Development, ownership and future challenges in open source projects

Abstract

The success of Linux operating system has increased interest towards the open source software model. Often the open source is understood to be noncompensatory software, but it has more to it than just unlimited aspect of use and distribution. The open source development has its origins in the early era of computing, when the code was produced in research laboratories and universities. The code was usually shared, and the concept of commercial software did not exist. There are ideological grounds in the development of open source that include the aspects of independence and freedom of use. On the practical side, the use of open source has been seen as a possible solution to the software crisis, where the produced software doesn t fulfill the expectations or is delivered late. Every open source license model requests at least some parts of the code to be public, which is the defining character of the software model. The compensation to open source programmers comes mainly in form of internal rewarding (feeling of competence, belonging, altruism and success). Open source products have high quality aspects in terms of code quality, but lacks usability, communication, common standards and online help. The software business would need new business models for the wider user of open source.