1. Daniel Henry January 30, 2002 CS 4900
Open Source Software
Daniel Henry
January 30, 2002
CS 4900

2. Introduction What is Open Source Software (OSS)? OSS Origins
What are some pros/cons of OSS?
What is the Open Source Initiative (OSI)?
What are some popular OSS Packages/Programs?

3. What is Open Source Software?
A method of collective software development in which the source code is distributed with the program files.
Usually free of charge.
Anyone can modify and even redistribute these programs.
Free Software does not mean no cost.

4. OSS Origins The GNU(GNU’S Not UNIX) Project
Eric Raymond’s essay "The Cathedral and the Bazaar“
Inspiration of Netscape to release it’s Navigator source code in 1998.

5. What are some pros of OSS?
Cost! Usually Free!!
New features are implemented quickly.
Bugs are tracked down more effectively.
Most packages are based on widely supported industry standards and protocols.

6. What are some cons of OSS?
No-one to blame when something goes wrong.
Some Open Source projects lack detailed documentation.
Most are hard to use for the “Average Joe”.
Not a vast array of applications available as in Windows based programs.

7. What is the Open Source Initiative?
A watchdog group created to bring OSS into the business world.
List of Licenses:

8. What are some popular OSS Packages/Programs?
Debian GNU/Linux Operating System
FreeBSD Operating System
Apache Http Server
Perl Scripting Language
Sun Microsystems Java Programming Language
PHP Scripting Language
MySQL Database Server
Mozilla Web Browser
And the list is growing!