Open Source Software: New and Noteworthy

1
Open Source SoftwareNew and Noteworthy

• Presented September 30, 2004
• SwANH InfoXChange Conference
• By Gregory C. Larkin

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Todays Presentation

• Agenda
• Introduction
• Software project elements
• New open-source tools
• Final thoughts
• More information

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Who am I?

• Greg Larkin, founder and owner of
  SourceHosting.net, LLC (Hollis, NH)
  
• Software engineer since 1989
• Open-source software user since 1990
• Independent consultant since 1996
• Founded SourceHosting.net in 2000

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Some Elements of a Software Project

• Deployment platform
• Source code control system
• Database engine
• Portability library
• Virtual machine

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Deployment Platform

• Popular BSD variants
• FreeBSD (general purpose server)
• OpenBSD (firewall or router box)
• FreeBSD advantages
• Its UNIX and more mature than Linux
• Its an entire system with a unified
  distribution
  
• High performance and stable
• Ports system has 12000 applications

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Source Code Control System

• Subversion
• A compelling replacement for CVS
• Builds on the CVS working model
• Directory and file renaming support
• Atomic commits
• WebDAV support via Apache
• Eclipse integration and a variety of clients
• Currently under heavy development

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Database Engine

• Derby (formerly Cloudscape)
• Open-sourced by IBM
• Part of the Apache Incubator Project
• Pure Java database
• Embeddable or network-enabled
• Small application footprint
• Supports indexes, triggers and transactions

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Portability Library

• Apache Portable Runtime
• Consistent C programming on multiple platforms
• Version 1.0 just released
• Apache web server is built on APR
• Large variety of types and functions
• File I/O
• Network communication
• C style string management
• Thread management

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Virtual Machine

• Mono 1.0
• Adds UNIX deployment option to .NET
• Provides
• C source code compiler
• .NET-compatible libraries and runtime
• Disassembler and other tools
• Not 100 spec complete, but very close
• C support is stable, VB.NET is coming
• 100 .NET applications work best
• Integrate with Apache via mod_mono

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Caveats and Advice

• Open-source software is not better by definition
• Open-source software is not completely free
• What is the long-term impact on the development
  process?
  
• Stick with the name brands

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More Information

• http//www.sourcehosting.net/swanh.php

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Q A Session

• Gregory C. Larkin
• Founder
• SourceHosting.net, LLC
• PO Box 1013
• Hollis, NH 03049
• [phone]
• glarkin_at_sourcehosting.net
• http//www.sourcehosting.net/