Open-Source Software Engineering – an Oxymoron or the Future?

Approximately twenty attendees of the Workshop on Open-Source Software Engineering were engaged in some seriously subversive business on Tuesday – at least that’s how it would probably be seen by Microsoft’s operating systems chief Jim Allchin, who recently called open-source software “an intellectual property destroyer” and even suggested it to be un-American. Which is probably why the workshop was held in Canada, long known as a haven for (un-)American dissidents.
What is the fuss about, anyway?  It seems like open-source software development shouldn’t work.  Eric Raymond has likened the technique to a “great babbling bazaar of different agendas and approaches.”  But, he meant it in a good way.  Successes such as Apache, Linux, and BIND (the domain name service for the Internet) have sparked a lot of interest in open-source techniques.  It has even been seen as providing access to world-class software for groups that could not otherwise afford it – groups like developing nations and many of us academics.
Still, not all is rosy about open-source development.  Intellectual property issues crop up often, as do other questions.  How can money be made from open source?  Is it really free or are there hidden costs?  And are the results truly better?
These were among the many issues that were raised during the workshop, as the participants discussed ways to apply the lessons of open-source to more traditional methods of development, and vice versa.  The interest in open-source software has not been confined to just the workshop. IBM’s Daniel Sabbah commented after his keynote address that IBM can benefit from releasing open-source development tools for Linux.  As the two sides explore the advantages of the other, it is likely that some form of fusion will emerge.  It may be what workshop co-chair Joe Feller calls visible-source software. For example, Microsoft itself has released some of its source code in a limited fashion to select customers. Furthermore, Pankaj Garg gave a presentation on “corporate source,” where groups within Hewlett Packard release their code to the rest of the company in an open-source fashion.
Whether you believe open source is “an example of bad SE practices that succeeds despite itself” or that it is “pushing the horizons of SE” (Walt Scacchi), there can be little doubt that it is challenging our pre-conceived notions about software development and, in doing so, is having a profound effect on our community.
— Davor Cubranic and Garry Froehlich
