The Emergence of Open-Source Software in North America

Unlike conventional models of software development, the open source model is based on the collaborative efforts of users who are also co-developers of the software. Interest in open source software has grown exponentially in recent years. A Google search for the phrase open source in early 2005 returned 28.8 million webpage hits, while less than two years later that number had jumped to 376 million. This paper discusses the origin of the term open source and the key tenets of the open source software development model. In addition, it analyzes the merits and drawbacks of using this model and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of applying the model in higher education. Importantly, examples are provided of computer software, and course management systems in particular, developed using the open source model. Also included are brief analyses of the Linux operating system, and two open source course management systems, Sakai and Moodle, as well as the uPortal. A timeline of major open source projects of significance in North America is provided. The paper concludes with a discussion of the potential for applying the open source software development model to open and distance education.

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Open Source Tech-Innovation Model :A Novel Independent Technological Innovation Model Based on Open Source Software Development Model

2009 IEEE/INFORMS International Conference on Service Operations, Logistics and Informatics ◽

10.1109/soli.2009.5203977 ◽

2009 ◽

Author(s):

Ji Wu ◽

Chunsheng Shi

Keyword(s):

Software Development ◽

Open Source ◽

Technological Innovation ◽

Open Source Software ◽

Development Model ◽

Open Source Software Development ◽

Model Based ◽

Innovation Model ◽

Software Development Model

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The Emergence of Open-Source Software in China

The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning ◽

10.19173/irrodl.v8i1.331 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Guohua Pan ◽

Curtis Jay Bonk

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

North America ◽

Software Development ◽

Open Source ◽

Open Source Software ◽

Development Model ◽

Course Management System ◽

Chinese Higher Education ◽

Course Management ◽

Red Flag

The open-source software movement is gaining increasing momentum in China. Of the limited numbers of open-source software in China, Red Flag Linux stands out most strikingly, commanding 30 percent share of Chinese software market. Unlike the spontaneity of open-source movement in North America, open-source software development in China, such as Red Flag Linux, is an orchestrated activity wherein different levels of government play a vital role in sponsoring, incubating, and using open-source software, most conspicuously, Red Flag Linux. While there are no reports on open-source course management system in China, there are reports on the study and use of Western open-source course management systems for instruction and learning in Chinese higher education institutions. This paper discusses the current status of open-source software in China, including open-source course management software and associated tools and resources. Importantly, it describes the development model of Red Flag Linux, the most successful open-source software initiative in China. In addition, it explores the possibility of Chinese higher education institutions joining efforts to develop China’s own open-source course management system using the open-source development model established in North America. A timeline of major open-source projects of significance underway in China is provided. The paper concludes with a discussion of the potential for applying the open-source software development model to open and distance education in China.

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Open Source Software Development Model

Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, First Edition ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-553-5.ch391 ◽

2005 ◽

pp. 2221-2224 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Luyin Zhao ◽

Fadi P. Deek

Keyword(s):

Software Development ◽

Open Source ◽

Open Source Software ◽

Free Software ◽

Development Model ◽

Software Systems ◽

Software System ◽

Software Development Model ◽

Hacker Culture ◽

Free Software Foundation

The open source movement can be traced back to the hacker culture in the ’60s and ’70s. In the early 1980s, the tenet of free software for sharing was explicitly raised by Richard Stallman, who was working on developing software systems and invited others to share, contribute, and give back to the community of cooperative hackers. Stallman, together with other volunteers, established the Free Software Foundation to host GNU (Gnu’s Not Unix, a set of UNIX-compatible software system). Eric Raymond, Stallman’s collaborator, is the primary founder of the Open Source Initiative. Both communities are considered the principal drivers of open source movement.

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Intellectual Property Rights in Open Source Software Communities

Encyclopedia of Virtual Communities and Technologies ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-563-4.ch054 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 285-290

Author(s):

Chitu Okoli ◽

Kevin Carillo

Keyword(s):

Intellectual Property ◽

Property Rights ◽

Software Development ◽

Open Source ◽

Intellectual Property Rights ◽

Open Source Software ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Source Model ◽

Software Projects ◽

Software Development Model

Intellectual property is an old concept, with the first recorded instances of patents (1449) and copyrights (1662) both occurring in England (“Intellectual property”, Wikipedia, 2004). The first piece of software was submitted for copyright to the United States Copyright Office in 1961, and was accepted as copyrightable under existing copyright law (Hollaar, 2002). The open source movement has relied upon controversial intellectual property rights that are rooted in the overall history of software development (Lerner & Tirole, 2002; von Hippel & von Krogh, 2003). By defining specific legal mechanisms and designing various software licenses, the open source phenomenon has successfully proposed an alternative software development model whose approach to the concept of intellectual property is quite different from that taken by traditional proprietary software. A separate article in this encyclopedia treats open source software communities in general as a type of virtual community. This article takes a historical approach to examining how the intellectual property rights that have protected free/open source software have contributed towards the formation and evolution of virtual communities whose central focus is software projects based on the open source model.

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