FOSS ( Free Open Source Software)

Transcription

1 FOSS ( Free Open Source Software) 1

2 Overview Introduction & History of FOSS Why FOSS FOSS Philosophy FOSS Development Methods Benifits of FOSS 2

3 Introduction to FOSS What is Free/Open Source Software? Briefly, OSS/FS programs are programs whose licenses give users the freedom to run the program for any purpose, to study and modify the program, and to redistribute copies of either the original or modified program (without having to pay royalties to previous developers). By David Wheeler Computer Software where the source code of the software made available to all users, for the inspection and possible modification. Freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. Worldwide popular movements Many advantages Source Code open with the software Normally no cost and full freedom 3

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5 History of FOSS The free/open source software movement began in the hacker culture of U.S computer science laboratories ( Stanford, Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, and MIT) in the 1960's and 1970's Momentum with Linux, Linus Torvalds More and more companies and governments endorsing and supporting the movement. Large development/evangelistic community 5

6 Why FOSS Open-source software has been called many things : a movement, a fad, a virus, a communist conspiracy, even the heart and soul of the Internet. But one point is often overlooked: Open-source software is also a highly effective vehicle for the transfer of wealth from the industrialized world to developing countries. By Andrew Leonard 1. No cost 2. Usage normally as on its basis, source not included 6

7 Why FOSS Cont.. Affordability High cost of computing: hardware and software Increasing the outreach difficult Large scale piracy rampant in many places. FOSS reports low Total Cost of Ownership Accessibility Computer usage requires English familiarity A tiny fraction of India meets this requirement Digital Divide Software Localization Adapt software to local language, culture, etc Need access to source code 7

8 Why FOSS Cont.Other Factores More choice to users Ability to leverage local expertise for adaptation and development Jump start to local Industry lower entry barrier No vendor Locking Increased reliability Large distributed community to maintain/develop Can do local changes, if resources available Due to community development Due to transparent sources. 8

9 Degree of Freedom 0 To run the program, for any purpose 1 To study the code and adopt to individual need 2 To redistibute the copies 3 To redistribute my improved versions 9

10 FOSS Philosophy There are two major philosophies in the FOSS world. The Free Software Foundation (FSF) Philosophy The Open Source Initiative (OSI) Philosophy 10

11 FSF Philosophy The freedom to run a program, for any purpose The freedom to study how a program works and adapt it to a person's need. Access to the source code is a precondition for this The freedom to redistribute copies so that you can help your neighbour 11

12 OSI Philosophy The basic Idea behind Open Source is very simple The programmers can Read the source code Redistribute the source code, and Modify the source code for a pieces of software. The People can Improve it Adapt it Fix bugs The all will lead speed up 12

13 Comparision between FS & OS Sr No Features Free Software (FS) Open Source (OS) 01 Philosophical Intelectual freedom Practical freedom 02 General It based on the ethics of software freedom It is based on the pragmatism 03 Definitions The term free software was coined to mean software that came with freedowms that you otherwise would not have had The open source definition, notably, presents an open-source philosophy, and further defines a boundary on the usage, modification and redistribution 04 Word coined by Richard Stallman Eric Raymond 13

14 Is FOSS Free? 1. Free means free of Charge - is certain degree is true. 2. No true FOSS application charges a licencing fee for usage. 3. On a licensing cost basis, FOSS applications are almost always cheaper than proprietary software 4. Licencing cost are not the only costs of a software package or infrastructure. It is also necessary to consider personal costs, hardware requirements, opportunity costs and training costs. 14

15 Importance of FOSS Freedom to learn, redistribute and enhance Prevents single vendor and technology locking Promotion and preservation of open standards Peer review and feedback will lead to : More robust and reliable software Better security and faster bug fixes Promotes environment for positive competition, self learning, exploring and cooperation Benefits developing countries... 15

16 FOSS Development Methods Foss development methods are unique and become possible only with the advent of the Internet and the communication boom caused by it. The Cathedral and bazaar analogies are used to contrast the FOSS development model with traditional software development methods 16

17 Traiditional Method Vice President Director Director Director Manager Manager Engineer Engineer Engineer Engineer Traditional Method shows that a Vice President of Development at the top, with several Directors of Engineering reporting to the VP. Below the Directors are Engineering Managers, and finally the engineers who write the code. Many Organizations use this model, and everyone agrees it is sometimes grossly inefficient. 17

18 Cathedral Method Designer / Architect Engineer Engineer Engineer Engineer Engineer The diagrams explains Cathedral or open source, uses a single designer/ architect at the top, with many engineers reporting directly to the architect. 18

19 Bazaar Method Engineer Engineer Engineer Engineer Engineer Engineer Engineer Engineer Engineer Engineer Engineer Engineer Engineer Engineer Engineer Engineer 19

20 Bazaar Method Diagram In this method all are connected peer-to-peer network of many engineers, all reporting to and coordinating with each other, without central control 20

21 Bazaar method Advantages 1. Reduced Duplication of effort 2. Building upon the work of others 3. Better quality control 4. Reduced Maintenance costs 21

22 Benifits of using FOSS The private/public organizations are adopting FOSS aggressively besides the low cost and those are: 1. Security 2. Reliability / Stability 3. Open standards and vendor independence 4. Reduced reliance on imports 5. Developing local software capacity 6. Piracy, IPR, and WTO 7. Localization 22

23 Security Reasons for FOSS's better security 1. Availability od Source code. 2. Security focus, instead of user-friendliness 3. Roots 23

24 Open standards and Vendor Independence Open standards give users, whether individuals or governments,flexibility and the freedom to change between different software packages, platforms and vendors. Advantage of FOSS is that they almost use open standards due the these two reasons: 1. Availability of the source code. 2. Active Standards compliance. Proprietary, secret standards lock users into using software only from one vendor and leave them at the mercy of the vendor at a later stage, when all their data is in the vendor's proprietary format and the costs of converting them to an open standard is prohibitive 24

25 Developing local Software Capacity There are three reasons been listed by the International Institute of Infonomics for positive correlation between the growth of a FOSS Developer base and the innovative capacities(software) of an economy. 1. Low barriers to entry 2. FOSS as an excellent training System. 3. FOSS as a source of standards. 25

26 Localization Statement from Localisation Industry Standards Associationon Localization: Localization involves taking a product and making it linguistically and culturally appropriate to the target locale ( country/region and language) where it will be used and sold Localization is one of the areas where FOSS dominates because of its open nature. Users are able to modify FOSS to suit the unique requirements of a particular cultural region, regardless of economic size. All that is necessary is the technical capability within a small number of individuals to creates a minimally localized version of any FOSS. While the construction of a completely localized software platform is no small feat, it is at least possible. 26

27 Open Source Software Operating System : GNU/Linux, FreeBSD Office Suite : Open office, Star Office, Easy Office Evolution, Thunderbird Browser : Firefox, Conqueror, Galeon Database : MySQL, PostgreSQL,DB2 Ecommerce : Library management, Multimedia, content Development, etc Software available for a wide range of 27

28 Open Source Definition Open source doesn't just mean acces to the source code. The distribution terms of opensource software must comply with the following criteria: 1.Free Redistribution 2. Source Code 3. Derived Works 4. Integrity of The Author's Source Code 5. No, Discrimination Against Persons or Groups 6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor 28

29 Linux Linux 'Commercial' Versions available from many vendors : Redhat, suse, Mandrake, Gentoo, Knoppix, etc. A wide range of Softwares and Tools Available The Comparable GUI with Windows available GNOME, KDE, etc 29

30 Open standards Standards which are not owned by a single Agencies. Which applies to Documents standard mostly Media files ( Audio, Video, Images, etc..) Databases Web Content, etc... FOSS Development by nature, follows open Adopt Open standard whereever possible Reduce dependencies on single vendors 30

31 Linux Distributions BOSS Suse Mandriva Knoppix Debian Ubuntu Redhat/Fedora...Etc... 31

32 KDE (*) Gnome(*) Xfce ICEWm Fluxbase Enlightenment Ratpoison EvilWm Desktops 32

33 Wikipedias * Referrences al_introduction/ manage_themselves.php 33