foss in civil engineering
DESCRIPTION
FOSS in Civil Engineering - Presentation at Institution of Civil Engineers, Madrid by Xosé Manuel Carreira (Civil Engineer)TRANSCRIPT
1
What you should know about Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) as a civil
engineer in 10 slides
Xosé Manuel Carreira Rodríguezhttp://es.linkedin.com/in/carreira
1st December, 2011
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What is Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)?
• FOSS: software licensed to users with these freedoms:
• to run the program for any purpose,
• to study and modify the code, and
• to freely redistribute copies of either the original or modified program without royalties.
• Original term: “Free software” (confused with no-price) . Free as a bird, not free beer.
• Antonyms: proprietary software, closed software
• Not non-commercial; FOSS is almost always commercial
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Why would civil engineers use or create FOSS?Reasons follow from the definition
• Can evaluate in detail, lowering risk
• Can see if meets needs (security, etc.)
• Aids longevity of records,
• Gives transparency to calculations.
• Can copy repeatedly at no additional charge
• Support usually have per-use charges.
• Can share development costs with other users: no need to pay beta-testers.
• Can modify for special needs
• Even if you’re the only one who needs the modification
• Control own destiny: Freedom from vendor lock-in, vendor abandonment, conflicting vendor goals, etc. Avoids risks of depending on proprietary commercial items
• FOSS is a booming in BRICs.
4
Typical FOSS development model
Developer
Trusted
Developer
• FOSS users typically use software without paying licensing fees.
• FOSS users typically pay for training, consultancy and customisation.
• FOSS users are responsible for paying/developing new improvements and
any evaluations that they need; often cooperate with others to do so.
• Goal: Active development community (like a consortium)
Trusted
Repository
Distributor
User
Source Code →
Bug Reports
Improvements (as source code) and
evaluation results: User as Developer
Development
Community
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Main FOSS companies
IBMUses and develops Apache Web Server and GNU Linux
Sells consultancy for FOSS solutions
HP CompaqReleases hardware and drivers totally compatible with GNU Linux
Oracle SunUses GNU Linux
Supports Java language
Supports MySQL databases
Supports Open Office
Supports the Firefox Mozilla web browser
GoogleRuns under GNU Linux and uses FOSS solutions.
Develops Android and Sketch Up partially as FOSS.
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A basic menu for civil engineering
USACEHEC-RAS and HEC-HMS
EPAEpanet and SWMM
A9Tech and the Open Design AllianceA9CAD, EveryDWG and Open DGN
OtherCalculiX and Elmer
Blender
Map Window GIS
Scilab , OpenOffice and Smathcad
Gimp
GhostView and PDF Creator
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Blender + CalculiX
Blender as modeller and preprocessor
CalculiX as calculation machine
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Map Window GIS + HEC-HMS+HEC-RAS
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MAP Window GIS + Epanet + SWMM
Epanet: Water transportation and distribution
SWMM: Industrial and urban dranage
10
Ubuntu Linux + Open Office + Gimp