Free and Open Source Software technology: General Overview
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The document discusses free and open source software (FOSS), highlighting its principles, benefits, and examples, as well as its significance in Egypt and globally. It provides an overview of FOSS history, important concepts like open standards and formats, and the total cost of ownership associated with FOSS. The document also mentions the United Nations and European Union's initiatives promoting the use of FOSS and Egypt's national strategy for its adoption to boost productivity and competitiveness.
Free and Open Source Software technology: General Overview
- 1. General Overview of Open Source Software and Technology Dr. Mohamed Gabr Open Source GIS Consultant OSGEO- Africa Member General.Manager@Tawgeeh.com gbrbreen2@gmail.com
- 2. Topics 1. What is Free and Open Source (FOS) software? 2. Global view of FOSusage 3. FOS software in Egypt 4. Why FOS software?
- 3. What is Open Source GIS (OSGIS)? 1
- 4. Introduction • Source code is the basis of a program • To modify a program you need the source code • Source code can be written in many different types of programming languages • Do you get the source code of the software you use?
- 5. History • Richard Stallman and FSF (1985) – The 4 freedoms • Michael Tiemann and OSI (1998) – The 10 criteria • Both are sharing the following principles: – Free to use it either personal or commercial – Free to study and modify the source code – Free to redistribute copies or modified versions
- 6. Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) • Simply: – You have the program for free – You have the source code – You are free to modify – You are free to distribute it
- 7. Important concepts • Open standards – According to The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), “Open Standards” are standards made available to the general public and are developed (or approved) and maintained via a collaborative and consensus driven process. “Open Standards” facilitate interoperability and data exchange among different products or services and are intended for widespread adoption.
- 8. Important concepts cont. • a proprietary format – A file format is considered as proprietary when it is developed by a software company to encode data in a file format that only their own software can read correctly and completely. – In case such software becomes obsolete, access to the data is rendered more difficult if not impossible. ….. Remember 3.2 then 8
- 9. Important concepts cont. • Open format – A file format is considered as open when: – its specification is publicly available and can be copied, reused or redistributed free of charge and without copyright or patent restrictions. – The goal of an open format is to allow users to read and write a file without being obliged to use specific proprietary software. • Owing to their features, using open formats promotes diversity and interoperability but also guarantees access to, and the permanence of, data, a consideration for the archiving of public records.
- 10. Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) • Total cost of ownership (TCO): – Costs of owning SW • Free – Costs of updates • Free – Costs of maintenance • Free – Costs of technical support • Sometimes free through technical groups on the internet • Sometimes paid through consultants – Costs of building capacity • Sometimes free as the manuals/ user guides are available on the internet • Sometimes paid through consultants – Costs of building solutions/ SW customization • Paid
- 11. examples of open source software • Operating Systems – Linux – Darwin, which is the foundation of Apple's Mac OS X. – Open office
- 12. examples of open source software • Internet – Apache, which runs over 50% of the world's web servers. – BIND, the software that provides the DNS (domain name service) for the entire Internet. – sendmail, the most important and widely used email transport software on the Internet. – Mozilla, the open source redesign of the Netscape Browser – OpenSSL is the standard for secure communication (strong encryption) over the Internet.categories.
- 13. example of open source software • Programming Tools – Zope, and PHP, are popular engines behind the "live content" on the World Wide Web. – Languages: • Perl • Python • Ruby • Tcl/Tk – GNU compilers and tools • GCC • Make • Autoconf • Automake • etc.
- 14. open source software sites • Free Software Foundation www.fsf.org • Open Source Initiative www.opensource.org • Freshmeat.net • SourceForge.net • OSDir.com • developer.BerliOS.de • Bioinformatics.org • see also individual project sites; e.g., www.apache.org; www.cpan.org; etc.
- 15. Global overview of FOS usage2
- 16. The United Nations (UN) • In 2003, the global focusing on OSS has started in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) by promoting awareness • In 2004, ICT (information and communication technologies) strategy recognizing the need to “increase the usage of appropriate open source software”. • In 2005, issuing a report about the policies of UN system organizations towards the use of OSS
- 17. The European Union • The European Commission has updated its strategy (2014-2017) for increasing the use of Open Source Software.
- 18. FOS software in Egypt3
- 19. FOS software in Egypt • In 2014, Egypt has prepared its National Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) Strategy • The mission is " To promote the development and adoption of high-quality open-source software- based solutions and services as one fundamental pillar of the knowledge society so as to: – raise productivity, – improve competitiveness, and – enhance the overall economic and social well-being of citizens in Egypt".
- 21. According to the Standish Group, • Individuals or organizations choose open source software because of: – lower cost, – security, – no vendor 'lock in', and – better quality (performance, interoperability)
- 22. Thank You