New Study Searches For the Source Of Open Source

September 28th, 2006: Academics in the US have been awarded US$750,000 in funding from the National Science Foundation, to undertake a three year study into the development process of open source software.

Currently, there is no blueprint as to how a typical piece of open source software is created, and no real plan of how all its pieces fit together. The core code is usually put together by a small group of programmers, while all the plug-ins and additional items are more nebulous creations, with many disparate volunteers working towards

It is this organic quality of development that has intrigued the researchers. So, by focussing on the Apache Web Server, PostgreSQL database and the Python scripting language, and collecting information from community sources such as message boards, discussion groups and bug reports, they team hopes to divine just how designers organise, interact and ultimately create something of value.

Mysterious processes or not, open source solutions are gathering more and more momentum everyday. And with an altruistic philosophy driving development, it’s no wonder why open source solutions enjoy far more enthusiastic support than their proprietary competitors.

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