Linux & Open Source have had far reaching effects in technology today. Often it is misunderstood and this article hopes to clarify what they are and are not. This should be used as a general reference on Open Source and the actual open source license for a specific object should be checked.
  While often the terms "Linux" and "Open Source" are used interchangeably they are in reality two entirely different things. Linux is an Operating System (Windows, Netware, UNIX, etc.) that was written from the ground up. It was developed from both public and private input but its code falls under a type of open source license. There are many applications that are open source. Currently over 75,000 open source applications! Open Office and the Mozilla Firefox web browser are only two that both fall under the Open Source license. Open Source applications also include CRM, database, games, groupware and just about anything else you can think of.
  Open Source pertains to the point of original distribution forward. In other words, once originally developed and distributed as under the Open Source license, all other rules apply. This includes the ability for others to modify and further develop the code although any new distribution requires Open Source rules be met such as including the "new" source code.
  In recent magazine articles the main benefit made on using Open Source has been cost. While this can be a factor in choosing open source many other benefits exist. This includes the ability to modify software for your specific requirements; often security patches and updates are available immediately; in-house programmers can develop increased security; a pool of developers (in the project) to share costs for improving software and many others. Support is often given as a concern. Many organizations report better support. This is because of two main reasons. Usually you can interact with the actual developers for resolving issues instead of speaking with a "support" person only looking through a database of known issues. Second the Open Source community works to share information either on official sites (such as apache.org for the apache http server) or on discussion boards that cover topics related to them. There is no "Patch Tuesday" in the open source world. Off-line/On-site support is made today by many VAR's & system integrators as the growth in use of many open source applications. There are also a number of support organizations that provide training & integration assistance specifically with open source applications.

  Open Source includes the following license terms:
1) The license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away the software as a component of an aggregate software distribution containing programs from several different sources. The license shall not require a royalty or other fee for such sale.
2) The program must include source code or have it available elsewhere at little or no cost, and must allow distribution in source code as well as compiled form. It must be the actual source code and not a "modified" version.
3) No restriction can be made on others to modify the object. Others are allowed to distribute under the same terms as the license of the original software.
4) The license may restrict source code from being distributed in modified form only if the license allows the distribution of "patch files" with the source code for the purpose of modifying the program at build time. The license must explicitly permit distribution of software built from modified source code.
5) There can not be any restriction from anyone making use of the program in any way. For example, it may not restrict the program from being used in a business, or from being used for genetic research.
6) The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the program is redistributed without the need for execution of an additional license by those parties.
7) The rights attached to the program must not depend on the program's being part of a particular software distribution. A single component may be removed and placed in another distribution.
8) The license must not insist that all other programs distributed on the same medium must be open source software.

  While this article gives an overview on Open Source, please refer to the included license with any application for specifics pertaining to any software package. Additional and updated Open Source licensing material may be found at opensource.org.

Copyright© 2001 J Rosebrook

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