Open source: new boundaries

THE MUCH talked about free/open source software movement that has created many software gems by harnessing skills of hundreds of unpaid programmer volunteers - solely motivated by their love for programming and spread across the globe through the Net - is slowly moving to other professions. The collaborative spirit unleashed by the open source movement has caught the imagination of persons engaged in other creative activities. This week NetSpeak turns its focus on yet another trajectory of the Net.

Open Source process

A programmer creates a software, posts it in the Net along with the source code and other details regarding the project and invites others interested in the project to take it and further enhance the value of the product. The person who takes the program has the full right to use it, improve up on it and distribute it to others. This way the product can progress with the contributions from talented and dedicated programming enthusiasts spread across the globe. The development of software through this method is known as open-source/free software development. We have many examples of products developed through this method. The famous operating system Linux and Apache web server are two of the most prominent products that originated from this fascinating phenomenon.

Instead of developing a product with the help of a few highly resourceful and costly programming brains working in a strictly disciplined environment, the open source (OS) strategy is to tap the hidden talents that lie scattered in the Net - made possible by just appealing to the sense of satisfaction and ego of a programmer in becoming a part of a mega collaborative enterprise. The meteoric rise of the OS movement and the surprising number of open source projects that surface in the Net almost every third day attest to the success of this method of software development. Though it owes its popularity and acceptance to the software arena, this method, using the Net infrastructure can be successfully applied to other subjects also. Any product/solution/service that needs to be continuously updated/corrected/altered is amenable to the OS method. We will have a look at some of the attempts being made to deploy the OS strategy for the creation of new products in such diverse areas as book publishing, web directory building and law.

Open Source books

One interesting area where the OS technique can be applied is book publishing. With the tremendous developments in the tools that help us create/publish electronic books, authoring a book and distributing it through the Net have become child's play - of course if you have the ability/aptitude/skill/knowledge to write a book. The immense popularity of e-books coupled with the need to continually update the content is paving the way for some open source experiments in this area.

Suppose you are writing a book on a programming language. It is almost impossible for you to profile all the features of the language in a single shot. There will definitely be gaps in the book that can be corrected by fellow programmers in your professional group or power users of the language.

This means, if you keep the book open and invite others and allow them to alter/add content, your book will turn out to be a knowledge treasure. While floating the book this way for public scrutiny/alteration/enhancement, you can still keep the copyright to the original work.

If you are curious and want to look at a service that has implemented this idea of an 'open-source book', check out the site at: http://theassayer.org/. The site hosts many e-books that can be freely downloaded. Some of them can be edited/reviewed if one has the necessary knowledge.

A visitor who registers with the site gains the rights to read/review a book. The service also allows the members to correspond with each other and discuss on the book. A book that undergoes this kind of close scrutiny should be superior quality.

Open Directory Project: Another successful product of the concept of open source is the Open Directory Project (ODP) hosted by Netscape, which aims to build the most up-to-date and comprehensive directory of the web sites - completely edited and compiled by humans. The ODP database is basically managed and developed by a community of Net volunteers who are experts in their activity sphere. In fact, anybody can become an ODP volunteer according to information available in the ODP's site. For more information on ODP visit the site at: dmoz.org.

Open Law

Law is another area that has been mesmerised by the open source philosophy. An experimental web site hosted by The Berkman Center for Internet and Society (cyber.law.harvard.edu/) targets to develop arguments and draft pleadings with the help of assistance from lawyers and non-lawyers alike worldwide. The sponsors feel that the site will be able to provide a forum for the public to express their views on legal issues. To know more about the site check out the link at: eon.law.harvard.edu/openlaw/.

Update: Download Manager

But for the existence of download managers, bringing the Net resources into your desktop will be an almost impossible activity especially for dial-up users who experience constant disconnection of the Net link. We have seen many good download managers through this column and this week NetSpeak introduces one more download manager - the DLExpert. This program has all the features available with popular download managers such as Netants (netants.com), and Flashget (flashget.com).

The program supports a file splitting feature that lets you break a file into several pieces and downloads all of them simultaneously - it can split a file into almost hundred pieces.

Other highlights of the program are resume of the download process, integration with IE and drag and drop a link to start file transfer. This freeware program can be downloaded from the site yanew.com/english.htm.

J. Murali

(The author can be contacted at: murali27@satyam.net.in)

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Section  : Science & Tech
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