Group: CDG - with tag opensource [8 articles]

Abstract

Engineers using free and open source software created many of today's most innovative products and solutions. FOSS also changed the way we develop software. IEEE Software's Open Source column first appeared in this magazine in July 2004. In this last column, the editor revisits what we've learned over the past three years as 17 articles from 11 different authors (and companies) examined a dedicated FOSS component, tool, or product and reported lessons learned in selecting, implementing, and maintaining it. ...

Abstract

The success of Linux and Apache has strengthened the opinion that the open source paradigm is one of the most promising strategies to enhance the maturity, quality, and efficiency of software development activities. This observation, however, has not been discussed in much detail and critically addressed by the software engineering community. Most of the claims associated with open source appear to be weakly motivated and articulated.For this reason, this paper proposes some qualitative reflections and observations on the nature of open ...

Abstract

From its inception Eclipse was mainly designed to be a tooling platform, but with Version 3.0, Eclipse is now evolving toward a Rich Client Platform (RCP). This change, driven by the open-source community, brought a whole set of new requirements and challenges for the Eclipse platform, such as dynamic plug-in management, services, security, and improved performance. This paper describes the path from the proprietary Eclipse 2.1 runtime to the new Eclipse 3.0 runtime based on OSGie specifications. It details the motivation ...

Abstract

This paper provides quantitative data that, in many cases, using open source software / free software (abbreviated as OSS/FS, FLOSS, or FOSS) is a reasonable or even superior approach to using their proprietary competition according to various measures. This paper’s goal is to show that you should consider using OSS/FS when acquiring software. This paper examines market share, reliability, performance, scalability, security, and total cost of ownership. It also has sections on non-quantitative issues, unnecessary fears, OSS/FS on the desktop, usage ...

Abstract

A frequent characterization of open source software is the somewhat outdated, mythical one of a collective of supremely talented software hackers freely volunteering their services to produce uniformly high-quality software. I contend that the open source software phenomenon has metamorphosed into a more mainstream and commercially viable form, which I label as OSS 2.0. I illustrate this transformation using a framework of process and product factors, and discuss the shift in the application of the bazaar metaphor from the development process ...

Abstract

According to its proponents, open source style software development has the capacity to compete successfully, and perhaps in many cases displace, traditional commercial development methods. In order to begin investigating such claims, we examine data from two major open source projects, the Apache web server and the Mozilla browser. By using email archives of source code change history and problem reports we quantify aspects of developer participation, core team size, code ownership, productivity, defect density, and problem resolution intervals for these ...

Abstract

The free and open source software (FOSS) approach lets community of like-minded participants develop software systems and related artifacts that are shared freely instead of offered as closed-source commercial products. Free (as in freedom) software and open source are closely related but slightly different approaches and licensing schemes for developing publicly shared software. FOSS development communities don't seem to adopt modern software engineering processes. FOSS communities develop software that's extremely valuable, generally reliable, globally distributed, made available for acquisition at little ...

Abstract

Referred to by some as a "paradigm shift," the open-source software phenomenon is having a significant impact on the information technology landscape. Although the revenue generated by open-source software does not come from the products themselves but from related hardware, software, and services, that revenue is now in the billions of dollars and growing. This issue of the journal contains 18 papers on a variety of topics related to open-source software, including Linux, Eclipse, the open-source project collaboration model, the use ...