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Evaluating Open Source

Posted by michael on from the but-what-about-phase-2? dept.

CowboyRobot writes "Jordan Hubbard cofounded FreeBSD and now oversees the Darwin implementation of BSD for Apple. He describes open source as 'finally being openly acknowledged as a commercial engineering force-multiplier and important option for avoiding significant software development costs.' And thus, companies need to know how to evaluate open source engineering as an option for them. In a new article titled Open Source to the Core, Hubbard goes through a typical open source adoption process."

5 of 110 comments (clear)

  1. Just in case the server crashes and burns... by mirror_dude · · Score: 4, Informative

    Just in case the server crashes and burns (like they usually do),I have put up a mirror.
    The mirror of http://acmqueue.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=sh owpage&pid=151 is at http://mirrorit.demonmoo.com/r_7/acmqueue.com/modu les.php%3fname=Content&amp%3bpa=showpage&amp%3bpid =151

    --
    Note to Mods: When I post mirrors, it's a best guess. I don't know for certain whether or not the site will go down!
  2. Re:So will we see Darwin open sourced? by BWJones · · Score: 3, Informative

    Modded as interesting? You do know that Darwin is already open sourced.....Don't you?

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    Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
  3. Re:So will we see Darwin open sourced? by fmorgan · · Score: 5, Informative

    Darwin is open sourced. You can download it from

    http://developer.apple.com/darwin/projects/darwi n/

    Aqua is NOT.

    And at opendarwin you can find a x86 port of darwin.

  4. a few extra notes from someone using OSS by iguana · · Score: 5, Informative

    - Be prepared to become an expert on everything. If you have problems with component X, if no one in the community is interested in fixing it or if you're under time pressure, you'll have to fix it yourself. Also known as the "if you don't have a kernel expert on staff, you will eventually" rule.

    - Almost nothing works the first time. OSS engenders infinite flexibility which eventually reaches infinite permutations. The plethora of configuration options to a large project's source can be very daunting. Everything interlocks with everything else for maximum flexibility which means more work up front to understand how the pieces fit together.

    - Forget about binary portability. OSS is designed to support source code across platforms in the same way Windows is designed to support binary backwards compatilbity.

    - Expect complexity and plan for it. OSS supports every platform under the sun which breeds extra complexity.

    - Have lots and lots of patience.

    Just my two cents from having developed embedded x86 and ARM Linux for the last two years.

    1. Re:a few extra notes from someone using OSS by iguana · · Score: 4, Informative

      Lest I seem to negative up there, I should also mention that in using OSS you will learn more than you expect. It's a lot of fun to be able to mess around in USB device drivers one week then dig into a linker bug the next week. With time, patience, and persistence, you'll be able to understand how all the stuff actually works ("oh, that's how a shared library is loaded from disk into memory"). It's the keys to the kingdom!