An Open-Source Academic Method:
The National Center for
Telecommunications Technologies
ATE Resource Center
Michael T. Qaissaunee
Scott SaintOnge
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
Agenda
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Challenges / Problems Faced
NCTT Overview
Open Source History and Description
Solution
Getting started
Management /Implementation Issues
References
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
Challenges / Problems Faced
Limited Resources
• Funding
• Equipment
• Facilities
• Staffing
– Faculty
– Professional/Technical
– Support
Rapid Technological Change
• Industry Needs
• Natural Evolution of tech-based
Programs
• Resistance
• Equipment
• Expertise
• Marketing & Promotion
• Recruitment
• Retention
• Creating
– New Courses
– New Curriculum
• Keeping Existing Curriculum Current/MarketRelevant
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
What is NCTT?
• A National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education
(ATE) Resource Center for Excellence in Instruction of
Telecommunications Engineering Technology.
• Under the administrative direction and a division of Springfield
Technical Community College (STCC), Springfield, MA located on its
campus and found on Web at www.nctt.org
• Derives major funding from the College and the NSF.
• Dedicated to promoting and providing quality technological
instruction to students, thereby ensuring the globally competitive
advantage of America’s telecommunications industries.
• Began as Northeast Center for Telecommunications Technologies in
1997 with high school (10), community college (10) and 4 year
colleges (5) in New England and New York.
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
The mission of the NCTT is to provide appropriately
skilled technicians and technologists with a primary
focus on Connecting Technologies1 as workforce for
ICT (Information and Communications
Technologies) business, industry and ICT users.
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
Open-Source: History
• In the beginning,
– no protection for computer software
– de facto open source
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No copyright until 1980
No patenting until mid to late 1990s
Could be kept a trade secret, but not effective
Richard Stallman: The FSF and the GNU Project
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1981 resigned from MIT AI
software NDAs,
1983 founded the Free Software Foundation,
GNU project- many Unix utilities.
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
Open-Source: History
• The Open Source Movement
– an offshoot of the free software movement
– advocates open-source software
closed-source
– founded in 1998 by
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John Hall
Larry Augustin
Bruce Perens
Eric S. Raymond
open source
primary
author Open
– essay The Cathedral and the Bazaar (2000)
Source
– principal "theorist“
• others
Definition
lex, uucp
– Earliest open source paper
• 1988 Mike Lesk (Bell Labs), "Can UNIX Survive Secret Source
Code?"
• only when computer source code is open and can be
modified, will it be developed and vibrant
• Computing Systems, v1, i2, p189-199
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
Open-Source: History
• The Open Source Movement
– established the Open Source Initiative (OSI)
• steward organization
http://opensource.org/docs/history.php
– early period (1998-2000) coincided/drove the dot-com boom
• large growth in the popularity of Linux
• formation of many "open-source-friendly" companies
• open-source software offerings by established software companies
– Sun Microsystems (StarOffice)
– IBM (OpenAFS)
– Corel (Corel Linux)
• dot-com boom busted in 2001,
– open-source continued strong growth
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
Open-Source: History
• The Open Source Movement
– "steered" by a loose collegium of elders
• Raymond, others, and notables
– Linus Torvalds
– Larry Wall
– Guido van Rossum
creator of Perl; original
author of rn Usenet, patch
author of Python
programming language
– adopted the Open Source Definition for opensource software
• based on the Debian Free Software Guidelines
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
The Open Source Definition
• free redistribution of
original product
• recipient can give it away or
require payment
• original distributor cannot get
a royalty
• un-obfuscated source code
must be made available
• recipient allowed to make
derivative works
• author’s source code must not
be altered and then
distributed as the original
• No discrimination against
• Distribution of License - No
additional licenses or nondisclosure agreements
• license must not be specific to
a product - not part of a
particular software
distribution - avoiding license
traps
• license must not restrict other
software that is distributed
with the OSS
• license must be technology
neutral
– persons or groups
– fields of endeavor
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
What is Open Source Software (OSS)
• Open source is more than “free software”:
• Free redistribution
– free to redistribute the software as you choose.
• Source code
– Source code is available
– Enables modification and inspection.
• Derived works
– free to modify (and redistribute) the software
• Integrity of Authorship
– retain authorship of modifications
• No discrimination against persons, groups or use (including
commercial use)
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
Cathedral (Closed Source) vs. Bazaar
(Open Source) Paradigm
• Closed Source (MS WinXP)
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–
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developed in a controlled, coordinated way
a relatively small, tightly-knit group
secrecy through by NDAs
bugs reported to this group (access to source)
• Open Source (example Linux)
– many volunteers together write the program
– coordinated through the Internet
– Quality maintained by
• releasing very often
• getting fast feedback from many users
– In this manner good quality code is produced, and truly useful
features are included.
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
What OSS is not
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Freeware (no source code)
Shareware (no source code)
Public Domain
For non-commercial use only
Community Codes
– Not the same as OSS, but can be OSS
• Example: A complicated piece of software, where various
parts of the software are prepared by different entities
• There will be a Holder, acting as sole distributor
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
Solution: Open Source
Culture?
• open source principles applied to technical areas other than
computer software:
– digital communication protocols
– data storage formats
– open source hardware
• (Indian development simputer)
– dissemination of general knowledge
• examples of applying open source
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The broader impacts
of the open source
movement, and the
extent of its role in the
development of new
information sharing
procedures, remains
to be seen
Open CourseWare project at MIT,
Thacker's article on "Open Source DNA",
the "Open Source Cultural Database",
openwebschool, and
the Wikipedia
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
Key Features
• Copyright & Licensing
– Ownership stays with the author(s) unless they
relinquish their claims to it or transfer the
copyright to another party
– Over 30 Open Source Licenses recognized by
the Open Source Initiative
http://www.opensource.org/licenses
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
Key Features
• Multiple Versions
– Over time, new versions
• become dominant and widely used, or
• die off due to lack of support/usage, or
• get folded back into the original
– Natural selection process favors end-user
– Ability to fork off different versions ensures
surviving version will have features majority of
end-users want
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
Key Features
• Accountability
– Tightly knit community supporting the
development process
– Source availability facilitates:
• Scrutiny by many people to flush out weaknesses
• Independent check and audit
– Peer review & feedback leads to
• More robust, reliable & rich content
• Greater innovation, more rapid evolution & faster bug
fixes
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
Key Features
• Benefits
– Promotes positive competition, self-learning,
exploring, and cooperation
– Benefits resource challenged institutions –
affordable and accessible development process
– Stimulates and supports regional and national
local technology programs
– Freedom to learn, redistribute, enhance
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
Basic Criteria for Collaboration / Portal Tool
• follows GPL so that customization fall under legitimate
use in license
• uses standards based open-source back ends (MySQL
& PHP in this case)
• ability to effectively search through content (including
user uploaded content)
• ability to handle uploads of a variety of file types
• strict user control / sign-up functionality
• very verbose administrative control of site and users
from central location
• interface should be completely customizable to create
needed information categories
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
Basic Criteria for Collaboration / Portal Tool
• multiple methods of communication (real-time chat,
threaded forums, email lists)
• very cost-effective
• strict versioning control for shared files in progress
(check-in / check-out)
• ease-of-use
• hard to break
• low process overhead on server
• low bandwidth usage
• incorporates Universal Design (Americans w/
Disabilities Act Compliancy) - generally translates into
better usability for all visitors
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
Get Started: By Using!
• Call for Participation
– Join the NCTT sponsored Open Source Project
– [email protected]
– Talk to me
• How to get involved
– Read Project Documents
– Participate in Forum
– Access to content
• Roles
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User
Developers
Contributors
Project/Module manager
Committee member
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
References
• OSI homepage (http://www.opensource.org/)
Open Source - http://www.opensource.org
• GNU and Free Software Foundation
http://www.gnu.org
• The GNU General Public License (GPL)
http://opensource.org/licenses/gpl-license.php
• http://echo.gmu.edu/freeandopen
• http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedralbazaar/
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
References
•OSI's history of the open source movement
(http://www.opensource.org/docs/history.html)
•Stallman's criticism of the open source movement
(http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-for-freedom.html)
•MIT's OpenCourseWare project
(http://education.mit.edu/tep/11125/opencourse/)
•Thacker on "Open Source DNA"
(http://www.mikro.org/Events/OS/text/EugeneThacker_OSDNA.htm)
•McCormick on the Open Source Cultural Database
(http://www.opencritic.com/texts/CPSR_pattern.htm)
•"Lessons from Open Source",
(http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue6_6/newmarch/index.html)
by Jan Shafer
•Why OSS/FS? Look at the Numbers
(http://www.dwheeler.com/oss_fs_why.html) by David A. Wheeler
•How to Evaluate OSS/FS Programs
(http://www.dwheeler.com/oss_fs_eval.html) by David A. Wheeler
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org
References
•
Open source project hostings
– Apache Software Foundation (http://apache.org/), focused on servers,
infrastructures, as well as development tools
– BerliOS Developer (http://developer.berlios.de/)
– IBM developerWorks : Open Source
(http://ibm.com/developerworks/opensource/)
– Java.net (http://java.net/), for projects using Java technology
– Mozilla Foundation (http://mozilla.org), for internet clients and
development infrastructures
– mozdev.org, for Mozilla-related projects
– Open Bioinformatics Foundation (http://open-bio.org/), for
Bioinformatics-relted projects
– Savannah.GNU (http://savannah.gnu.org/), for GNU Softwares
– Savannah.NonGNU (http://savannah.nongnu.org/), for Free Softwares
that runs on free operating systems
– SourceForge.net (http://sourceforge.net/)
– SunSource.net (http://sunsource.net/), projects sponsored by Sun
Microsystems
– Tigris.org (http://tigris.org/), focused tools for collaborative software
development
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright STCC Foundation Press. All rights reserved.
www.nctt.org