Open Source: Technology and Policy

by Fadi P. Deek , James A. M. McHugh

• ISBN13: 9780521707411
• ISBN10: 0521707412
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-11-05
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The open source movement is a worldwide effort to promote an open style of software development more aligned with the accepted intellectual style of science than the proprietary modes of invention that have been characteristic of modern business. The idea is to keep the scientific advances created by software development openly available for everyone to use, understand, and improve. The very process of open source creation is highly transparent. This book addresses prominent projects in the open source movement, along with its enabling technologies, social characteristics, legal issues, business venues, and public and educational roles.

Author Biography

Fadi P. Deek is Dean of the College of Science and Liberal Arts and Professor of Information Systems, Information Technology, and Mathematical Sciences at NJIT James A. M. McHugh is currently a tenured Full Professor in the Computer Science Department at NJIT

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Why Open Source	p. 2
Preview	p. 11
Open Source - Internet Applications, Platforms, and Technologies
Open Source Internet Application Projects	p. 21
The WWW and the Apache Web Server	p. 23
The Browsers	p. 37
Fetchmail	p. 50
The Dual License Business Model	p. 61
The P's in LAMP	p. 70
BitTorrent	p. 77
BIND	p. 78
The Open Source Platform	p. 80
Operating Systems	p. 81
Windowing Systems and Desktops	p. 99
GIMP	p. 111
Technologies Underlying Open Source Development	p. 119
Overview of CVS	p. 120
CVS Commands	p. 124
Other Version Control Systems	p. 143
Open Source Software Development Hosting Facilities and Directories	p. 151
Social, Psychological, Legal, and Economic Aspects of Open Source
Demographics, Sociology, and Psychology of Open Source Development	p. 159
Scale of Open Source Development	p. 160
Demographics and Statistical Profile of Participants	p. 162
Motivation of Participants	p. 164
Group Size and Communication	p. 166
Social Psychology and Open Source	p. 168
Cognitive Psychology and Open Source	p. 181
Group Problem Solving and Productivity	p. 190
Process Gains and Losses in Groups	p. 197
The Collaborative Medium	p. 206
Legal Issues in Open Source	p. 222
Copyrights	p. 223
Patents	p. 228
Contracts and Licenses	p. 232
Proprietary Licenses and Trade Secrets	p. 236
OSI - The Open Source Initiative	p. 243
The GPL and Related Issues	p. 250
The Economics of Open Source	p. 265
Standard Economic Effects	p. 266
Open Source Business Models	p. 272
Open Source and Commoditization	p. 281
Economic Motivations for Participation	p. 285
Free Software: The Movement, the Public Sector, and the Future
The GNU Project	p. 297
The GNU Project	p. 297
The Free Software Foundation	p. 302
Open Source in the Public Sector	p. 309
Open Source in Government and Globally	p. 310
Open Source in Education	p. 316
The Future of the Open Source Movement	p. 325
Glossary	p. 336
Subject Index	p. 351
Author Index	p. 366
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