OPEN SOURCE AND FREE SOFTWARE

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?

Everybody who sends 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.

OSS/FS – The theory The major philosophies of OSS/FS are - FSF Philosophy - OSI (Open source initiative) Philosophy The 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.

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.

Free Software Definition Free 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 purpose The 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.

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

Open Source Definition  Open 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.

Choosing OSS/FS or not Its 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. Security Reliability/stability Developing local software capacity.

Issues in OSS/FS Licensing Copyright and intellectual property TCO Support and Migration Business models Security and stability

TCO – Total Cost of Ownership It 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.

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.

Open Source Licensing 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.

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.

In general, the person who creates a work owns the copyright to it and has the right to allow others to copy it or deny that right. A common misconception is that if a piece of software, or any other product, is made freely available and open to inspection and modification, then the intellectual property rights(IPR) of the originators cannot be protected and the material cannot be subject to copyright.

Types of OSS/FS License GNU GPL GNU LGPL X11 License Modified BSD license W3C Software Notice and License MySql database license Apache License, Version 1.0 GNU Free Documentation License

OSS/FS Applications Operating System Web browser client Word processing or integrated office suite Presentation tools When using a mixture of OSS/FS and proprietary or commercial software, incompatibilities can be uncovered and cause problems whose severity must be assessed.

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 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

Web browser and Server: Apache and Mozilla Apache – responsible for receiving and fulfilling requests from web browser Mozilla – a graphical web browser design for standards compliance and with a large number of browser features

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

Word 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

OSS/FS Healthcare Applications openEHR FreeMED OpenEMR Care2X