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Open Source

What Is Open Source Licensing?

 

Open source licensing is a kind of license given for software and other products and it allows that the source code or design can be put to use or altered or modified under the stipulated terms. The user thereby gets permission to review or modify the source code or design for their needs. The open sourced licensed software is mostly provided free of cost but that is not necessary always.  Sometimes there may be restrictions like preserving the author or creator’s name, etc. The criteria of open source licensing lays out that the source code must be made readily available and it can be modified or shared as well. 

 

Many commercial software solutions use popular open source components like the International Components for Unicode, ICU, or Hibernate. Not conforming to the terms of license can have serious implications. Therefore in order to stay away from such consequences, vendors are required to practice licensing policy guidelines laid down in open source. The vendor should examine the software for any open source components and find out which license terms are applicable for it.   

 

For most software developers, all about understanding open source licenses and the inferences associated with using them can become a overwhelming task. The five most common open source licenses are BSD, MIT, LGPL, Apache and GPL. Each license is not only very different in the language but also when it comes to source code distribution requirements and their credits. The MIT and BSD are the earliest of open source licenses and are most widely used. Along with Apache they are preferred for licensing open source projects. Some of the licenses are liberal namely MIT, BSD and Apache. These do not require much. It allows the developers attribute original license portions in their own code. They allow that code to be used in proprietary software and do not require the open source versions of the code to be distributed.

The license obligation imposed by GPL license is similar to that of BSD. However, there is one big difference. It is copyleft license under which the derived work can be distributed under the same license terms. It means that if any work created has a portion that is previously under GPL licensed software, then it has to be added under GPL license. This is done to facilitate an open access of the code for facilitating any future development in the source code. Since GPL is the most widely used open source license, its continual viral nature can be hindering for commercial developers. It is the most widely used of all the open source licenses. Therefore it will permit the passage of those programs which themselves are under the GPL-compatible licenses.  

The license under LGPL allows the developers to use and incorporate LGPL software into their own software without releasing their own source code. This license was developed to combat the extreme strict terms of GPL and liberal terms of BSD-like licenses. One can link the software programs to libraries that are licensed by LGPL licensed, and therefore there is no separate licensing required for open source based programs. However once this license is created, then there is no choice but to use the LGPL license. LGPL licenses are generally used for software libraries, not programs; the most popular exceptions are Open Office and Mozilla.

Open Source by far has been the most innovative method of developing software. Many of you already know the concept of open source and what it is all about. Speaking in general terms open source software or program makes available the source code to its users for modifications and further developments. It is not under the control of any single company or few programmers. Any user with IT expertise or a qualified software developer can easily access these and alter them according to his wishes. 

Advantages of Open Source:

When it comes to talking about its advantages there are several. The users are the ones who stand to gain the most from open source software. Firstly, it is quite reliable. When software is released it can have some flaws in its designs or it may encounter bug problems. An open source software program is available to thousands of users who can fix the problems in a jiffy. Once the problem is fixed it is available for free to all in a renewed fashion. So, you can see that the fixation of bugs and other problems will be done much faster under this model than in a controlled environment.

 

Another advantage is that the users or programmers who use the open source software can modify or alter or enhance the source code according to their liking and this leads to more development. Any major alteration with the code is also allowed. This contributes as better innovation and the cycle continues on. Better and improved versions of the program will be made available in the market for the benefit of the other users. The initial acquirement is what you will have to pay for and that’s it. There is no need to keep on buying the improved versions. Just download whatever version you desire from the internet and it’s all free. 

 

Another thing is that there is no need to worry about the licensing issues or royalties. With licensed programs it becomes extremely difficult for the users as they are kept out from using it. Companies who patent their software make it necessary for the users to buy their product otherwise they cannot use it. Standard licenses and copyrights are the biggest obstacles in the path to innovation. With open source model there is no need to worry about that as it gives free access to each and all.  The open source project has one main goal- creating unique and innovative solutions which are not prone to weaknesses.

 

 Lastly, the main advantage is the reduced cost factor. There are several applications and software available which you can easily acquire without incurring any cost. Joomla, Linux, Mozilla Firefox, are some of the finest examples of applications and software available in the open source model. Without spending a dime you get access to the best.

 

Open source has thrown open the doors of competition and innovation today. Its  a fact that no one can survive this world without evolving and innovating. This model ensures that the important cycle of innovation is carried on and the best services are provided to all the users.

 

Latest Happenings In the Field Of Open Source:

There has been much stuff happening in the open source world with several things taking place. A year ago a hardware engineer Andrew Huang announced that he was trying to build a laptop which is entirely made up of open source elements. Well it seems that he is making some headway but the quest is far from completion. Of course this is a very challenging task at his hands and he is trying to make most of the available resources. The machine he is working on is not any normal device the entire machine is open in its design. The laptop named Novena by him has open components His idea to prioritize the open design has some difficulties –compromising on performance. He is still working on the laptop and time will tell whether it will be a success or not.

 

Another great happening for the open source world when it was announced that world’s first open source satellite will be launched in the month of August, 2013. Well the wishes of getting access to satellites will be answered shortly. A San Francisco based company NanoSatisfi will launch the satellite named CubeSats into space. This is definitely one of the biggest moments of open source world.

 

Google had conducted a Web Lab Exhibition in London’s Science Museum, now it has decided to open source two of its highly popular experiments. To accomplish this task Google has teamed up with a research and design company Tellart. Being open sourced means that you can use their projects and modify it with your own ideas and designs.

 

The propagation of cloud projects featuring open-source such as OpenStack, CloudStack, and there by its continual featuring in the code based platforms. It shows that the enterprises need to realize how the cloud based environment can impact the license compliance of open-source. In the pre-cloud era, freedom of software by open-source licenses was restricted by regulating their distribution. However, it is no longer a case as cloud now has the software as a part of the services offered hence there are no licensing obligations that apply anymore. Enter AGPL which has been developed for restricting open source licenses in the cloud based platform. All these developments require the organizations to start auditing and updating their policies and procedure to minimize any infringement risks. The Open Source movement was challenged by cloud-based SaaS model. Although this model offers immense opportunities it also raises new risks for organizations in relation to intellectual property infringement. The model was posing a threat to open source world’s main aim of maintaining software freedom. They retaliated with Affero GPLv3(AGPLv3).

 

Although it is a topic of intense discussion that open source is no longer innovating and that the concept is dying out slowly. Well, it is not right to conclude that it is not a favorable model anymore especially when new innovations are taking place. Some may still advocate for propriety but the bottom line is that open source model has given much to the technological world.

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