Simmi S

Assistant Professor
Simmi S Department Of Computer Science
Kristru Jayanti College,Bangalore
 Content

Unit 1: Open Source Demystified: Introduction

Unit 2: Open Source Operation & Potential Insight

Unit 3: How to join and contribute

Unit 4: Building Career and Competency

Unit 5: Open Source as a Culture

Simmi S
What is open source?
The term open source refers to something people can modify and share because its design is publicly accessible.
The term originated in the context of software development to designate a specific approach to creating computer
programs. Today, however, "open source" designates a broader set of values—what we call "the open source way."
• Open source projects,
• products, or initiatives embrace and celebrate principles of open exchange,
• collaborative participation,
• rapid prototyping,
• transparency, meritocracy,
• community-oriented development.

Simmi S
History of OSS

The idea of making source code freely available originated in 1983 from an ideological movement

informally founded by Richard Stallman, a programmer at MIT. Stallman believed that software

should be accessible to programmers so they could modify it as they wished, with the goal of

understanding it, learning about it, and improving it. Stallman began releasing free code under his own

license, called the GNU Public License. The goal was to bring a completely free software operating

system into existence. This new approach and ideology surrounding software creation took hold and

eventually led to the formation of the Open Source Initiative in 1998.

Simmi S
Simmi S
Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) has a rich history that traces back several decades. The roots of
the FOSS movement can be found in the development of early computing systems and the principles
of sharing software freely. Here are key milestones and events from approximately 30 years ago that
contributed to the foundation of the FOSS movement:

GNU Project (1983):

The GNU Project, initiated by Richard Stallman in 1983, laid the groundwork for the free software
movement. Stallman founded the Free Software Foundation (FSF) to develop a free and open-source
Unix-like operating system called GNU (GNU's Not Unix). The project aimed to create a complete, free,
and compatible Unix-like system.

GNU General Public License (GPL) (1989):

The GNU GPL, released by Richard Stallman in 1989, is a widely used open-source software license. It
ensures that software released under the GPL remains free and open source. The concept of copyleft,
introduced in the GPL, requires derivative works to also be distributed under the same terms.

Simmi S
World Wide Web (WWW) (1989-1991):

The invention of the World Wide Web by Sir Tim Berners-Lee at CERN (European Organization for
Nuclear Research) in 1989 and its subsequent development in the early 1990s played a crucial role in the
spread of FOSS. The web facilitated collaboration, communication, and the sharing of software and
source code.

Linux Kernel (1991):

Linus Torvalds released the Linux kernel in 1991, and he made it available under the GNU GPL. The Linux
kernel, combined with GNU software, formed a complete operating system known as GNU/Linux. This
combination became a popular and powerful alternative to proprietary Unix and operating systems.

Apache HTTP Server (1995):

The Apache HTTP Server, often referred to as Apache, was released in 1995. Apache quickly became the
world's most widely used web server software. It is open source and has played a key role in the growth
of the internet.

Simmi S
Open Source Initiative (OSI) (1998):

The Open Source Initiative, founded in 1998, promotes and certifies open-source software through the
Open Source Definition. OSI defines what constitutes open source and approves licenses that comply
with its principles.

Simmi S
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, 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

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.
Simmi S
Simmi S
 What's the difference between open source software and other types of software?
Other types of software Open source software

Some software has source code that only the Open source software is different. Its authors make its source code available to
person, team, or organization who created it—and others who would like to view that code, copy it, learn from it, alter it, or share
maintains exclusive control over it—can modify. it.
People call this kind of software "proprietary" or
"closed source" software. LibreOffice and the GNU Image Manipulation Program are examples of open
source software.

Only the original authors of proprietary software As they do with proprietary software, users must accept the terms of a license
can legally copy, inspect, and alter that software. when they use open source software—but the legal terms of open source
licenses differ dramatically from those of proprietary licenses.

No permission to use software for any purpose Open source licenses affect the way people can use, study, modify, and
distribute software. In general, open source licenses grant computer users
permission to use open source software for any purpose they wish. Some open
source licenses—what some people call "copyleft" licenses—stipulate that
anyone who releases a modified open source program must also release the
source code for that program alongside it

By design, open source software licenses promote collaboration and sharing

because they permit other people to make modifications to source code and
incorporate those changes into their own projects. They encourage computer
programmers to access, view, and modify open source software whenever they
like, as long as they let others do the same when they share their work.

Simmi S
 Why do people prefer using open source software?
People prefer open source software to proprietary software for a number of reasons, including

Control: Many people prefer open source software because they have more control over that kind of software. They can
examine the code to make sure it's not doing anything they don't want it to do, and they can change parts of it they don't
like. Users who aren't programmers also benefit from open source software, because they can use this software for any
purpose they wish—not merely the way someone else thinks they should.

Training: Other people like open source software because it helps them become better programmers. Because open source
code is publicly accessible, students can easily study it as they learn to make better software. Students can also share their
work with others, inviting comment and critique, as they develop their skills. When people discover mistakes in programs'
source code, they can share those mistakes with others to help them avoid making those same mistakes themselves.

Security: Some people prefer open source software because they consider it more secure and stable than proprietary
software. Because anyone can view and modify open source software, someone might spot and correct errors or omissions
that a program's original authors might have missed. And because so many programmers can work on a piece of open
source software without asking for permission from original authors, they can fix, update, and upgrade open source software
more quickly than they can proprietary software.

Simmi S
Stability: Many users prefer open source software to proprietary software for important, long-term projects. Because

programmers publicly distribute the source code for open source software, users relying on that software for critical

tasks can be sure their tools won't disappear or fall into disrepair if their original creators stop working on them.

Additionally, open source software tends to both incorporate and operate according to open standards.

Community: Open source software often inspires a community of users and developers to form around it. That's not

unique to open source; many popular applications are the subject of meetups and user groups. But in the case of open

source, the community isn't just a fanbase that buys in (emotionally or financially) to an elite user group; it's the

people who produce, test, use, promote, and ultimately affect the software they love.

Simmi S
Some examples of OSS

 GNU/Linux

 Mozilla Firefox

 VLC media player

 SugarCRM

 GIMP

 VNC

 Apache web server

 LibreOffice

 jQuery
Simmi S
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 programmers to 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.

Simmi S
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.

Simmi S
Simmi S