CS 485 – Week 9: Lecture Notes

Detailed Contents
  1. Pros/cons of open-source and closed-source in an open market economy
    • Open-source
      • What is it? (Besides free.)
      • “The basic idea behind open source is very simple: When programmers can read, redistribute, and modify the source code for a piece of software, the software evolves. People improve it, people adapt it, people fix bugs. And this can happen at a speed that, if one is used to the slow pace of conventional software development, seems astonishing.” – http://www.opensource.org
      • The Open Source Definition (http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition_plain.html)
        • Free Redistribution
        • Source Code
          • Must include all source code and a complied form
          • Provided free or with reasonable reproduction cost
        • Derived Works
          • Allow derived works which can be distributed under same terms as original software
        • Integrity of the Author’s Source Code
          • May restrict modified source-code distribution if license allows distribution of “patch files” with the source to modify at build time.
          • May require derived works to carry different name or version number from original
        • No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups
        • No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor
        • Distribution of License
          • Rights attached to program must apply to all without need for execution of an additional license.
        • License Must Not Be Specific to a Product
          • Rights must not depend on the program’s being part of a particular software distribution.
        • The License Must Not Restrict Other Software
          • Cannot place restrictions on other software distributed along with licensed software.
      • Questions class may have about open-source
        • How can I make a living doing open-source software?
          • Yes, i.e. Red Hat
        • If the open-source model wins out, will programmers starve?
          • 75% of the jobs are in-house
        • Can corporations earn good returns on selling open-source?
      • What programs are out there for open-source?
    • Closed-source
      • What is it?
      • Is closed-source more secure?
        • Not many people reviewing open-source software for trap-doors and security holes
        • "Review is boring and time consuming, and it's hard," said Steve Lipner, manager of Microsoft's security response center. "Simply putting the source code out there and telling folks 'here it is' doesn't provide any assurance or degree of likelihood that the review will occur." "The vendor eyes in a security review tend to be dedicated, trained, full time and paid," Lipner said.
        • Does making source code open to the public make it more susceptible to people finding the holes in it?
        • Can you get stuck with a company that may go bankrupt, be bought out, or make you keep purchasing upgrades?
          • What risks are there for going with a closed-source company?
          • What are the benefits?
          • No guarantees that vendor will be a risk or not after you buy.
          • How is this similar to the situation of minicomputers versus IBM PC’s discussed earlier in the year?
    • Class discussion
      • What is better open-source or closed-source?
      • Are both necessary?
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