This presentation is a part of a consulting study that has been done to help decision maker decide about:
The use of open source GIS software in sharing information between the institutions of civil society and local government/ public sector
The Ultimate Test Automation Guide_ Best Practices and Tips.pdf
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?
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.
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.
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)