Open Source Programming Tools On the Rise

snydeq writes "Peter Wayner takes a look at several open source development projects making waves in the enterprise. From Git to Hadoop to build management tools, 'even in the deepest corners of proprietary stacks, open source tools can be found, often dominating. The reason is clear: Open source licenses are designed to allow users to revise, fix, and extend their code. The barber or cop may not be familiar enough with code to contribute, but programmers sure know how to fiddle with their tools. The result is a fertile ecology of ideas and source code, fed by the enthusiasm of application developers who know how to "scratch an itch."'"

Comments

Really?

[MrEricSir]

Here is a very unscientific survey of worthwhile open source tools that have caught our eye.

I guess CVS, Firefox, Linux, GNU Make, etc. didn't catch your eye years ago?

Open? Or free (as in beer)?

[Chuck_McDevitt]

I'll bet that lots of enterprise use of Open Source tools is due to the price tag, not the ability to fiddle with the source code.

Re:Open? Or free (as in beer)?

[clang_jangle]

While that's almost certainly true, it really doesn't matter at all. Everyone benefits from wider deployment of FOSS, whether or not they're using it "for the right reasons".

The reason is clear but it isnot the one mentioned

[Quantum_Infinity]

I highly doubt that open source tools are used because they allow themselves to be modified. What percentage of people actually look into the code and modify them? The main reason is that most open source tools are free and have absolutely zero delay in being available. Download, install and code away! In most cases, you don't even have to install, just unzip and you are good to go.

Re:Open? Or free (as in beer)?

[CalcuttaWala]

The ability to buy a product through a purchase order and have access to customer support is sometimes very important to large corporations. I had once used a legitimately downloaded PGP encryption product as key component of a complex Cash Management application in a global multinational bank but the biggest challenge in getting it accepted as a part of the solution was the lack of a purchase order. I remember the IT Head of the bank almost pleading with me to get a commercial product but because PGP had already been integrated with the system, the difficulty of a change was immense. I believe that the bank finally got someone do download PGP and sell it to the bank for $10 through an invoice before the row was settled !!