Lecture 2011.05A - FOSS Fundamentals (Digital Sustainability)
-
Upload
marcus-dapp -
Category
Entertainment & Humor
-
view
356 -
download
0
description
Transcript of Lecture 2011.05A - FOSS Fundamentals (Digital Sustainability)
Digital Sustainabilityin the Knowledge Society
Fundamentals of Free/Open Source Software (FOSS)
Dr. Marcus M. DappBoard OKF Germany / IT Strategist, City Government Munich
24.10.2011
Visited 25.10.10
Example for »Framing«Before we start...
Famous People in the software world
Founder Microsoft Corp.Richest person on earth,Windows®, Office®, etc.
Founder GNU project andFree Software Foundation,
GNU General Public License
Founder Linux kernel pj.Owner of Linux trade mark
William “Bill” Gates III Richard M. Stallman Linus Torvalds
Famous people's views on software
Bill Gates Richard Stallman Linus Torvalds
Person business man activist, philosopher engineer, pragmatic
Framework market society technology
Software = product/service commons tool (?)
Name for SW proprietary free sw open source sw
Goal = profit freedom just hobby (?)
Attention please: Now comes theONLY technical slide in this lecture.
source code
What developers do – software engineering
object code Compiler
Craft of implementing one or more interrelated abstract algorithms using a particularprogramming language to produce a concrete computer program. Programming has elements of art, science, mathematics, and engineering. [WP]
There are exceptions...
Bill’s World: Proprietary Software »PCSS«
object codeobject codecompilersource codesource code
Full control over code → »closed source«
• Limited right to use• no modification• no copies
Accessible for manufacturer only Accessible for user
• Defined in an End User License Agreement (EULA)• Business models’ are based on royalties/license fees
WP: proprietary software; EULA
Richard’s World: Free Software »F(L)OSS«
object codeobject codeCompilersource codesource code
Accessible for everybody
Full control over code• Right to Use• Right to Read*• Right to Modify*• Right to Distribute
Full access to source code*(Linus' World: »open source«)
Full definitions: www.fsf.org, www.opensource.org
• Many different licenses, e.g. GNU General Public License (GPL)• Business models are not based on license fees.
GNU General Public License (GPL)
• »Freedom not price«, »Libre«• Reference license, most widely used• »Copyleft«
• Changes again under GPL• »Sharealike«
• »Viral«• Combining puts whole
program under GPL. Prop. SW
GPL
GPL and »anticommons«
• »copyleft« protects anticommons• Forbids right to exlude (appropriation),
ensures privilege of use for all
• »virality« enlarges anticommons• Combinations with other software stay
free
→ Dispute on en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyleft
Software license »landscape«
PCSS (ARCHETYPE) SHAREWARE FREEWARELicense fee Try first, pay later No license fee / gratis
Examples {Adobe, MS}
(MS “Shared Source”)
FOSS Mozillatype BSDtype»permissive«
4 freedoms yes yes yesyes yes no
»viral« yes no noLicenses GPL v2, v3 MPL *BSD, APLExamples Linux kernel Firefox Apache, (Free)BSD
Public domain (no copyright)
{FreePDF} {Skype, AReader}
GPLtype
»copyleft«
CCBYSA, Dr. Marcus M. Dapp, 20082011
FOSS phenomenon raises several questions
• Giving valuable software, which could be sold, away for free.
• Questions:• Why are they doing it?• Who are „they“?• How are they organized?• Implications for other digital goods?• …
More about the FOSS phenomenon
• First Monday: Special issue on FOSS• http://firstmonday.org/issues/special10_10/
• Research Policy: Special issue on open source software development
• http://econpapers.repec.org/article/eeerespol/default32.htm