”), and “free and open source software (FOSS).

o The Freedom to run the program for any purpose

o The Freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs.
o The Freedom to redistribute copies so you help your neighbour.
o The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so
that the whole community get benefits.

Free Software License Providers:

 GNU General Public Licence

 GNU Lesser General PublicLicence
 BSD Licences
 Mozilla Licences
 MIT Licences
 Apache Licence
 The “as-is” Release Model

Public Domain

Public domain comprises the body of knowledge and innovation (especially creative
works such as writing, art, music and inventions) in relation to which no person or other legal
entity can establish or maintain proprietary interests within a particular legal jurisdiction.

Public domain software:

Programs that are uncoprighted because their authors intended to share them with everyone
else are in the public domain. The UNIX community has developed a number of such
programs over the years. Programs in the public domain can be used without restrictions as
components of others programs.

Berkeley Software Distribution

BSD (originally: Berkeley Software Distribution) refers to the particular version of the
UNIX operating system that was developed at and distributed from the University of
California at Berkeley.

What is Free Software Foundation and explain the GNU project?

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a nonprofit organization that promotes the
creation, distribution and amendment of free software programs and applications
without any restriction. FSF was founded by Richard Stallman in 1985 as part of the free
software movement and the earlier GNU Project.

Difference between Free Software and Open Source Software:

S.No. Free Software Open Source Software
1. Software is an important part of people’s Software is just software. There are no
lives. ethics associated directly to it.
2. Software freedom translates to social Ethics are to be associated to the people
freedom. not to the software.
3. Freedom is a value that is more Freedom is not an absolute concept.
important than any economical Freedom should be allowed, not imposed.
advantage.
4. Examples: The Free Software Directory Examples: Prime examples of open-
maintains a large database of free- source products are the Apache HTTP
software packages. Some of the best- Server, the e-commerce platform
known examples include the Linux osCommerce, internet browsers Mozilla
kernel, the BSD and Linux operating Firefox and Chromium (the project where
systems, the GNU Compiler Collection the vast majority of development of the
and C library; the MySQL relational freeware Google Chrome is done) and the
database; the Apache web server; and the full office suite LibreOffice.
Sendmail mail transport agent.