OPEN SOURCE

I. Historical :
In the history of open source, we can retain three key dates: The free software movement was launched in 1983 The Free Software Foundation (FSF), started in 1985, intended the word "free" to mean freedom to distribute (or "free as in free speech") and not freedom from cost (or "free as in free beer"). 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.

II. Definition :
The Open Source Definition is used by the Open Source Initiative to determine whether or not a software license can be considered open source. The definition was based on the Debian Free Software Guidelines, written and adapted primarily by Bruce Perens, which define 10 criteria : 1. Free Redistribution The license shall not require a royalty or other fee for such sale. 2. Source Code The program must include source code, and must allow distribution in source code as well as compiled form. 3. Derived Works The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the original software. 4. Integrity of the Author's Source Code The license must explicitly permit distribution of software built from modified source code. The license may require derived works to carry a different name or version number from the original software. 5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons. 6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor. The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program in a specific field of endeavor. For example, it may not restrict the program from being used in a business, or from being used for genetic research. 7. Distribution of License The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the program is redistributed without

the need for execution of an additional license by those parties. 8. License Must Not Be Specific to a Product The rights attached to the program must not depend on the program's being part of a particular software distribution. 9. License Must Not Restrict Other Software The license must not place restrictions on other software that is distributed along with the licensed software. For example, the license must not insist that all other programs distributed on the same medium must be open-source software. 10. License Must Be Technology-Neutral No provision of the license may be predicated on any individual technology or style of interface. The most famous Open source Software are : Web Browser : Firefox, Chromium Office Suite : OpenOffice Media Player : VLC Exploitation System : GNU/ Linux Image Manipulation : GIMP Database: Mysql, PostgreSQL

III. Comparisons
1Comparison with closed source

Closed source software is licensed by the owner of the software. He has the exclusive legal rights. These rights are given to the purchaser in form of a license. This license allowed the purchaser to use the program or software. But the user is not allowed to modify, reverse engineer, or give the product out to others. Many products that you use may be closed source software. Some examples: Photoshop, Ms office, iTunes and Microsoft Windows.
2Open source vs Free software :

The main difference is that by choosing one term over the other. As Richard Stallman puts it, "Open source is a development methodology; free software is a social movement. In fact, The official definition of open source software is very close to our definition of free software. However, the obvious meaning for the expression open source software is You can look at the source code. This is a much weaker criterion than free software; it includes free software, but also some proprietary programs like Xv (a video sofware), and Qt (frame works development).
2Open source vs Freeware :

Freeware : In contrast to open source, the freeware is licensed at no cost and the author usually restricts

one or more rights of the user : including the rights to copy, distribute, modify and make derivative works of the software or extract the source code.

IV. Business Model

If open source software is free, so how can we make money with that? In facts, companies have developed several sources of revenue around the free product (OSS). The idea here is that customers can be attracted to a no-cost product, then be part of an up-sell to other features and services. Actually there are four main ways firms earn money with open source software : consulting, support, training and value added components. The latter is the most common employed and it consists of a duallicence Strategy, one free version and another commercial one (under proprietary license terms) with extra professional functionalities.

V. Advantages:
Usually, the first perceived advantage of open source models is the fact that open source software is made available gratis or at a low cost. But this characteristic is not exclusive to open source software, and several proprietary software products are made available in similar ways. What really distinguishes open source software from software available without fee? Here are the main advantages of the open source: Lower software costs: Open source solutions generally require no licensing fees. Simplified license management: Obtain the software once and install it as many times and in as many locations as you need. Lower hardware costs: In general, Linux and open source solutions are more compact and portable, and as a result require less hardware power to accomplish the same tasks as on conventional servers. The flexibility: Every user can personalized the parameter of software The perpetuity: The source code being always available, his evolution can be assured. The transparency of the source code: this allows to control the exact functions of a software. The independence towards editors or providers Community Development: Communities develop each part of Free Software and Open Source. Community Development promotes responsiveness when it comes to fix a bug or security hole. The availability: Easily acquired or transferred, A trend to the respect for the standards: Promulgated by the competent organizations Quality software: Evidence and research indicate that open source software is good stuff. the open source tend to drive excellence in design and efficiency in coding.

Other benefits often advanced in favor of free software are relative because they depend directly on the size (and quality) of the community which is associated with it. Performance: Programmers are endeavoring to provide a quality code, read and corrected by other programmers Reliability: Debugging is made easier by the ready availability of the code

VI. Top barriers :

But open source dont have only advantages but some barriers too:

 Open source isnt really free: We must pay attention to implementations, administrations, and support costs Theres no service and support: For some companies, support is mandatory. But some open sources support was available at the same price or more than proprietary software Development resources are scarce: Linux and open source resources are actually abundant but the developers can use the same tools, languages, and code management processes Open source is not secure: It might seem to be a simple deduction of logic to think that the code is available, so anyone can figure out how to break it. Thats not quite true with the momentum of the community (especially Linux) Training is not available: This used to be true, but not anymore All open source is a work-in-progress: True for some, but not for all. Some open source offerings are maturing, but they are still workable, and for the companies that use them (with access to source code), the software is good enough Roadmap chaotic: The number of versions of a software remains high, sometimes difficult to follow to make update Transparency: induced by the source code, transparency is seen as a weakness in security. Ergonomics often improved: The struggle to open source user interfaces provide the level of those offered by the proprietary source Skills gap: The IT staff in charge of support and maintenance must be trained when migration is considered guarantees reduced.

VII. Perspectives
We previously explain the concept of open source software and give some advantages that if brings compared to proprietary software. Now, even if open source software still face some barriers like unfamiliarity, lack of support and internal skills, latest surveys results clearly demonstrate that open source has gone

mainstream. Businesses have fully embraced open source software, realising the reduced costs and flexibility that it offers. The graph below, result of the 2011 North bridge and partners survey, shows potentials future growth of OSS acquisitions.

In addition to the current 15% that use open source software, 50% or more companies will move to it. What this suggests is that more companies want to be in control of their software decisions in terms of cost (purchases, upgrades,...), rather than be under control of IT proprietary vendors.

Therefore, it is so clear that the future of open source software is very promising, as Swati Sani, CEO of SANIsoft, said : "With a market as large as the world and as competitive as the Internet, sharing knowledge with your peers might be the only way to stay in business."