Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution

by Chris DiBona, Sam Ockman

Overview

Freely available source code, with contributions from thousands of programmers around the world: this is the spirit of the software revolution known as Open Source. Open Source has grabbed the computer industry's attention. Netscape has opened the source code to Mozilla; IBM supports Apache; major database vendors haved ported their products to Linux. As enterprises realize the power of the open-source development model, Open Source is becoming a viable mainstream alternative to commercial software.Now in Open Sources, leaders of Open Source come together for the first time to discuss the new vision of the software industry they have created. The essays in this volume offer insight into how the Open Source movement works, why it succeeds, and where it is going.For programmers who have labored on open-source projects, Open Sources is the new gospel: a powerful vision from the movement's spiritual leaders. For businesses integrating open-source software into their enterprise, Open Sources reveals the mysteries of how open development builds better software, and how businesses can leverage freely available software for a competitive business advantage.The contributors here have been the leaders in the open-source arena:

• Brian Behlendorf (Apache)
• Kirk McKusick (Berkeley Unix)
• Tim O'Reilly (Publisher, O'Reilly & Associates)
• Bruce Perens (Debian Project, Open Source Initiative)
• Tom Paquin and Jim Hamerly (mozilla.org, Netscape)
• Eric Raymond (Open Source Initiative)
• Richard Stallman (GNU, Free Software Foundation, Emacs)
• Michael Tiemann (Cygnus Solutions)
• Linus Torvalds (Linux)
• Paul Vixie (Bind)
• Larry Wall (Perl)

This book explains why the majority of the Internet's servers use open- source technologies for everything from the operating system to Web serving and email. Key technology products developed with open-source software have overtaken and surpassed the commercial efforts of billion dollar companies like Microsoft and IBM to dominate software markets. Learn the inside story of what led Netscape to decide to release its source code using the open-source mode. Learn how Cygnus Solutions builds the world's best compilers by sharing the source code. Learn why venture capitalists are eagerly watching Red Hat Software, a company that gives its key product -- Linux -- away.For the first time in print, this book presents the story of the open- source phenomenon told by the people who created this movement.Open Sources will bring you into the world of free software and show you the revolution.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780596553906
Publisher:	O'Reilly Media, Incorporated
Publication date:	01/03/1999
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	284
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Mark Stone has worked in the information security industry for nine years and in the information technology sector for more than twenty years. He lives with his wife in Kelowana, British Columbia. "Behind the Screen" is his first novel.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction Chris DiBona, Sam Ockman, and Mark Stone A Brief History of Hackerdom Eric S. Raymond Twenty Years of Berkeley Unix: From AT&T-Owned to Freely Redistributable Marshall Kirk McKusick The Internet Engineering Task Force Scott Bradner The GNU Operating System and the Free Software Movement Richard Stallman Future of Cygnus Solutions: An Entrepreneur's Account Michael Tiemann Software Engineering Paul Vixie The Linux Edge Linus Torvalds Giving It Away: How Red Hat Software Stumbled Across a New Economic Model and Helped Improve an Industry Robert Young Diligence, Patience, and Humility Larry Wall Open Source as a Business Strategy Brian Behlendorf The Open Source Definition Bruce Perens Hardware, Software, and Infoware Tim O'Reilly Freeing the Source: The Story of Mozilla Jim Hamerly and Tom Paquin with Susan Walton The Revenge of the Hackers Eric S. Raymond Appendix A: The Tanenbaum-Torvalds Debate Appendix B: The Open Source Definition, Version 1.0

Editorial Reviews

...[T]he essential spirit of the collection is sound, as is its ambition to write the first draft of Open Source's history. Like any revolutionary undertaking, the movement wants to spread its ideas around, and this genial book is as good a vehicle for that as any other.

Business 2.0

The idea for open source software began years ago with Richard Stallman, who at the time was considered crazy for proposing that computer code be free to all to use as they see fit as long as they posted the changed code for the common good. Along the way he won a MacArthur ("Genius") award, Linus Torvalds created Linux, and Brian Behlendorf developed Apache, the most used free web server package. This collection of writings by the leaders of the open source movement offers readers a chance to think about the past and how it will change the future of software development. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

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