scholarly journals The Challenges of Open Source Software Alternatives

2021 ◽  
Vol 251 ◽  
pp. 01003
Author(s):  
Aristofanis Chionis-Koufakos ◽  
Maria Dimou ◽  
Michal Kolodziejski

Developing an Open Source Software application is a challenge. Mainly because there are commercial alternatives that have an army of expert developers behind them, experienced supporters and wellestablished business processes in their development and promotion. Nevertheless, web-based applications, that securely handle the users’ personal data are an area of freedom and ease of use, features that make such applications very attractive. The “ease-of-use” part is very hard to achieve, for the developers and the end-users. Dependencies change often in OSS packages, so the fear that something breaks is always around the corner. If the application looks attractive, additional user requirements fall like rain. This poses a problem of continuity, maintenance and operational quality of the packages. In this paper and presentation we shall share our experience in building such a tool, using https://cern.ch/slides, as a showcase and a learning exercise. We shall describe what was available, what was missing, how it was put together, how much effort it took, and what was achieved.

Metabolites ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Álvaro Fernández-Ochoa ◽  
Rosa Quirantes-Piné ◽  
Isabel Borrás-Linares ◽  
María de la Luz Cádiz-Gurrea ◽  
Marta E. Alarcón Riquelme ◽  
...  

Data pre-processing of the LC-MS data is a critical step in untargeted metabolomics studies in order to achieve correct biological interpretations. Several tools have been developed for pre-processing, and these can be classified into either commercial or open source software. This case report aims to compare two specific methodologies, Agilent Profinder vs. R pipeline, for a metabolomic study with a large number of samples. Specifically, 369 plasma samples were analyzed by HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS. The collected data were pre-processed by both methodologies and later evaluated by several parameters (number of peaks, degree of missingness, quality of the peaks, degree of misalignments, and robustness in multivariate models). The vendor software was characterized by ease of use, friendly interface and good quality of the graphs. The open source methodology could more effectively correct the drifts due to between and within batch effects. In addition, the evaluated statistical methods achieved better classification results with higher parsimony for the open source methodology, indicating higher data quality. Although both methodologies have strengths and weaknesses, the open source methodology seems to be more appropriate for studies with a large number of samples mainly due to its higher capacity and versatility that allows combining different packages, functions, and methods in a single environment.


2018 ◽  
Vol XIX (1) ◽  
pp. 555-560
Author(s):  
Băutu E

In 2003, the Romanian National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology inaugurated National Integrated Meteorological System (SIMIN), consisting of a network of stations and instruments for measurement and detection of hydro and meteorological data, a specialized communication network, a forecasting network, and a dissemination network. With a setup cost of $55 million and a national priority role, SIMIN (implemented by Lockheed Martin) is relatively black boxed even today, using proprietary technology and software. Few institutions have direct access to the data it provides. In this paper, we present the design of a web-based software application built on open source software that allows easy access to and processing of data available in SIMIN.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1224-1228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debasish Chakraborty ◽  
◽  
Debanjan Sarkar ◽  
Shubham Agarwal ◽  
Dibyendu Dutta ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 5690
Author(s):  
Mamdouh Alenezi

The evolution of software is necessary for the success of software systems. Studying the evolution of software and understanding it is a vocal topic of study in software engineering. One of the primary concepts of software evolution is that the internal quality of a software system declines when it evolves. In this paper, the method of evolution of the internal quality of object-oriented open-source software systems has been examined by applying a software metric approach. More specifically, we analyze how software systems evolve over versions regarding size and the relationship between size and different internal quality metrics. The results and observations of this research include: (i) there is a significant difference between different systems concerning the LOC variable (ii) there is a significant correlation between all pairwise comparisons of internal quality metrics, and (iii) the effect of complexity and inheritance on the LOC was positive and significant, while the effect of Coupling and Cohesion was not significant.


2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 791-813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zilia Iskoujina ◽  
Joanne Roberts

Purpose – This paper aims to add to the understanding of knowledge sharing in online communities through an investigation of the relationship between individual participant’s motivations and management in open source software (OSS) communities. Drawing on a review of literature concerning knowledge sharing in organisations, the factors that motivate participants to share their knowledge in OSS communities, and the management of such communities, it is hypothesised that the quality of management influences the extent to which the motivations of members actually result in knowledge sharing. Design/methodology/approach – To test the hypothesis, quantitative data were collected through an online questionnaire survey of OSS web developers with the aim of gathering respondents’ opinions concerning knowledge sharing, motivations to share knowledge and satisfaction with the management of OSS projects. Factor analysis, descriptive analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis were used to explore the survey data. Findings – The analysis of the data reveals that the individual participant’s satisfaction with the management of an OSS project is an important factor influencing the extent of their personal contribution to a community. Originality/value – Little attention has been devoted to understanding the impact of management in OSS communities. Focused on OSS developers specialising in web development, the findings of this paper offer an important original contribution to understanding the connections between individual members’ satisfaction with management and their motivations to contribute to an OSS project. The findings reveal that motivations to share knowledge in online communities are influenced by the quality of management. Consequently, the findings suggest that appropriate management can enhance knowledge sharing in OSS projects and online communities, and organisations more generally.


Author(s):  
Zulaima Chiquin ◽  
Kenyer Domínguez ◽  
Luis E. Mendoza ◽  
Edumilis Méndez

This chapter presents a Model to Estimate the Human Factor Quality in Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) Development, or EHFQ-FLOSS. The model consists of three dimensions: Levels (individual, community, and foundation), Aspects (internal or contextual), and Forms of Evaluation (self-evaluation, co-evaluation, and hetero-evaluation). Furthermore, this model provides 145 metrics applicable to all three levels, as well as an algorithm that guides their proper application to estimate the systemic quality of human resources involved in the development of FLOSS, guide the decision-making process, and take possible corrective actions.


Author(s):  
James M. Laffey ◽  
Matthew Schmidt ◽  
Christopher J. Amelung

Online learning in K-12 and higher education has been growing rapidly, and open source software has the potential to improve the quality of e-learning. This paper describes how FOSS enables turning e-learning from a potentially restrictive and narrow framing of the education experience to an emergent and social experience. The authors identify several key elements of the FOSS model that position open source initiatives to contribute to the emergent and social nature of experience in e-learning. The authors also describe several challenges to developing FOSS in a community of educators for e-learning. These elements and challenges are illustrated in a brief case report about the development of an open source software system called Context-aware Activity Notification System (CANS). CANS (http://cansaware.com) is a notification system that integrates with collaborative work and learning systems and is designed around the importance of awareness of user activity, a user’s social context and personal notification preferences.


Author(s):  
Kevin Carillo ◽  
Chitu Okoli

Open source software (OSS) development has continued to appear as a puzzling and enigmatic phenomenon and has drawn increasing attention as its importance has grown. Relying upon an alternative way to develop and to distribute software, open source communities have been able to challenge and often outperform proprietary software by enabling better reliability, lower costs, shorter development times, and a higher quality of code (Raymond, 2004). Behind the software is a mass of people working together in loose coordination, even portrayed as a rowdy marketplace (Raymond, 2001, p. 1): No quiet, reverent cathedral-building here—rather, the Linux community seemed to resemble a great babbling bazaar of differing agendas and approaches … out of which a coherent and stable system seemingly emerges only by a succession of miracles. More precisely, the people behind open source projects have been defined as: “Internet-based communities of software developers who voluntarily collaborate in order to develop software that they or their organizations need” (von Krogh, 2003, p. 14). In contrast to the sacred cathedral-like software development model that gave birth to most commercial and proprietary systems, such bazaar-like communities seem to have based their success on a pseudo-anarchic type of collaboration and developers’ interaction (Raymond, 2001). However, in spite of the apparent disorganization of these bazaars, a closer look distinguishes common values and norms that rule them, specific roles that can be identified, similar motives shared by people, and practices that follow patterns. This article highlights key aspects of what forms the communities that support these projects.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 24-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mamdouh Alenezi ◽  
Fakhry Khellah

Software systems usually evolve constantly, which requires constant development and maintenance. Subsequently, the architecture of these systems tends to degrade with time. Therefore, stability is a key measure for evaluating an architecture. Open-source software systems are becoming progressively vital these days. Since open-source software systems are usually developed in a different management style, the quality of their architectures needs to be studied. ISO/IEC SQuaRe quality standard characterized stability as one of the sub-characteristics of maintainability. Unstable software architecture could cause the software to require high maintenance cost and effort. In this work, the authors propose a simple, yet efficient, technique that is based on carefully aggregating the package level stability in order to measure the change in the architecture level stability as the architecture evolution happens. The proposed method can be used to further study the cause behind the positive or negative architecture stability changes.


Author(s):  
Tobias Haug ◽  
Sarah Ebling

This study reports on the use of an open-source software for sign language learning and (self-)assessment. A Yes/No vocabulary size test for Swiss German Sign Language (Deutschschweizerische Gebärdensprache, DSGS) was developed, targeting beginning adult learners. The Web-based test, which can be used for self-assessment or placement purposes, was administered to 20 DSGS adult learners of ages 24 to 55 (M = 39.3). The learners filled out a background questionnaire, took the Yes/No test tests, and filled out a feedback questionnaire. The comments provided by the learners about the suitability of the Web-based DSGS vocabulary self-assessment instrument provided concrete feedback towards improvement of the system.


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