The Birth of a FOSS Application

Joe Barr writes "Brice Burges explains why and how he created a new free software application, as well as what he learned from the birthing process, in a story on Linux.com. The story provides first-hand insights into the frustrations and satisfactions of developers working on free/open source projects. From the article: 'I'm always disappointed to hear open source project members say that they had "their developer" modify an aspect of the program without ever hearing from that developer or seeing any of the code. This is not progressive.'" Linux.com and Slashdot are both owned by OSTG.

Comments

Free != freedom

[EmbeddedJanitor]

Open Source need not mean that the project is open to allcomers. The projects that work tend to be managed by dictators (eg Linus). I currently work on 2 major open source projects and have done some minor work on others. Those that are run as democratic communal projects tend to lose their fiocus and crash onto rocks.

No different from any other software development really.

Re:Free != freedom

[Anonymous Coward]

The Free in FOSS indeed means freedom. Even though many successful projects are run by "dictators" or committees, not by a democracy of all developers, nobody can stop you from making changes yourself. There is a difference between "the" Linux kernel and "a" Linux kernel, and the Free in FOSS means you can have your Linux kernel and other people can have other Linux kernels. The project may not be open to all, but the product, the source code, certainly is.

Different projects, different styles

[jd]

There is no all-encompasing style for Open Source, Free Software, or any other variety of the beastie. There is no Universal Way, no Grand Master Plan that all must follow, and no guaranteed recipe for either success or failure. There is only code, tended to by a cooperative under the policies of that cooperative, for no benefit other than the scratching of a collective itch.

One of the very reasons the term "Open Source" was so heavily slammed in the early days was that it meant too many damn things to too many people (some of whom might also be damned). People, as a whole, adopted it despite those objections and often belittled those who raised them. Now we're finding out that some of those same people are finding out that Open Source does indeed too many different things to too many people, and that people really are trying to achieve different results. Congratulations. Should I break into applause or just do a Kerr Avon impression and throw these people out the airlock?

Nice Checklist

[jlarocco]

The checklist on the lower right is probably the best part of the article. It's all pretty obvious stuff when you think about it, but nice to have it all listed.