OPEN-SOURCE AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE Final Report 583 Prepared by: Sean Coleman 2401 E Rio Salado Pkwy. #1179 Tempe, Arizona 85281 March 2009 Prepared for: Arizona Department of Transportation 206 South 17th Avenue Phoenix, Arizona 85007 in cooperation with U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the Arizona Department of Transportation or the Federal Highway Administration. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. Trade or manufacturers’ names which may appear herein are cited only because they are considered essential to the objectives of the report. The U.S. Government and the State of Arizona do not endorse products or manufacturers. TECHNICAL REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. FHWA-AZ-09-583 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date: March, 2009 Open-Source as an Alternative to Commercial Software 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Authors: 8. Performing Organization Sean Coleman Report No. 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. Sean Coleman 11. Contract or Grant No. 2401 E Rio Salado Pkwy, #1179 SPR-583 Tempe, AZ 85281 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report & Period Arizona Department of Transportation Covered 206 S. 17th Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85007 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Project Managers: Frank DiBugnara, John Semmens, and Steve Rost 15. Supplementary Notes 16. Abstract In recent years, open-source software has demonstrated rapid growth in popularity with the proliferation of alternatives to commercial applications. This study investigates the feasibility of ADOT using open-source software by determining overall benefits, candidate applications, and potential cost savings. First, the concept of open-source is introduced through a literature review giving the history and analysis of the hacker culture that lies at its core, as well as noting common misconceptions regarding open-source. Additionally, the economic and intrinsic motivation of open-source developers is investigated, along with key development methodologies such as crowd sourcing and transparent peer review. In order to investigate the current landscapes of open-source and commercial software among state transportation agencies, a survey was conducted of several other departments of transportation. Data from the 26 respondents showed that these agencies favored commercial software during the procurement process, despite the rapid adoption of open-source software in the consumer market. Regarding Microsoft Office 2007 and Windows Vista deployments, the consensus was that upgrading is a possibility, but no specific plans have been made. Based on these findings, OpenOffice.org was identified as a strong open-source candidate application comparable to Microsoft Office. In order to further investigate this claim, a pilot test called the OpenOffice Challenge was developed to compare the usability of OpenOffice.org and Office 2007. Results showed that participants generally see OpenOffice.org as a closer alternative to Office 2003, currently the standard office suite at ADOT, than to Office 2007. This study concludes by analyzing current Microsoft licensing contracts and software cost at the department. A potential cost savings based on reduced licensing costs was found to be $410,000 with the implementation of OpenOffice.org. Additional recommendations are made to the Department regarding open-source procurement and accessibility as a government agency. 17. Keywords 18. Distribution statement 23. Registrant’s Stamp open-source software, licensing, technology 19. Security Classification 20. Security Classification 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 136 SI* (MODERN METRIC) CONVERSION FACTORS APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO SI UNITS APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM SI UNITS Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol LENGTH LENGTH in inches 25.4 millimeters mm mm millimeters 0.039 inches in ft feet 0.305 meters m m meters 3.28 feet ft yd yards 0.914 meters m m meters 1.09 yards yd mi miles 1.61 kilometers km km kilometers 0.621 miles mi AREA AREA 2 2 2 2 in square inches 645.2 square millimeters mm mm Square millimeters 0.0016 square inches in 2 2 2 2 ft square feet 0.093 square meters m m Square meters 10.764 square feet ft 2 2 2 2 yd square yards 0.836 square meters m m Square meters 1.195 square yards yd ac acres 0.405 hectares ha ha hectares 2.47 acres ac 2 2 2 2 mi square miles 2.59 square kilometers km km Square kilometers 0.386 square miles mi VOLUME VOLUME fl oz fluid ounces 29.57 milliliters mL mL milliliters 0.034 fluid ounces fl oz gal gallons 3.785 liters L L liters 0.264 gallons gal 3 3 3 3 ft cubic feet 0.028 cubic meters m m Cubic meters 35.315 cubic feet ft 3 3 3 3 yd cubic yards 0.765 cubic meters m m Cubic meters 1.308 cubic yards yd NOTE: Volumes greater than 1000L shall be shown in m3. MASS MASS oz ounces 28.35 grams g g grams 0.035 ounces oz lb pounds 0.454 kilograms kg kg kilograms 2.205 pounds lb T short tons (2000lb) 0.907 megagrams mg mg megagrams 1.102 short tons (2000lb) T (or “metric ton”) (or “t”) (or “metric ton”) TEMPERATURE (exact) TEMPERATURE (exact) ºF Fahrenheit 5(F-32)/9 Celsius temperature ºC ºC Celsius temperature 1.8C + 32 Fahrenheit ºF temperature or (F-32)/1.8 temperature ILLUMINATION ILLUMINATION fc foot candles 10.76 lux lx lx lux 0.0929 foot-candles fc fl foot-Lamberts 3.426 candela/m2 cd/m2 cd/m2 candela/m2 0.2919 foot-Lamberts fl FORCE AND PRESSURE OR STRESS FORCE AND PRESSURE OR STRESS lbf poundforce 4.45 newtons N N newtons 0.225 poundforce lbf lbf/in2 poundforce per 6.89 kilopascals kPa kPa kilopascals 0.145 poundforce per lbf/in2 square inch square inch SI is the symbol for the International System of Units. Appropriate rounding should be made to comply with Section 4 of ASTM E380 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables .......................................................................................................................8 1.0 Executive Summary..................................................................................................1 1.1 Introduction ...........................................................................................................1 1.2 Literature Review..................................................................................................1 1.3 External Agency Survey........................................................................................2 1.4 The OpenOffice Challenge™................................................................................2 1.5 Recommendations .................................................................................................3 2.0 Literature Review......................................................................................................4 2.1 Introduction ...........................................................................................................4 2.2 Definitions and License Types..............................................................................4 2.2.1 Free Software.................................................................................................4 2.2.2 The Open-Source Definition..........................................................................5 2.2.3 OSS Licenses.................................................................................................6 2.3 History of Open-source .........................................................................................7 2.3.1 UNIX..............................................................................................................8 2.3.2 Linux............................................................................................................10 2.3.3 Other Major Projects....................................................................................11 2.4 Economics and Philosophy.................................................................................12 2.4.1 Open-source Initiative..................................................................................12 2.4.2 Economics and Motivation..........................................................................13 2.4.3 Government and OSS ..................................................................................14 2.5 Total Cost of Ownership .....................................................................................16 2.5.1 OSS Costs....................................................................................................17 2.6 OSS Advantages and Disadvantages...................................................................19 2.6.1 Customization and Modularity ....................................................................20 2.6.2 Security Models...........................................................................................20 2.6.3 Usability and Interfacing..............................................................................21 2.6.4 Software Versioning....................................................................................21 2.6.5 Reliability and Support ................................................................................21 2.7 Summary .............................................................................................................22