Add to del.icio.us     Digg this

Nov. 13, 2009

There are some people out there that like to think that the Linux and open source community can almost do miracles to the efficient management of specific development projects and that this will automatically attract a broad community of contributors who will improve the software in question.

But these days, creating a successful open source project is a lot more work than what most people think. And yes, there are always complications and other challenges that set in on most of these projects.

On any given day, you actually have to really deliver a promise that some people will find interesting, while attracting other people into the project, then continue in that direction until the project is finally completed.

But if you look at all the failed projects on SourceForge and other similar sites, the term open source is no guarantee for any success, no matter how large or small a project is.

Of course, even if project management is a core element of every open source project, there are only so few resources.

Recently, the Free Software Foundation made a video contest on the subject "Why is open source software important to you?" It's a timely topic, with Windows 7 just out and with the free software community's bickering that common goals sometimes seem in danger of being forgotten.

The contest has more than one observer thinking: Why is open source important to people? And why isn't it more important to a broader range of people, both inside and outside of the Linux community?

The two questions are more closely connected than you might at first glance. In certain ways, some can explain what their interest is in free software more easily than others... Overall, coding is mostly limited to PHP and Perl scripts, and to modifications of existing code, so having the source code is only an indirect benefit to some.

Have a comment you might want to add? Send it to contact AT linuxnewstoday DOT org.

Add to del.icio.us     Digg this

Source: GLH.

All logos, trade marks or service marks on this website are the property of their respective companies or owners.

ADVERTISERS:
Linux News Today.org is read by over 450,000 people involved in the field of Linux application development, professional Web hosting services, Linux security, Linux Web development, etc. Inquire about our reasonable advertising rates on our news website. One of our advertising representatives will be in touch with you. Simply email us to learn about our ad rates and how we can help drive relevant traffic to your website. Advertising space is limited.