Building Open Source Software for Humanity Ralph Morelli and Trishan de Lanerolle Trinity College {ralph.morelli, trishan.delanerolle}@trincoll.edu January

Building Open Source Software for

Humanity

Ralph Morelli and Trishan de LanerolleTrinity College

{ralph.morelli, trishan.delanerolle}@trincoll.eduJanuary 29, 2008

Slide: 2 The Humanitarian-FOSS Project © 2007 U Hartford Jan-29-08

• Open source software.

• The open source movement.

• Humanitarian applications of FOSS.

• The Humanitarian FOSS Project.

• H-FOSS and Computing Education

• The LVGH Project

Outline


What is Open Source Software?

• A software development process that emphasizes peer review and transparency.

• Software that may be freely distributed.

• “Free” as in “free speech” not “free beer”.

• Distribution must include source code.

• License must permit derived works.

• Licenses may not discriminate against persons, groups, platforms, endeavors, or products.

• Source: Open Source Initiative


Intellectual Property


Today: ~ 65 Open Source Licenses

• Source: Open Source Initiative • GNU General Public License (GPL) -- Stallman, FSF

• Lesser GPL (LGPL) -- Allows inclusion of commercial software.

• New BSD (Berkeley Standard Distribution) License.

• Mozilla License (Netscape)

• Apache License

• Academic Free License -- any original work of authorship

• Artistic licenses -- distribution of free software

• Apple, Sun, IBM, Intel, MITRE, and other commercial licenses.

• Microsoft Public License (Ms-PL) -- New in 2007!

• Related Concepts:• Public domain software: No license.

• Shareware, freeware: Free of cost, no source code.


Development Process


The Cathedral and the Bazaar• Eric Steven Raymond.

• “Linux is subversive. Who would have thought even five years ago (1991) that a world-class operating system could coalesce as if by magic out of part-time hacking by several thousand developers scattered all over the planet, connected only by the tenuous strands of the Internet?”

• First presented at the 1997 Linux Kongress.

• Source: http://www.catb.org/~esr/


The Cathedral Model• Orderly process control.

• Top-down design/control.

• Master builder and apprentices.

• Closed, hierarchical organization.

• Seniority, legacy-based.

• No users admitted until finished.

• Example: Windows.

• In reality: Merit sometimes breaks through but individuals have “jobs” and do what the boss says.


The Bazaar Model• “Babbling bazaar”.• Different agendas and

approaches.• Peer collaborators.• Open, democratic community.• Merit and consensus based.• Lots of interaction with users.• Example: Linux.

• In reality: Some centralized control but individuals are creative and do what they find interesting.


FOSS Characteristics (ESR)

• Good software starts by scratching a developer's personal itch.

• If you have the right attitude, interesting problems will find you.

• When you lose interest in a program, … hand it off to a competent successor.

• Many eyes make all bugs shallow.• Release early. Release often. And listen

to your customers.


Educational Benefits

• Self-directed and community-oriented.• Personal responsibility and peer approval.• Personally creative and socially beneficial.• Pride of authorship (track down bugs).• Responsibility to others (documentation).


The Open Source Movement

1. In the beginning.


Before the Beginning

Vint Cerf & Robert Kahn

TCP/IP Protocol

Tim Berners-Lee

The World Wide Web

Al Gore The Internets

Richard Stallman

GNU

Larry RobertsArpaNet

Bill Gates Microsoft


The GNU (GNU’s Not Unix) Manifesto

• Richard Stallman• Free Software Foundation (FSF)• Goal: “…good system software”• “… free, just like air.”

• Q: Rewarding programmers for creativity?• A: Social contribution is a reward in itself.

• Q: Programmer’s right to control creativity?• A: No inherent intellectual property right.• A: Patents, copyright intended to help society.

•Source: The GNU Manifesto


Linus Posts a MessageMessage-ID:[email protected]: [email protected] (Linus Benedict Torvalds)To: Newsgroups: comp.os.inixSubject: What would you like to see most in minix?Summary: small poll for my new operating system

Hello everybody out there using minix-I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu) for 386 (486) AT clones. This has been brewing since april, and is starting to get ready. I'd like any feedback on things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat

Any suggestions are welcome, but I won't promise I'll implement them :-)

Linus

Source: Thomas Goetz, Wired, 11/2003


Linus vs. Tanenbaum Debate

Andy Tanenbaum: I still maintain the point that designing a monolithic kernel in 1991 is a fundamental error. Be thankful you are not my student. You would not get a high grade for such a design :-)

Linus Torvald: your job is being a professor and researcher: That's one hell of a good excuse for some of the brain-damages of minix. I can only hope (and assume) that Amoeba doesn't suck like minix does.

Source: Linus vs. Tanenbaum.


History of Open Source Licensing

• 1980s: • GNU’s “Copyleft” (GNU Public License)

• Right to sell, copy, modify original and derived works.

• Derived works constrained to same terms.

• BSD Unix (Berkeley Software Distribution).• Does not constrain derived works (not “copyleft”).

• 1991: Linux version 0.1 released in December (GPL).

• 1998: • Netscape starts open source Mozilla.

• Open Source Initiative (OSI) breaks from “anti-business” FSF.

• Sources: • Dennis Kennedy, "A Primer...”

• Ragib Hasan, “History of Linux”



2. Highly successful software.


Linux• “Linux is a free Unix-type operating system

originally created by Linus Torvalds with the assistance of developers around the world. Developed under the GNU General Public License, the source code for Linux is freely available to everyone.”

• Supporters.• Novell• IBM• Red Hat Software• Hewlett-Packard


Mozilla

• “Mozilla is not a traditional software company. We are a global community and public benefit organization dedicated to improving the Internet experience for people everywhere. We work in the open through a highly disciplined, transparent and cooperative process to coordinate the development and marketing of Mozilla technologies and products…”

• Products

Firefoxbrowser

Thunderbirdemail

Camino Mac browser

SeaMonkeyApplications


Apache

• “The Apache Software Foundation provides support for the Apache community of open-source software projects. The Apache projects are characterized by a collaborative, consensus based development process, an open and pragmatic software license… We consider ourselves not simply a group of projects sharing a server, but rather a community of developers and users.”

• Most popular web server since 1996.• Primary Sponsors



3. Thousands of projects and millions of contributors.


Growth of Open Source Projects

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• Sourceforge.net -- the largest open source repository.



4. Open source everywhere.


Today: Opensource Everywhere• “Software is just the beginning … open source is doing for

mass innovation what the assembly line did for mass production. Get ready for the era when collaboration replaces the corporation.” -- Thomas Goetz, Wired, 11/2003

WikipediaOpen sourceKnowledge

Center for Application of Molecular Biology to International AgricultureOpen source Agriculture

Public Library of ScienceOpen source Publishing

Open source Literature


Today: Beer, Knitting, Textbooks…

Open source education

Open standards

Open source beer

Open source genetics

Open source textbooks

Open source humor


Post 9/11: Open Source Intelligence

NY Times Magazine, Dec. 3, 2006 Open Source Spying

“These images represent terrorist attacks and some of the actors, weapons and targets linked to them. The physical relationship of the items suggests the level of connection.” -- Clive Thompson


Humanitarian FOSS


Sahana - Disaster Management

www.sahana.lk

Sahana means relief in Sinhalese


Sahana - Disaster Management

• Web-based information system developed in the aftermath of the 2004 Asian Tsunami.

• Deployed during disasters in Pakistan, Philippines, Indonesia, and Peru.

• Free Software Award for Social Benefit (2007)

• Trinity Connection: Trishan de Lanerolle, CS ‘04

• Contribution: Volunteer Management Module• Volunteer registration, assignment, reporting, etc.

• Designed and built by Trinity students in collaboration with industry and community experts.

www.sahana.lk

Sahana means relief in Sinhalese


OpenMRS - Medical Record System

• Electronic medical record system for developing countries.

• Deployed:• Rwanda

• Kenya

• South Africa.

• Initiated by Paul Farmer of Partners in Health.

• Collaboration with Regenstrief Institute.

• Supported by World Health Organization, Center for Disease Control, and other health organizations.

• Trinity Connection: Christian Allen, CS, ‘00.


Ubuntu

• Free, usable, easy-to-install Linux.

• “Our work is driven by a philosophy on software freedom that aims to spread and bring the benefits of software to all parts of the world.

• Ubuntu is Zulu for “humanity towards others.”


• “Martus is a secure software application designed to gather, organize and back up human rights information. Launched in 2003, Martus is a free and open source technology tool that supports effective collaboration within social justice organizations. Martus is the Greek word for witness.”

• Developed by Benetech (Motto: technology serving humanity).


The Humanitarian FOSS Projectwww.hfoss.org


Educational Motivation

• David Patterson (ACM) Nov. 2005, (post Katrina): Let’s help our neighbors!

• David Patterson (ACM) Mar. 2006: Join the open-source movement!

• Our Question:

Will students building software for the community help revitalize computing education?


NSF/CPATH Grant

• CPATH: Revitalizing Undergraduate Computing

Education.

• Collaborators: Trinity, Conn, Wesleyan (TCW).

• Building open source software to help society.

• TCW video conference courses.

• Summers 2008/9: H-FOSS internships.

• Spring 2009: National academic workshop on

curriculum.


Portable/Sustainable Partnership

ComputingDepartments

• Teach computing• Build FOSS• Gain skills and opportunities

IT Corporations• Host interns• Fund and advertise• Volunteer expertise • Recruit students

HumanitarianCommunity

• Acquire software.• Host interns• Teach volunteerism

The Humanitarian

FOSS

Project


Current Projects


Volunteer Management Module


Touchscreen Module


Community


Real World Engagement

Strong Angel III, San Diego, Aug ‘06

Rwinkwavu Hospital, Rwanda, Oct ‘07


2007 H-FOSS Institute


Looking Ahead: Community Building

Our Website: http://www.hfoss.org


Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford App-Trac Project


Problem

• Goal• monitor usage of literacy software applications to better

evaluate students learning needs

• streamline current report generation for management.

• Scope

• Develop a single interface to the various literacy applications used at LVGH, by its students, and an interface for administrators to monitor literacy application usage data.

• Attempt to introduce an automated system to help streamline the data gathering and processing.

• to help alleviate a significant amount of human overhead, freeing up valuable staff time

• To help reduce associated operational costs.


Envisioned Product Functions

• Serve as a single point of entry for students using the Literacy application suite provided by LVGH.

• Able to interface automatically or via batch upload of user data from 3rd party literacy applications such as Lexia and Ellis.

• Provide capability for administrator to customize the set of accessible applications.

• Generate customized reports that meet managements/instructors needs.

• Provide a management interface for administrators to make configuration changes and generate reports.


Envisioned Application Interactions

App-Trac

Display

Student authentication

Literacy application usage data (Lexia, Ellis etc..,)

Management Reports

Provides students access to literacy applications, and administrators access to management interface


Envisioned User Interactions

• From a student perspective• a customized screen containing links to the various LVGH

literacy applications as well as other applications configured by the administrator.

• From a Administrator perspective (Management)• Customizing the set of applications presented to student

user• Setting the target source data for the literacy application

usage data sources.• Customized report generation functionality. • View/Modify user authentication lists.


Envisioned Functionality

• Interface Functionality

• Reporting Functionality • Management Functionality • Synchronization Functionality

Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford

Custom logo

Sample student interface


Thank you!

Questions?

Documents

Building Open Source Software for Humanity Ralph Morelli and Trishan de Lanerolle Trinity College {ralph.morelli, trishan.delanerolle}@trincoll.edu January