Paper No: 05Principal ICT forInvestigator Libraries Director & Dr. Jagdish Arora, INFLIBNET Centre, Gandhinagar Module : 16Subject Open Coordinator Source Library Software and Applications Development Team PrincipalPaper Coordinator Investigator Dr. Jagdish Arora, Director & INFLIBNET Centre, Gandhinagar Subject Coordinator Content Writer Dr. Usha Mujoo Munshi, Librarian, Paper Coordinator Indian Institute of Public Administration Content Reviewer Dr. Parveen Babbar, Content Writer Deputy Librarian Jawaharlal Nehru University Dr. Usha Mujoo Munshi, Librarian, Content Reviewer Indian Institute of Public Administration PaperContent Coordinator Reviewer Open Source Library Software and Applications I. Objectives • To learn basics of Open Source Movement • Study the History of Open Source • Enumerate the Advantages and Disadvantages of Open Source Software • Open Source Software available for library automation • Open Source Library Applications II. Learning Outcomes After completion of this lesson, learners would be acquainted to the concept of open source software. They would learn about evolution of concept of open source and popular open source software that are available for automating libraries. III. Module Structure 1. Introduction 2. Open Source: Evaluation 2.1 History of Open Source 2.2 Open Source Platforms 2.3 Common OSS licenses 2.3.1 GNU General Public License (GPL) /Affero General Public License 2.3.2 Creative Commons 2.3.3 GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL)/ Artistic License 2.3.4 Berkley System Distribution License (BSD)/ Apache Software License/ MIT License/ NCSA License 2.3.5 OCLC Research Public License 3. Open Source Software 3.1 Open Source 3.1.1 Free Redistribution 3.1.2 Source Code 3.1.3 Derived Works 3.1.4 Integrity of The Author's Source Code 3.1.5 No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups and against the fields of endeavour 3.1.6 Distribution of License 3.1.7 License Must Not be Specific to be a Product 3.1.8 License Must Not Restrict Other Software 3.1.9 License Must Be Technology-Neutral 3.2 Advantages of Open Source Software 3.3 Disadvantages of Open Source Software 3.4 Some examples of general use popular Open Source Software's 4. Open Source Library Software (Integrated Library Systems) 4.1 Open Source Integrated Library Systems 4.1.1 Koha 4.1.2 Evergreen 4.1.3 OpenBiblio 4.1.4 NewGenLib (NGL) 4.1.5 SOPAC (Social Online Public Access Catalog) 5. Digital/Electronic Library Softwares 5.1 Dienest 5.2 DSpace 5.3 EPrints 5.4 Fedora 5.5 Greenstone 5.6 Invenio 6. Some important popular Library Management Applications 6.1 ATutor 6.2 CORAL 6.3 CUFTS 6.4 Drupal 6.5 GODOT 6.6 Joomla 6.7 Manhattan 6.8 Moodle 7. Summary 8. References 1. Introduction Open Source Software (OSS), term was coined by Eric Raymond, it is the software for which the source code is freely and publicly available, though the specific licensing agreements vary as to what one is allowed to do with that code. Open source software (OSS) has gained importance worldwide and in the last few years open source has triggered a vast volume of research and has entered the mainstream software market, with the adoption of packages such as Linux (operating system), mySQL (relational database), PHP, Perl, Python (scripting and programming languages), Apache Web Server and the Zope content management system and many more. However the Free software [FS], term was given by Richard Stallman in 1984, is the software which can be obtained at zero cost i.e. software which gives the user certain freedoms. FS provides only executable file to the end user, through public domain and end user is free to use that executable software in any way, but the user is not free to modify that software. Similarly the alternative term Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) refers to software licenses which give users four essential ‘freedoms. These include running the program for any purpose, studying the workings of the program, and modify the program to suit specific needs. One can also redistribute copies of the program at no charge or for a fee, and finally to improve the program, and release the improved, modified version. 2. Open Source: Evaluation 2.1 History of Open Source The open source movement started in the 1980s with Richard Stallman who resigned from MIT founded GNU project. Unix is an operating system, whose functionality, he wanted to copy and build upon, but it required community effort. Wanting it to be a free software, he created a different kind of copyright licence, which he termed “copyleft”. “ Milestones in the history of open source software are: • 1983 - Richard Stallman formed GNU project; • 1985 - Creation of Free Software Foundation; • 1991 - Development of Linux kernel by Linus Torvalds; • 1998 - Open Source Initiative (OSI) formed by Eric Raymond. 2.2 Open Source Platforms a. Open Source Initiative [http://opensource.org/]- The Open Source Initiative (OSI) is a non-profit corporation with global scope formed to educate about and advocate for the benefits of open source and to build bridges among different constituencies in the open source community. b. SourceForge [http://sourceforge.net/ ] - SourceForge is an Open Source community resource dedicated to helping open source projects, be as successful as possible. It thrives on community collaboration to help create a premiere resource for open source software development and distribution. 2.3 Common OSS licenses Some of the most common licenses used for Open Source are: 2.3.1 GNU General Public License (GPL) /Affero General Public License- GNU is the most common of OSS licenses, the GPL implements a concept known as “copyleft” that attempts to negate copyright for the purposes of collaborative software development. Under the GPL license, the code for a GPL-licensed application can be used anywhere in any situation; it can be distributed to anyone as long as the code is included and the GPL license is retained; and anyone can create a derivative work from the code and redistribute it, as long as the resulting code is made available and also licensed under the GPL. The Affero General Public License is almost identical to the GPL but includes additional provisions for network access. 2.3.2 Creative Commons - Creative Commons licensing is similar to that of the GPL, but is not designed around software. The Creative Commons license was originally designed for other creative works such as music and film, though it is increasingly utilized within software projects. 2.3.3 GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL)/ Artistic License- LGPL is normally used to designate source code that can be used by applications for which a charge is levied, so that this code can be used in commercial products, hence “lesser”. The Artistic License is similar and also attempts to mitigate the fear of using code for commercial purposes. 2.3.4 Berkley System Distribution License (BSD)/ Apache Software License/ MIT License/ NCSA License - The BSD license is basis for many other licenses, including Apache Software License/ MIT License/ NCSA License. It is mainly concerned that the copyright of the code be recognized as belonging to the creators and that this copyright be promulgated to applications built with the source code. The BSD license, like almost all OSS licenses, also specifies that the copyright holder is not liable for the consequences of using the source code. 2.3.5 OCLC Research Public License - The OCLC license ensures that modifications are reported back to OCLC if the intent is to redistribute the changes externally. 3. Open Source Software Open source software is where the source code of programs is made freely available for anyone to change and distribute, provided they abide by the accompanying licence. This differs from closed source or propriety software which may only be obtained by some form of payment, either by purchase or by “leasing”. The difference between open and closed source can be characterised by the word freedom: users of open source software have the freedom to alter the source code while users of closed source software do not. Open Source Proprietary Provides support Commercial Open Yearly License + Yearly and legal Source Maintenance Maintenance indemnification Community Open Freeware or Normally no Free Source Shareware formal support Fig.1: Open Source is a licensing or business model 3.1 Open Source Open source is the access to the source code and its distribution terms must comply with the following criteria: 3.1.1 Free Redistribution: By free distribution it is meant that the license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away the software as a component of an aggregate software distribution containing programs from several different sources. Royalty or any other kind of fees cannot be charged for the sale of such software. 3.1.2 Source Code: The open source software includes the source code. If the source code is not provided the downloading via the Internet without charge must be allowed in that case. The source code must be preferred form in which a programmer would modify the program. 3.1.3 Derived Works: The modifications and derived works must be allowed under the same terms as the license of the original software. 3.1.4 Integrity of The Author's Source Code: The license may restrict source- code from being distributed in modified form with different name and version only if the license allows the distribution of "patch files" with the source code for the purpose of modifying the program at build time. 3.1.5 No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups and against the fields of endeavour. 3.1.6 Distribution of License: The rights attached to the program must apply to all, to whom the program is redistributed without the need for execution of an additional license.