At Sapient Path, we try to find the best possible solution to solve problems our clients pose to us. This usually means that we recommend an open source software package. There are thousands of them out there. Some of the more popular open source software solutions include blogging platforms such as WordPress and content management systems such as Joomla! This web site was built with WordPress.
“Control over the use of one’s ideas really constitutes control over other people’s lives; and it is usually used to make their lives more difficult.”
-Richard M. Stallman
Open source is all about freedom. Sapient Path believes that technology should engender freedom rather than limiting it. Specifically, open source software and projects encourage the following:
The availability of the source code and the right to modify it is very important. It enables the unlimited tuning and improvement of a software product. It also makes it possible to port the code to new hardware, to adapt it to changing conditions, and to reach a detailed understanding of how the system works. This is why many experts are reaching the conclusion that to really extend the lifetime of an application, it must be available in source form. In fact, no binary-only application more than 10 years old now survives in unmodified form, while several open source software systems from the 1980s are still in widespread use (although in many cases conveniently adapted to new environments). Source code availability also makes it much easier to isolate bugs, and (for a programmer) to fix them.
The right to redistribute modifications and improvements to the code, and to reuse other open source code, permits all the advantages due to the modifiability of the software to be shared by large communities. This is usually the point that differentiates open source software licenses from “nearly free” ones. In substance, the fact that redistribution rights cannot be revoked, and that they are universal, is what attracts a substantial crowd of developers to work around open source software projects.
The right to use the software in any way. This, combined with redistribution rights, ensures (if the software is useful enough), a large population of users, which helps in turn to build up a market for support and customization of the software, which can only attract more and more developers to work in the project. This in turn helps to improve the quality of the product, and to improve its functionality. Which, once more, will cause more and more users to give the product a try, and probably to use it regularly.
The issue about non-exclusive rights on the software, which has just being mentioned, deserves some more attention. When no one holds exclusive rights on a given code (sometimes mentioned as “life or death rights”), several traditional problems of the proprietary software model can be overcome:
There is no one with the power to restrict in a unilateral way how the software is used, even in a retroactive way. Such a power manifests, for instance, when a proprietary software vendor decides not to upgrade some software product for some old platform. In this case, customers can only stick to the old version of the software, or switch to another product. If open source software is used, customers can also fund some development for the desired platform, or look for other vendors to provide the upgrades (of the very same product).
There is no single entity on which the future of the software depends. This is a very common concern with proprietary software.
No “black boxes” are possible. This point is so important that open source is now considered by many experts as one of the necessary conditions for dependable applications. There are several reasons for this importance. One of them is related to the dependability of the services provided by a given software. By having the source code available, it is possible to perform a thorough inspection and verify the correctness of the algorithm and the implementation scheme used.
No per-copy fees can be asked for modified versions, and anyone can use the current code base to start new projects. Working knowledge can be gathered at a minimal cost. This is what made Internet software systems such an important factor in the new economy: students, and people trying new technologies were able to integrate and adopt them immediately. In addition, the right to freely modify these information systems allowed for the incredible expansion in the number of communication protocols and systems, each perfectly tailored to the needs of their users. This is also a reason for the overwhelming success of the Linux kernel.
There are fewer conflicting priorities due to marketing pressures. This is a simple consequence of the fact that there is no single commercial entity pushing for precise delivery dates or features that must be supported. Usually open source software is delivered “when it is ready,” and when the development team feels that its quality is good enough. This means that software usually does not need as many “service packs,” updates and such, reducing the maintenance cost. Of course this could be turned into disadvantage if a product is indefinitely delayed, or if some feature is missing one release after another. But in this case, the competition between projects may help. If a project starts failing to meet the expectations of its users, it often happens that a new project is forked, using the same code base, to fill this gap. This happens especially if a market exists for some new features, or for better quality versions of the application.
Sapient Path believes that open source provides a new forum for democratic action. As individuals and companies decide where to make improvements in the system, the collective desires of the community determine the overall direction of progress, all without compelling anyone to do anything. People with opinions about what direction is best can urge others to join in, request help, and in this way influence the overall direction of progress, but without any elections in which the majority overrule the minority.
Whenever possible the technology solutions Sapient Path recommends will be open source. Our customers benefit in many ways. Lower costs. Better support. More freedom of choice. We love open source software and systems and we think you will too.
