AN OVERVIEW ON FOSS

PRESENTED BY

Chandan Prasad Gupta

gupta.chandan1@gmail.com

What is FOSS?

• Free and Open Source Software

• Software characterised by the following: Used for any purpose Open for study and modification Free redistribution of copies of the original /modified

software Does not discriminate against persons or groups

Is FOSS free?

• Free as in Freedom (Libre) not as in Free Beer

• So much has been said about FOSS and the general impression out there is that the software is Free as in Free Beer.

• Partially true.

• But the real meaning comes from Freedom associated with its use

FOSS Philosophy

What does society need?

• It needs information that is truly available to its citizens---for example,

– programs that people can read, fix, adapt, and improve, not just operate.

– But what software owners typically deliver is a black box that we can't study or change.

FOSS Philosophy

• Society needs to encourage the spirit of voluntary cooperation in its citizens. When software owners tell us that helping our neighbors in a natural way is “piracy”, they pollute our society's civic spirit.

• This is why we say that free software is a matter of freedom, not price.

FOSS Philosophy

• You deserve to be able to cooperate openly and freely with other people who use software.

• You deserve to be able to learn how the software works, and to teach your students with it.

• You deserve to be able to hire your favorite programmer to fix it when it breaks.

• You deserve free software.

Development Model - Bazaar Model

- FOSS development is more like a bazaar (a market place) which grows organically.

- Initial traders come, establish their structures, and begin business. Later traders come and establish their own structures, and the bazaar grows in what appears to be a very chaotic fashion.

- Traders are concerned primarily with building a minimally functional structure so that they can begin trading. Later additions are made as circumstances dictate.

Development Model - Bazaar Model

- Likewise, FOSS development starts off highly unstructured.

- Developers release early minimally functional code to the general public and then modify their programs based on feedback.

- Other developers may come along and modify or build upon the existing code. Over time, an entire operating system and suite of applications develops and evolves continuously.

Advantages of Bazaar Model:-

1. Reduced Duplication efforts: By releasing programs early and granting users the right to modify and redistribute the source code, FOSS developers reuse the work produced by compatriots. Economies of scale are enormous because instead of 5 software developers in 10 companies programming a single software, there is the potential for the combined efforts of 50 developers.

Advantages of Bazaar model

2. Building upon the work of others: With the availability of existing source code to build on, development times are reduced. Many FOSS projects rely on software built by other projects to supply the much needed functionality.

3. Better quality control: “Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow” is a famous quote in the FOSS world. It means that with enough people including qualified developers using the software program, and examining the source code, errors are spotted and fixed faster.

Advantages of Bazaar model

4. Reduced Maintenance Costs: Maintenance of any software program has the potential to exceed the cost of initial purchase if a single organization has to maintain the software. With the FOSS development model, support can come from any one who uses the software on the internet or locally.

Why the Bazaar Model?

This therefore explains why you will not normally find a single place where Linux is “made”. Often times people like asking; “Which company or who makes linux?” The answer lies is in the development model that is followed in the FOSS world. You can hardly find a single building having all the people who work on Linux. It is a global cooperative effort.

Myths and Facts of FOSS

There is no accountability and ownership for FOSS• Myth: FOSS is developed/maintained on a best effort basis by

volunteers. Therefore there is no single party responsible and fully accountable for the software.

• Fact: The mainstream FOSS projects (software) are all run by a tightly knit developer community. There are legally established non-profit foundations or normal businesses supporting the software.

• Fact: It is true that a FOSS project, when it starts off, is sometimes carried out by enthusiasts and volunteers on a best effort basis only. However once it becomes popular enough and is considered mainstream software in use all over the world by many people, a responsible body will step forward (or be created) to take charge of it.

Myths and Facts of FOSS

There is no one to turn to for support of FOSS• Myth: Since FOSS software is not owned by anyone there is no

reliable support for it.

• Fact: While the original software author/owner may or may not offer support, many other sources do. These include the local vendors, communities worldwide and the Internet resources like mailing lists etc

• Fact: Commercial proprietary software users still mainly rely on their local vendor for support. So the key question to ask here if you are the type of user who relies almost exclusively on your vendor for support is whether the local vendor that you deal with can support the FOSS software that you intend to use.

Myths and Facts of FOSS

There is no copyright and licensing for FOSS• Myth: As source code is available freely, there is no copyright and

licensing in FOSS.

• Fact: Almost all the popular and widely used FOSS software are copyrighted. The ownership stays with the author(s) unless they have relinquished their claims to it or transfer the copyright to another party.

• Fact: There are over 30 Open Source Licenses recognised by the Open Source Initiative (OSI). The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has successfully pursued and enforced the General Public License (GPL) on several commercial violators.

FOSS Myths and Realities

Copies of FOSS cannot be sold for money• Myth: FOSS software cannot be charged for a profit.

• Fact: Whether one is allowed to charge for a FOSS software will depend on the license under which it is distributed. The commonly accepted FOSS definition does not specify that one cannot charge for FOSS. The “free” in Free Software refers to “freedom” and not “no charge”!

FOSS Myths and Realities

• FOSS operating platforms are not user-friendly

• Myth: FOSS platforms suffer from their Unix-legacy in that the main user interface is command-line oriented (CLI); so there is a need to remember archaic commands. Something similar to DOS also.

• Fact: This may have been possibly true in the past but all modern FOSS operating platforms support Graphical User Interface (GUI) windows systems and these are very much the default interface. The user has a choice of using either GUI or CLI to run most of the applications where applicable.

FOSS Myths and Realities

•Linux is FOSS

Examples of FOSS:-Mozilla-Linux Operating System- Apache server- Php-Open Office-My Sql- Android... and many more.

We do have a foss community in our collge(not yet official)

• PhilOSS (philomena’s open source software)

• -We are in facebook

• -you can search for group “PhiLOSS” and join

We have some linux geeks to help us in PhilOSS with problems related to

Linux and FOSS

q

• -Lets start using free and open source software

• -Lets enjoy our freedom

• -LETS MAKE IT FOSSIBLE

• -OOPS!! LETS MAKE IT PhilOSSIBLE!!

– Any Questions

»?

• THANK YOU

• SEE YOU AT PhiLOSS in Facebook!!