COMPUTER HOLIDAY HOMEWORK.TOPIC: OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE V/S

PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE.CREATOR: LAVAN SANTOSH.

CLASS: 9-DROLL NUMBER; 13

 1 History 2 Definitions 3 Non-software use 3.1 Business models 4 Widely used open source products 5 Users should be treated as co-

developers

Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is available in source code form: the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under an open-source license that permits users to study, change, improve and at times also to distribute the software.

Open source software is very often developed in a public, collaborative manner. Open-source software is the most prominent example of open-source development and often compared to (technically defined) user-generated content or (legally defined) open content movements.

A report by the Standish Group states that adoption of open-source software models has resulted in savings of about $60 billion per year to consumers.

The free software movement was launched in 1983. In 1998, a group of individuals advocated that the term free software should be replaced by open source software (OSS) as an expression which is less ambiguous and more comfortable for the corporate world.[4] Software developers may want to publish their software with an open source license, so that anybody may also develop the same software or understand its internal functioning. With open source software, generally anyone is allowed to create modifications of it, port it to new operating systems and processor architectures, share it with others or, in some cases, market it. Scholars Caisson and Ryan have pointed out several policy-based reasons for adoption of open source, in particular, the heightened value proposition from open source (when compared to most proprietary formats) in the following categories:

Security Affordability ion.

Transparency Perpetuity Interoperability Localization. Particularly in the context of local

governments (who make software decisions), Caisson and Ryan argue that "governments have an inherent responsibility and fiduciary duty to taxpayers" which includes the careful analysis of these factors when deciding to purchase proprietary software or implement an open-source opt

The Open Source Initiative's definition is widely recognized as the standard or de facto definition.[citation needed]

The Open Source Initiative (OSI) was formed in February 1998 by Raymond and Preens. With about 20 years of evidence from case histories of closed and open development already provided by the Internet, the OSI continued to present the 'open source' case to commercial businesses. They sought to bring a higher profile to the practical benefits of freely available source code, and wanted to bring major software businesses and other high-tech industries into open source. Preens adapted the Debi an Free Software Guidelines to make The Open Source Definition.[10]

The Open Source Initiative wrote a document called The Open Source Definition and uses it to determine whether it considers a software license open source. The definition was based on the Debi an Free Software Guidelines, written and adapted primarily by Bruce Preens.[11][12] Preens did not base his writing on the "four freedoms" of Free Software from the FSF, which were only widely available later.

The principles of open source have been adapted for many forms of user generated content and technology, including open source hardware.

Supporters of the open content movement advocate some restrictions of use, requirements to share changes, and attribution to other authors of the work.

This “culture” or ideology takes the view that the principles apply more generally to facilitate concurrent input of different agendas, approaches and priorities, in contrast with more centralized models of development such as those typically used in commercial companies.[16]

Advocates of the open source principles often point to Wikipedia as an example, but Wikipedia has in fact often restricted certain types of use or user, and the GFDL license it has historically used makes specific requirements of all users, which technically violates the open source principles.

There are a number of commonly recognized barriers to the adoption of open source software by enterprises. These barriers include the perception that open source licenses are viral, lack of formal support and training, the velocity of change, and a lack of a long term roadmap. The majority of these barriers are risk-related. From the other side, not all proprietary projects disclose exact future plans, not all open source licenses are equally viral and many serious OSS projects (especially operating systems) actually make money from paid support and documentation.

A commonly employed business strategy of commercial open-source software firms is the dual-license Strategy, as demonstrated by Ingres, MySQL, Alfresco, and others.

Open source software (OSS) projects are built and maintained by a network of volunteer programmers. Prime examples of open source products are the Apache HTTP Server, the e-commerce platform ecommerce and the internet browser Mozilla Firefox. One of the most successful open source products is the GNU/Linux operating system, an open source Unix-like operating system, and its derivative Android, an operating system for mobile devices.[17][18] In some fields, open software is the norm, like in voice over IP applications with Asterisk (PBX).

The users are treated like co-developers and so they should have access to the source code of the software. Furthermore users are encouraged to submit additions to the software, code fixes for the software, bug reports, documentation etc. Having more co-developers increases the rate at which the software evolves. Linus's law states, "Given enough eyeballs all bugs are shallow." This means that if many users view the source code, they will eventually find all bugs and suggest how to fix them. Note that some users have advanced programming skills, and furthermore, each user's machine provides an additional testing environment. This new testing environment offers that ability to find and fix a new bug.

Early releases: The first version of the software should be released as

early as possible so as to increase one's chances of finding co-developers early.

Frequent integration: Code changes should be integrated (merged into a shared

code base) as often as possible so as to avoid the overhead of fixing a large number of bugs at the end of the project life cycle. Some open source projects have nightly builds where integration is done automatically on a daily basis.

Several versions: There should be at least two versions of the software.

There should be a buggier version with more features and a more stable version with fewer features. The buggy version (also called the development version) is for users who want the immediate use of the latest features, and are willing to accept the risk of using code that is not yet thoroughly tested. The users can then act as co-developers, reporting bugs and providing bug fixes.

High modularization: The general structure of the software should be modular allowing

for parallel development on independent components. Dynamic decision making structure:

There is a need for a decision making structure, whether formal or informal, that makes strategic decisions depending on changing user requirements and other factors. Cf. Extreme programming.

Data suggests, however, that OSS is not quite as democratic as the bazaar model suggests. An analysis of five billion bytes of free/open source code by 31,999 developers shows that 74% of the code was written by the most active 10% of authors. The average number of authors involved in a project was 5.1, with the median at 2.

A report by the Standish Group states that adoption of open-source software models has resulted in savings of about $60 billion per year to consumers.

1 Software becoming proprietary 2 Legal basis

2.1 Limitations 3 Exclusive rights

3.1Redistribution 3.2 Proprietary APIs 3.3 Software limited to certain hardware configurations

4 Similar terms 5 Examples

Proprietary software is computer software licensed[

citation needed] under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder.[citation needed] The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.[citation needed]

Complementary terms include free software,[citation needed] licensed by the owner under more permissive terms, and public domain software, which is not subject to copyright and can be used for any purpose. Proponents of free and open source software use proprietary or non-free to describe software that is not free or open source.[1][2]

In the software industry, commercial software refers to software produced for sale, which is a related but distinct categorization.

According to Eric S. Raymond, in the Jargon File, "In the language of hackers and users" it is used pejoratively, with the meaning of "inferior" and "a product not conforming to open-systems standards"

Until the late 1960s computers—huge and expensive mainframe machines in specially air-conditioned computer rooms—were usually supplied on a lease rather than purchase basis.[4][5]

 Service and all software available were usually supplied by manufacturers without separate charge until 1969. Software source code was usually provided. Users who developed software often made it available, without charge. Customers who purchased expensive mainframe hardware did not pay separately for software.

In 1969 IBM led an industry change by starting to charge separately for (mainframe) software and services, and ceasing to supply source code.

Most software is covered by copyright which, along with contract law, patents, and trade secrets, provides legal basis for its owner to establish exclusive rights.[7]

A software vendor delineates the specific terms of use in an end-user license agreement (EULA). The user may agree to this contract in writing, interactively, called click wrap licensing, or by opening the box containing the software, called shrink wrap licensing. License agreements are usually not negotiable.[citation needed]

Software patents grant exclusive rights to algorithms, software features, or other patentable subject matter. Laws on software patents vary by jurisdiction and are a matter of ongoing debate. Vendors sometimes grant patent rights to the user in the license agreement.[8] For example, the algorithm for creating, or encoding, MP3s is patented; LAME is an MP3 encoder which is open source but illegal to use without obtaining a license for the algorithm it contains.

Proprietary software vendors usually regard source code as a trade secret.[9]

Free software licenses and open-source licenses use the same legal basis as proprietary software.[10] Free software companies and projects are also joining into patent pools like the Patent Commons and the Open Invention Network.

Limitations: License agreements do not override applicable 

copyright law or contract law. Provisions that conflict may not be enforceable.[citation needed]

Some vendors say that software licensing is not a sale, and that limitations of copyright like the first-sale doctrine do not apply. The EULA for Microsoft Windows states that the software is licensed, not sold.

Exclusive rights: The owner of proprietary software exercises certain 

exclusive rights over the software. The owner can restrict use, inspection of source code, modification of source code, and redistribution.

Vendors typically limit the number of computers on which software can be used, and prohibit the user from installing the software on extra computers.[citation needed] Restricted use is sometimes enforced through a technical measure, such as product activation, a product key or serial number, a hardware key, or copy protection.

Vendors may also distribute versions that remove particular features, or versions which allow only certain fields of endeavor, such as non-commercial, educational, or non-profit use.

Use restrictions vary by license: Windows Vista Starter is restricted to running a maximum of three

concurrent applications. The retail edition of Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 is limited

to non-commercial use on up three devices in one household. Windows XP can be installed on one computer, and limits the

number of network file sharing connections to 10.[12] The Home Edition disables features present in Windows XP Professional.

Many Adobe licenses are limited to one user, but allow the user to install a second copy on a home computer or laptop.[13]

iWork '09, Apple's productivity suite, is available in a five-user family pack, for use on up to five computers in a household.

Proprietary software vendors can prohibit users from sharing the software with others. Another unique license is required for another party to use the software.

In the case of proprietary software with source code available, the vendor may also prohibit customers from distributing their modifications to the source code.

Shareware is closed-source software whose owner encourages redistribution at no cost, but which the user sometimes must pay to use after a trial period. The fee usually allows use by a single user or computer. In some cases, software features are restricted during or after the trial period, a practice sometimes called cripple ware.

A proprietary application programming interface (API) is a software library interface "specific to one device or, more likely to a number of devices within a particular manufacturer's product range."[23] The motivation for using a proprietary API can be vendor lock-in or because standard APIs do not support the device's functionality.[23]

The European Commission, in its March 24, 2004 decision on Microsoft's business practices,[24] quotes, in paragraph 463, Microsoft general manager for C++ development Aaron Contorer as stating in a February 21, 1997 internal Microsoft memo drafted for Bill Gates:

The Windows API is so broad, so deep, and so functional that most ISVs would be crazy not to use it. And it is so deeply embedded in the source code of many Windows apps that there is a huge switching cost to using a different operating system instead.

Early versions of the iPhone SDK were covered by a non-disclosure agreement. The agreement forbade independent developers from discussing the content of the interfaces. Apple discontinued the NDA in October 2008.

Proprietary software may also have licensing terms that limit the usage of that software to a specific set of hardware. Apple has such a licensing model for Mac OS X, an operating system which is limited to Apple hardware, both by licensing and various design decisions. This licensing model has been affirmed by the United States Court of Appeals.

The founder of free software movement, Richard Stallman, sometimes uses the term "user-subjugating software"[40] to describe proprietary software.

Eben Moglen sometimes talks of "unfreeze software".[citation needed]

The term "non-free" is often used by Debi an developers to describe any software whose license does not comply with Debi an Free Software Guidelines, and they use "proprietary software" specifically for non-free software that provides no source code.[citation needed]

The Open Source Initiative uses the terms "proprietary software" and "closed source software" interchangeably.

Well known examples of proprietary software include Microsoft Windows, Adobe Flash Player, PS3 OS, iTunes, Adobe Photoshop, Google Earth, Mac OS X, Skype, WinRAR, and some versions of Unix.

Software distributions considered as proprietary may in fact incorporate a "mixed source" model including both free and non-free software in the same distribution.[43] Most if not all so-called proprietary UNIX distributions are mixed source software, bundling open source components like BIND, Send mail, X Window System, DHCP, and others along with a purely proprietary kernel and system utilities.[44][45]

Some free software packages are also simultaneously available under proprietary terms. Examples include MySQL, Send mail and ssh. The original copyright holders for a work of free software, even copy left free software, can use dual-licensing to allow themselves or others to redistribute proprietary versions. Non-copy left free software (i.e. software distributed under a permissive free software license or released to the public domain) allows anyone to make proprietary redistributions.[46][47] Free software that depends on proprietary software is considered "trapped" by the Free Software Foundation. This includes software written only for Microsoft Windows,[48] or software that could only run on Java, before it became free software.