Open source software

 Open source software development (OSSD) is a promising alternative for synthesizing agile and plan-driven (e.g. waterfall) software development methodologies that retains most benefits of the two approaches. We contrast the traditional systems development life cycle approach, more recent agile software development methods, and OSSD. We compare the first two approaches with OSSD, highlighting its synthesis of benefits from both, with unique benefits of its own, offering solutions to areas where the other methodologies continue to face difficulties. OSSD is highly responsive to user needs, and draws talent from a global team of developers. OSSD is a low-risk methodology with potentially high return on investment. While not appropriate for all applications, especially those where the needed applications are extremely idiosyncratic to one company, it is nonetheless a valuable asset in an organization’s portfolio of software development solutions.

Okoli, C., 2008. A Brief Review of Studies on Open Source Software in Developing Countries in Peer-Reviewed Journals. Sprouts: Working Papers on Information Systems, 8(45). Available at: http://sprouts.aisnet.org/8-45/ [Accessed June 9, 2010]. 

There has been much attention given to the promising benefits of open source software (OSS) for the development of the domestic software industries of developing countries. This study attempts to build a base for scholarly research on the subject of OSS in developing countries by reviewing the work that has been published in peer-reviewed academic journals. Major sub-streams of research include applications of OSS in developing countries, and the analysis and recommendations of government policies. This review also details the geographical regions covered by the scholarly research, extensions of the open source model to applications of open content, and theoretical approaches that have been adopted in the scholarly literature.

The open source movement is based on a radical retake on copyright law to create high quality software whose use and development are guaranteed to the public. In this article we trace the history of the movement, highlighting its interaction with intellectual property law. The movement has spawned open source software (OSS) communities where developers and users meet to create software that meets their needs. We discuss the demographic profile of OSS participants, their ideology, their motivations, and the process of OSS development. Then we examine the impacts of OSS on society as a whole from the perspective of the information society, discussing the effects on OSS developers, users of OSS, and society at large, particularly in developing countries.

Open source software (OSS) communities are an important type of virtual community today, where members convene online with the common goal of producing software that is valuable both to developers and for the general public using the open source development methodology. Participants are mostly male software developers with an average age of 30; most have at least a bachelor's degree. OSS communities have distinctive cultural artifacts, including community norms, values, and beliefs. They exhibit a "gift culture" where "it is more blessed to give than to receive", or to possess. They value quality of work, modesty, sharing, and altruism. As the open source movement continues to grow both as a software development methodology and as a philosophical/social/political approach to intellectual property, OSS communities will have an increasingly important role in the software industry, and it is thus important to understand them.

 Open source software (OSS) communities are an important type of virtual community. Their very existence can be attributed to the development of various software licenses that guaranteed the free (open source) status of the software products whose creation serves as a focus for these communities. This article takes a historical perspective to tracing the evolution of OSS licenses, and the characteristics of OSS communities that have arisen as a result. The GNU General Public License was the first open source license, spawning communities with strong beliefs about software being free for sharing. However, less restrictive licenses arose that permitted profit-oriented enterprises and their employees to participate in the open source movement while retaining their proprietary options. Based on the OSS license, new licenses have recently appeared that have enabled open source virtual communities based on free sharing of text materials, beyond software.