Application of Free and Open Source Software

APPLICATION OF FOSS!

FOSS is software that has made its source code open to the public. Software is written using a programming language and the resulting text is called the source code. The source code determines what a program can do. But to be actually used on a computer, the source code has to be translated into object or binary code: one or several files containing a set of ones and zeros that the computer can run. Proprietary, non-free software is distributed only in binary files; the source code is a closely guarded secret and considered valuable intellectual property. FOSS users get both – the binary file to run, and the source code to inspect, modify and recompile into new object code.

FOSS is very common. In fact, most people use it, at least indirectly, every day without realizing. It is a dominant force on the Internet. Indeed, more than half of Internet servers — computers that store websites and make them accessible — run on a FOSS operating system such as GNU/Linux. To “hand out” web pages, 60 per cent of Internet servers use the Apache program. Ninety per cent of the domain name system that enables browsers to find a website by calling its domain name (e.g. www.unctad.org) runs on a FOSS program called BIND. FOSS programs address similar needs and provide functionalities — such as word processing, e-mail or web browsing — similar to those of public domain, freeware, shareware or proprietary programs.

The most accessible example of open source code is the World Wide Web. A web page is displayed in a browser when it reads and interprets the html code for that page. This code is usually contained in an html file received from the computer server hosting the web page. Anyone can inspect the source code of a website by clicking “View > (Page) Source” on the browser menu. This “bare all” nature of web pages enabled the fast adoption and broadest use of the World Wide Web.

Free and Open License:

The Open Source Initiative provides a three-point criterion called the Open Source

Definition:

1. Source code must be distributed with the software or otherwise made available for no more than the cost of distribution;
2. Anyone may redistribute the software for free, without owing royalties or licensing fees to the author;
3. Anyone may modify the software or derive other software from it and then distribute the modified software under the same terms.

FOSS programs are distributed with specific licenses that permit, or even motivate users to inspect, modify and redistribute the source code under the same or similar conditions. Free and Open licenses are designed to prevent or discourage the transformation of FOSS into proprietary software. The reasoning is that if developers choose to distribute a program as free/open source, they may have an interest in keeping it, and any derivations and improvements, free and open as well.

FOSS, just like proprietary software, comes with user licenses and relies on IP (Intellectual Property) regulation for protection and legal remedy. Without IP regulation, FOSS enters the public domain and loses its value, thus rendering development and commercial exploitation difficult, if not impossible. While FOSS generally allows free access, copying and distribution, its licenses restrict or discourage bringing these activities under a proprietary license.

FOSS and Commercial Applications

FOSS has often been misrepresented as non-commercial software created for and by hackers, and therefore it may not have many relevant applications for commercial and business use. In fact, many established Internet business and websites, such as Google.com, Yahoo.com and Amazon.com, use FOSS operating systems or web server software.

The Open Source Initiative was established in order to promote the use of free software in commercial environments.  It chose to employ the term “Open Source Software” instead of “Free Software” in order to avoid the ambiguities of using the term “free” in a commercial or business context.  It argues that the open source development process produces better and more reliable software with obvious advantages in terms of open standards, security, support, bug fixing and future development – all important business considerations.

Selected Examples of FOSS:

FOSS is often used in mission-critical environments. Many industry standard applications are in fact open-source programs. Selected notable open-source programs are discussed below. More complete listings of FOSS software can be found at the UNESCO and UNDP websites.

There are many websites that host FOSS development or catalogue FOSS programs. Among the more popular are sourceforge.net and freshmeat.net.  The open-source web server software Apache (http://www.apache.org /), which sends web pages to the computer of someone accessing a website, has dominated its market segment since 1996 and now has at least twice the market share of its nearest competitor.

GNU/Linux (http://www.gnu.org/ ) has long been popular as an operating system running computers that perform as web servers.  Recent surveys show that GNU/Linux runs 29.6 per cent of web servers. In the last few years it has increasingly penetrated both the high and the low ends of the enterprise market for server operating systems. GNU/Linux runs on Intel/AMD type PCs, while versions for other hardware have been developed as well. To install GNU/Linux, one must have a "distribution". One can buy a CD, download or make a distribution. Linux Online is but just one website with comprehensive information, FAQs and links. However, there are many professional and amateur online resources for GNU/Linux that may be explored and used.

The BSDOS/FreeBSD/NetBSD/OpenBSD (http://www.bsd.org/ ) family of operating systems are UNIX-based, free/open-source operating systems similar to GNU/Linux. Developed at the University of California-Berkeley in the 1970s, BSD is considered one of the most secure and stable operating systems and runs a large percentage of Internet servers. The core of Apple’s Macintosh operating system, Darwin, is based on FreeBSD and has remained in the open- source realm.

GNU was the predecessor of GNU/Linux (http://www.fsf.org/). It is a free version of UNIX tools created by Richard Stallman in 1984. GNU stands for “GNU is Not UNIX”.

Sendmail (http://www.sendmail.org/ ) is a free/open-source programme used for routing approximately 40 per cent of the email that travels over the Internet.

Perl (Practical Extraction and Report Language) is a scripting language freely available for UNIX, MS/DOS, Macintosh, OS/2 and GNU/Linux, among others (http://www.perl.com/ ; http://www.perl.org/ ; http://www.perlfoundation.org/ ). It has powerful text- manipulation functions and is used extensively for programming Web electronic forms, and generally for generating interfaces between systems, databases and users exchanging data on the Internet.

BIND (Berkeley Internet Name Domain) is a free/open-source programme that allows Internet domain names to be entered as text-based names instead of as IP addresses, or series of numbers, thus making it easier for users to reach sites on the Internet. (http://www.isc.org/products/BIND/ )

The Beowulf Project (http://www.beowulf.org/ ) is a method of connecting computers to form a high-performance computer (Beowulf cluster) that approaches "super-computer" performance. Since a Beowulf cluster can be developed from common, off-the-shelf computers utilizing FOSS, a Beowulf cluster "super-computer" can be built at a fraction of the cost of other systems with similar computing capacity.

OpenOffice.org (http://www.openoffice.org/ )is a software suite that provides basic office and administrative automation. An offshoot of Sun Microsystems’ StarOffice, OpenOffice runs on all major operating systems, including MS Windows, as its cross-platform functionality is based on open XML standard file formats.

GNOME and KDE (http://www.gnome.org/ ; http://www.kde.org/ ) are desktop graphic user-interfaces that run on top of GNU/Linux and UNIX, providing user-friendly computing to the non-programmer open-source community.

MySOL and Postgres are database servers. (http://www.mysql.com/ ; http://www.postgresql.org/ )

The Gimp (http://www.gimp.org/ ) is a graphics programme widely distributed with GNU/Linux. A version for the Windows operating system also exists. It is sometimes called "free photoshop".