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Freely available source code, with contributions from thousands of programmers around the world: this is the spirit of the software revolution known as Open Source. Open Source has grabbed the computer industry's attention. Netscape has opened the source code to Mozilla; IBM supports Apache; major database vendors haved ported their products to Linux. As enterprises realize the power of the open-source development model, Open Source is becoming a viable mainstream alternative to commercial software.
Now in Open Sources, leaders of Open Source come together for the first time to discuss the new vision of the software industry they have created. The essays in this volume offer insight into how the Open Source movement works, why it succeeds, and where it is going.
For programmers who have labored on open-source projects, Open Sources is the new gospel: a powerful vision from the movement's spiritual leaders. For businesses integrating open-source software into their enterprise, Open Sources reveals the mysteries of how open development builds better software, and how businesses can leverage freely available software for a competitive business advantage.
The contributors here have been the leaders in the open-source arena:
Brian Behlendorf (Apache)
Kirk McKusick (Berkeley Unix)
Tim O'Reilly (Publisher, O'Reilly & Associates)
Bruce Perens (Debian Project, Open Source Initiative)
Tom Paquin and Jim Hamerly (mozilla.org, Netscape)
Eric Raymond (Open Source Initiative)
Richard Stallman (GNU, Free Software Foundation, Emacs)
Michael Tiemann (Cygnus Solutions)
Linus Torvalds (Linux)
Paul Vixie (Bind)
Larry Wall (Perl)
This book explains why the majority of the Internet's servers use open- source technologies for everything from the operating system to Web serving and email. Key technology products developed with open-source software have overtaken and surpassed the commercial efforts of billion dollar companies like Microsoft and IBM to dominate software markets. Learn the inside story of what led Netscape to decide to release its source code using the open-source mode. Learn how Cygnus Solutions builds the world's best compilers by sharing the source code. Learn why venture capitalists are eagerly watching Red Hat Software, a company that gives its key product -- Linux -- away.
For the first time in print, this book presents the story of the open- source phenomenon told by the people who created this movement.
Open Sources will bring you into the world of free software and show you the revolution.
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It is described as a grass roots revolution. The age of freely available source code for all, developed by thousands of programmers around the world for anyone to access has dawned.
As the editors point out, science is an ultimately Open Source enterprise. Why not computer programs?
For in the end the discovery process must be served by the sharing of information to enable others to go where one cannot.
In this revealing book, 14 of the acknowledged leaders of the Open Source revolution present a reasoned and powerful argument to sustain a new type of software industry powered by people who themselves do not see programming as work but as a satisfying intellectual exercise. It's an attitude which has helped lead to exciting developments now used worldwide--among them the fast growing Linux operating system, Emacs, described as the world's best editor and Perl, now the most popular of all scripting languages.
For the computer user Open Source brings what Bruce Perens of Open Source Initiative describes as a bill of rights--free upgrades when you need them, free switch of software when changing from Mac to PC being among them.
And he highlights the fact that those who don't make their programs Open Source now find it difficult to compete with those who do.
All in all, an intriguing look at revolution that in time will affect every computer user. A thought provoking read. --Stuart Russell
About the Author
Chris DiBona is the cofounder of both Konstrux Technologies, which implements gforge for companies, and her sister company, Damage Studios. He also co-edited the O'Reilly book Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Software Revolution and was an editor at Slashdot.org for some time, where he also ran the polls and can be found on TechTV where he does Linux segments for The ScreenSavers.
I was extremely impressed by the large number of key players in the Free Software revolution that O'Reilly brought together for this book.
Not only can newcomers use the text to better understand Free Software but even relative veterans are provided with food for thought particularly in relation to development processes and how to make a commercial success of Free Software.
It also provides some interesting insights into why software like Apache, Perl and GNU/Linux are designed the way they are - from their creators' own words.
The two reasons it gets only 4 stars are: a) Silly spelling errors e.g. "weather" when it should have been "whether" b) A major bias towards the Open Source terminology instead of Free Software though they do fairly discuss why this is done (not that I totally agree with them).
A useful and interesting book that may well become the key record of what happened in the past 20 years to culminate in proprietry software becoming so uncool.
A little difficult to get into at first, but once I was half way through I was hooked. The essay on unicode was a little random, but otherwise a fantastic book and an absolute must for anyone studying Computer Science and/or interested in Open Source computing, it's history and where it's going.
If you're interested in any way about the birth of much of the software and applications that are in use today, and haven't been brainwashed into thinking that all computers must run on Micro$oft software then this book is a must read, and a bargain as well !
