Nursing Informatics. What is open source software? What is free software? What is the difference...

Nursing Informatics

What is open source software?What is free software?What is the difference between the two?How the two differs from shareware?How the two differs from proprietary

software?

Open Source Software/Free Software

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Everybody who sends email or uses the Web, uses OSS/FS, as majority of the hardware and software that allows the Internet to function (Web servers, File transmission protocol (FTP) servers, mail system) are OSS/FS.

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OSS/FS – The theory

The major philosophies of OSS/FS areFSF PhilosophyOSI (Open source initiative) PhilosophyThe key commonality between FSF and OSI

is that the code is made available to the users by the program. Where FSF and OSI differ is in the restrictions placed on redistributed source code.

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OSS/FS should not be confused with freeware or shareware.

Freeware is software that offered free of charge but without the freedom to modify the source code and redistribute changes.

Shareware is another form of commercial software, which is offered on a “try before you buy” basis.

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Free Software DefinitionFree software is a matter of the user’s freedom

to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software.

Four kinds of freedom for the users of the software:The freedom to run the program for any purposeThe freedom to study on how that program works

and adapt it to your needs.The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help

your neighbor.The freedom to improve the program and release

your improvements to the public so that the whole community benefits.

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Open source doesn't just mean access to the source code. The distribution terms of open-source software must comply with the following criteria :

Free Redistribution Source Code Derived Works Integrity of The Author's Source Code No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor Distribution of License License Must Not Be Specific to a Product License Must Not Restrict Other Software License Must Be Technology-Neutral

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Open Source definitionOpen source is any software that satisfies

the open software initiative (OSI) definition.

Open source initiative has created certification mark “OSI certified”. On order to be OSI certified, the software must be distributed under a license that guarantees the right to read, redistribute, modify and use software freely.

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Choosing OSS/FS or notIts benefits :

OSS/FS has been described as the electronic equivalent of generic drugs.

It can obtained royalty free, it is less expensive to acquire than proprietary alternatives.

Lack of proprietary lock-in, which freeze out innovation.

SecurityReliability/stabilityDeveloping local software capacity.

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Issues in OSS/FS

LicensingCopyright and intellectual propertyTCOSupport and MigrationBusiness modelsSecurity and stability

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TCO – Total Cost of OwnershipIt is the sum of all the expenses directly related to the

ownership and use of a product over a given period of time.

Reasons why OSS/FS is cheaper:OSS/FS costs less to initially acquire because there

are no license fees.Upgrade and maintenance costs are typically far less

due to improved stability and security.OSS/FS can often use older hardware more

efficiently than proprietary systems, yielding smaller hardware costs and sometimes eliminating the need for new hardware

Increasing numbers of case studies using OSS/FS show it to be especially cheaper in server environments.

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Security and Stability

OSS/FS are well known for its stability and reliability, and many anecdotal stories exist of OSS/FS servers functioning for years without requiring maintenance.

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Licensing as defined by Merriam Webster-giving the user of something permission to use it.

Most software comes with some type of licensing commonly known as the End User Licensing Agreement (EULA)

The license may have specific restrictions related to the use, modification, or duplication of the software.

Most licenses also have statements that limit the liability of the software manufacturer toward the user in case of problems that may arise in the use of the software.

Open Source Licensing

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Licensing gives a person the right to use software with restrictions in some cases while copyright is described as the exclusively-granted or owned legal right to publish, reproduce, and/or sell a work

One form of copyright is “copyleft” to distinguish it from commercial copyright terms, works by stating that the software is copyrighted and then adding distribution terms.

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Types of OSS/FS License

GNU GPLGNU LGPLX11 LicenseModified BSD licenseW3C Software Notice and LicenseMySql database licenseApache License, Version 1.0GNU Free Documentation License

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OSS/FS Applications

Operating SystemWeb browserE-mail clientWord processing or integrated office suitePresentation tools

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Operating Systems: GNU/Linux- named in recognition of the GNU Project’s significant contribution, but often just called Linux-contains the Linux kernel at its heart and all the OSS/FS components required to produced full OS functionality- originally the name of the kernel created by Linus Torvalds

OSS/FS Applications

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OSS/FS Applications

kernel – the critical center point of an OS that controls CPU usage, memory management and hardware devices- also mediates communication between the different programs running within the OS

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OSS/FS Applications

Web browser and Server: Apache and MozillaApache – responsible for receiving and fulfilling requests from web browserMozilla – a graphical web browser design for

standards compliance and with a large number of browser features

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OSS/FS Applications

E-mail: Sendmail (E-mail Server)- to deliver user e-mail to its destination

Sendmail began development in 1982 at the University of California, Berkeley as a project to enable e-mail routing between different servers- the market leader in Internet based e-mail system

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OSS/FS ApplicationsWord Processing or Integrated Office Suite: Open

Office (Office Productivity Suite)– an equivalent of Microsoft Office- includes a full-featured word processor, spreadsheet and presentation software

Advantage:It reads most Microsoft Office documents without

problems and will save documents to many formats, including Microsoft Word (but not vice versa)

Impress – an open office that is similar to PowerPoint

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OSS/FS Healthcare Applications

openEHRFreeMEDOpenEMRCare2X

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