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Open Source: It's Already Here
Dave Cross
Magnum Solutions Ltd
[email protected]
http://mag-sol.com/talks/bcs/
Some Facts
Linux is a great desktop operating system
Anything you can do in Windows, you can
also do on Linux
Some More Facts
OpenOffice.org is as powerful as MS Office
Mozilla is a better browser than IE
Evolution does anything that Outlook does
(and is less vulnerable to virus attack)
Or Opinons
There are many more “facts” like these
But they are just personal opinions
They only convince Open Source fans
(like me)
So let's try another approach
Another Approach
Who has used Linux?
Who has used Linux today?
Who has used any Open Source app today?
Another Approach
Who has used PayPal today?
Who has used Google today?
Who has used Amazon today?
These are all Open Source applications
Open Source Business
All of these companies run their business on
Open Source software
There are many more like them
What software are they using?
What advantages do they see?
Web Site Software
An operating system (e.g. Windows)
A Web Server (e.g. IIS)
A Database (e.g. SQL Server)
A Programming Language (e.g. .Net)
What are the Open Source equivalents for
these?
LAMP
An operating system (Linux)
A Web Server (Apache)
A Database (MySQL)
A Programming Language (Perl, PHP and
Python)
Linux
Unix Clone
Originally for x86 architecture
Now runs on many platforms
Well established as an alternative to Unix
Long heritage – GNU Project
Many distributions
Commercial support
Apache
“A patchy server”
Modular architecture that makes it simple to
add new features
The web server that all others emulate
Phenomenally successful
Apache Runs the Web
Source: Netcraft (http://www.netcraft.com)
MySQL
Small and fast database server
Compromises RDBMS functionality for speed
Alternatives
SQLite (even smaller, even faster)
PostgreSQL (slightly slower, fully featured)
Most commercial DBs run on Linux
One major exception
Programming
Perl
Long history of being used for the web
Very high level language
Very fast when used with Apache (mod_perl)
PHP
More like ASP
Code embedded in HTML
Programming
Python
Similar to Perl
More OO-based
Other Alternatives
Java (not Open Source)
Mono (Open Source version of .Net)
Open Source Advantages
Cost
Security
Support
Quality
Control
Cost
No license costs
Still pay for support and training
Security
Source code is available to everyone
Security becomes very important
“Security by obscurity” is not an option
Holes get fixed quickly
Support
Most Open Source projects have very active
support communities
Most bugs get fixed within a day
Fixes available immediately
Quality
Programmer pride
Constant peer review
Meritocracy
Control
You can see exactly what the program does
You can change what the program does
Documented interfaces and data formats
Not tied to one company's view of the world
Conclusions
Everyone uses Open Source software every
day
Some large businesses have already chosen
to move to Open Source software
Many of these businesses are very successful
There are good business reasons for using
Open Source software
Questions