University of Connecticut OpenCommons@UConn Published Works UConn Library 12-26-2001 Open Source Software: A History David Bretthauer University of Connecticut,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://opencommons.uconn.edu/libr_pubs Part of the OS and Networks Commons Recommended Citation Bretthauer, David, "Open Source Software: A History" (2001). Published Works. 7. https://opencommons.uconn.edu/libr_pubs/7 Open Source Software: A History —page 1 Open Source Software: A History by David Bretthauer Network Services Librarian, University of Connecticut Open Source Software: A History —page 2 Abstract: In the 30 years from 1970 -2000, open source software began as an assumption without a name or a clear alternative. It has evolved into a s ophisticated movement which has produced some of the most stable and widely used software packages ever produced. This paper traces the evolution of three operating systems: GNU, BSD, and Linux, as well as the communities which have evolved with these syst ems and some of the commonly -used software packages developed using the open source model. It also discusses some of the major figures in open source software, and defines both “free software” and “open source software.” Open Source Software: A History —page 1 Since 1998, the open source softw are movement has become a revolution in software development. However, the “revolution” in this rapidly changing field can actually trace its roots back at least 30 years. Open source software represents a different model of software distribution that wi th which many are familiar. Typically in the PC era, computer software has been sold only as a finished product, otherwise called a “pre - compiled binary” which is installed on a user’s computer by copying files to appropriate directories or folders.