Book details of 'Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution'

Title	Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution
Author(s)	Chris Dibona, Mark Stone, Sam Ockman, Brian Behlendorf, Scott Bradner, Jim Hamerly, Kirk McKusick, Tim O''Reilly, Tom Paquin, Bruce Perens, Eric Raymond, Richard Stallman, Michael Tiemann, Linus Torvalds, Paul Vixie, Larry Wall, Bob Young
ISBN	1565925823
Language	English
Published	January 1999
Publisher	O'Reilly & Associates

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Reviewer amazon.com wrote:
Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution is a fascinating look at the raging debate that is its namesake. Filled with writings from the central players--from Linux creator Linus Torvalds to Perl creator Larry Wall--the book convinces the reader of the overwhelming merits of freeing up the many iterations of software's source code. The open-source movement has become a cause célèbre in light of the widespread adoption of Linux, Perl, and Apache as well as its corporate support from Netscape, IBM, and Oracle--and strongly felt opposition from Microsoft. Open Sources doesn't address why these Microsoft foes are throwing their weight behind the movement. Instead, it focuses on the history and philosophy of open-source software (previously referred to as freeware) as an argument for shaping the future of programming. Open Sources is much larger than just a fight with any one company. Instead, it is a revolutionary call to release software development from the vested interests that label new directions in software development as threatening. This is not to say that opening the source code is an entirely egalitarian and communistic endeavor. These are programmers and startup owners; they want to be able to continue to program for a living. To that end, Open Sources contains strong business profiles from entrepreneurs such as Apache's--and now, O'Reilly & Associates'--Brian Behlendorf, who discusses how to give away software in order to lure customers in for specialized versions. In many ways, this is a hands-on guide, displaying an insider's view of the development process and providing specifics on testing details and altering licensing agreements. However, interspersed with tech talk is a reader-friendly guide for those interested in the future of software development.
Reviewer Rob Slade wrote:
The distinctive of open source software is that the source code is available to everyone who wants to look at it. This means that users and even independent observers can ascertain exactly what the software is doing, determine whether it is safe, and make improvements or modifications to it in order to best suit their own needs. It also means that anyone can get a copy of the source code and use the program, which makes business models for open source systems just a little bit different than those for companies selling proprietary software. While many see open source software primarily in terms of being inexpensive (read "free"), the concept basically refers to the unimpeded flow of ideas. As the authors in this volume frequently repeat, open source software is "free as in speech, not as in beer." However, the proponents of the open source movement would also point out that this liberal exchange of thought has a benefit in the increased production of high quality software, generally with a lower investment or effort. Therefore, it is quite valid to examine the open source concept in terms of business and economics. Which seems to be why business is a major thrust in this book of essays on a software methodology. The introduction equates the open source movement with science, and looks at economic, as well as technical and social, drivers of open source software. Eric Raymond's history of hackerdom makes similar points, although it shows an interesting UNIX bias. While making a good point about the relative paucity of MS-DOS freeware, it ignores the cultural contributions made by the Amiga, Apple, Atari, and Fidonet communities that paved the way for the Internet explosion of the mid 1990s. A history of the Berkeley UNIX (and Berkeley Systems Distribution) gives detailed stories of developmental directions. There is a brief outline of the history, functions, and operations of the Internet Engineering Task Force, pointing out that it has done rather well for an organization that doesn't actually exist. Richard Stallman's history of the GNU project presents a jarringly different philosophy from a number of the others in the book, but ultimately it indicates the strength of a work (and movement) that can accommodate such diversity. A piece from Cygnus presents a story of open source business success. There is a comparison of software engineering in terms of both the standard process and open source. Linus Thorvalds' piece on Linux makes interesting observations on kernel architecture and portability. The story of Red Hat's experience with retail marketing is important, although the analysis of the proliferation of Linux versions is not completely comforting. Larry Wall's philosophical meandering is, as always, fun, thought-provoking, and eminently re-readable. The strongest part of Brian Behlendorf's article on business strategy is the discussion of licensing models. Bruce Perens expands on this with his commentary on the open source definition, and comparison with other licences. Oddly, for a publisher, while Tim O'Reilly's piece touches on some hot buttons, it doesn't really say much. The story of the Netscape Mozilla project, and the opening of the Navigator source, is an intriguing glimpse into a story that is still ongoing. Eric Raymond closes off with his hacker's revenge wrap-up of a number of the stories mentioned in previous essays. Appendix B is a copy of the open source definition and GNU's General Public Licence. Appendix A is a collection of Usenet postings comprising a debate, in early 1992, primarily between Linus Thorvalds and Andrew Tanenbaum, on the viability of Linux. As such, many people would think that the material would be about as interesting as watching paint dry. Instead, the debate brings out some absolutely fascinating points, and is well worth the space it is given. I can readily commend this book to a wide variety of audiences: programmers, analysts, business managers, computer hobbyists, and even philosophers. The subject matter is much larger than programming methods or Linux history alone. Perhaps a future edition might expand to include a look at open hardware, or the copyright meditations from David Brin's "The Transparent Society" (see reviews). copyright Robert M. Slade, 2000
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