Recently a company called SCO launched a legal case against IBM, claiming that the latter infringed on the former’s legal rights by using some of its Unix components without its permission in the IBM version of Linux. SCO then went on to issue letters to thousands of Linux users, threatening them with legal action.
This understandably has caused uproar in the Linux community.
What exactly are open source software systems, and how they are different from closed ones?
Essentially, an open source software system is one where the original source code of any program is made available to anyone without restriction on the understanding that any changes made to the said source code must also be made public. This does not necessarily mean that the program is free, even though most open source software is in fact free. It only means that the program’s basic code is open for inspection.
Normally, all programs are compiled before they are offered to the market, so they are in the form of a “black box” whose operations are secret.
Examples of closed source software are many. Windows by Microsoft and Mac OS by Apple Computers are examples of operating systems that are “black boxes.” As for applications, Microsoft Office is an example of closed software. In fact, most of the software we use is closed, due to the fact that over ninety percent of all software is a closed source.
Examples of open source software in the field of operating systems are also many, the most famous being Unix that was developed by the University of Berkley in the early 1970s.
Unix is well known and widely used especially in large systems, with thousands of concurrent users due to its stability and robust security.
In recent years, other open source operating systems have started to gain popularity, the most famous being Linux.
Both IBM and HP have invested close to $2 billion to develop versions of Linux to replace Unix, and have loaded it onto new lines of their high performance servers.
There are, however, other open source operating systems, such as BSD and GNU. The most famous is Open Office, which is an office suite developed by Sun Microsystems, who are also the developers of a Unix version called Solaris and the famous Java programming language.
Java has gained great popularity due to its being cross platform, which means that programs written in Java can be used on any computer, regardless of its operating system.
The reasons why Open source software would be chosen over closed source software do not in any way reflect negatively on the quality, stability or value for money of closed source software, but rather reflect the special needs of some users. These include:
• Users who require total openness in the software they use and complete access to the underlying source codes, such as the military or organizations responsible for national security.
• The ability to modify or change software quickly without having to wait for a vendor to do it.
• Reduced total cost of ownership. (Although closed source vendors dispute this).
Returning to the IBM vs. SCO fracas, most analysts believe that it will end without any success for SCO. An amusing development was Microsoft’s acquiring a license from SCO. This move on Microsoft’s part was in order to give legitimacy to SCO’s claims and to provide them with much needed funds to continue their fight against IBM and Linux.
Arab News Opinion 24 August 2003
