Open Source: It's Already Here

Dave Cross Magnum Solutions Ltd dave@mag-sol.com http://mag-sol.com/talks/bcs/ Open Source: It's Already Here

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

Open Source: It's Already Here