Open Source
What is Open Source software?
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
What is Open Source?
So what does that mean?
“…software that is collectively developed
by a community of technologists with an
interest in a particular application or tool
and then distributed at no cost to the
broader community of individuals who can
find a use for it…”
What is Open Source? Really?
Free to use
Free to change
Free to distribute
An alternative to commercial software
Open Source Alternatives to
Microsoft Office
Open Office (Windows, Linux)
http://www.openoffice.org/
Neo Office (Mac)
http://www.neooffice.org/
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.
Five of the most popular licenses are:
MIT License
GNU(Gnu’s Not Unix) 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 restrictive
Advantages of OSS
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.
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.
NEED FOR OPEN SOURCE
Since the initial cost is zero or negligible, developers can utilize the codebase
and build their own applications. This can save them a lot of money and time.
As open source projects are accessible to everyone, they benefit from
continuous
improvement by developers around the world.
Developers build open source based on the principle of flexibility. The license
for the project allows developers to modify the source code conveniently.
Software that is proprietary has limitations and may not allow for any
modifications.
Finding and patching vulnerabilities are much quicker and more efficient in
OSS.
Open source projects emphasize community, collaboration and transparency
for the mutual benefit of the users and the platform.
Applications of Open Source
Software
LibreOffice: LibreOffice is a free and open source software suite that
supports applications such as word processing, spreadsheets,
PowerPoint, flow charts and databases.
GIMP: With GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) you can
manipulate and edit images, create free-form drawings, transcode
images between different file formats and perform other similar tasks.
jQuery: jQuery is a fast, concise JavaScript library that simplifies
navigation through HTML documents, handling of events, implementing
animations and building responsive websites and apps.
WordPress: WordPress is an open source content management
system with customised themes, plug-ins and accessible features. The
plug-in architecture provides a system for supporting bundles that
enhance program functionality.
Applications contd…
Linux operating system: Linux is one of the most widely adopted
operating systems in the
world. Numerous supercomputers, mainframes and servers run Linux.
VLC media player: VLC is an open source media player and streaming
server. It can run on a variety of platforms and operating systems.
Apache web server application: Apache is a free and open source
web server platform. Using the server, you can store and process data,
process requests and serve web assets in an easily accessible format.
Mozilla Firefox: Firefox is an open source web browser that displays
web pages by utilising the Gecko rendering engine, another open
source program.
Other Open Source Software
Operating System
Linux
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux#GNU.2FLinux
Web Browser and Email
Mozilla –- http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/
Firefox and Thunderbird
Digital Collections Management
DSpace - http://www.dspace.org/
Greenstone - http://www.greenstone.org/
Blogs and
Content Management Systems
WordPress - http://wordpress.org/download/
Joomla - http://www.joomla.org/download.html
Plone - http://plone.org/products/plone
ModX - http://modxcms.com/
Drupal - http://drupal.org/project/drupal
(Look for add-ons to download at SourceForge.)
Open Source Public Workstations
in Libraries
Open Sense http://open-sense.com/
Useful http://www2.userful.com/
Is Prince Memorial still using Userful?
Search for Open Source and Free
Software
SourceForge http://sourceforge.net/
Portal:Free software
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Free_softw
are
Questions?
