Hello,
> I look forward to your feedback.
That's nice. :-) There's some below.
> It is important to note, however, that not all components of the Gateway
> would be open source and/or open content. For example, as a highly
> modularized collection of components the Gateway's core infrastructure
> and applications like content management and community collaboration
> tools could be GPL open source, while other special-purpose applications
> like eProcurement or eBookstore would have other license arrangements.
Why? The two elements immediately excluded are clearly things that would
actually be a useful contribution to the public body of free software (I
use the term in the Free Software Foundation sense, not the zero-price
sense). And should the DG project happen to consider that open source
code is better code (in some sense), why make such important
functionality un-free? A publicly funded, open source software project
worth its salt, would have spotted that creating these components in a
free manner, that would constitue a significant value proposition.
> Those who have been involved in launching a successful open source
> initiative like the Gateway
Is the Gateway a Web entity or is it a software development project?
If its an open source software development project, the DG project could
seek to produce generic software modules in such manner that others in
this sector can viably use, perhaps in a decoupled sense from the
particular usage in the Gateway. I think I know what this would look
like, and I don't see this happening. In this sense the DG, appears to
be only superficially an open source initiative (unless an open source
initiative is something that uses open source software, when I could say
that there are scores of open source initiatives on my machines!).
Sometime ago I asked to be copied plans for software development within
the DG activity so I (and after recent investigations I know there are
others to whom this applies) don't waste our scare development
resources, and can perhaps utilise some of the DG product. I received no
answer. Except to say that if its a software development project, and if
its open source, and given your budget, there must be plans. Can I see
them please?
If this is an indication of the software development goals of this
initiative...
> With the exception of the Oracle database, all components of
> the Development Gateway platform use open-source code, to enable us to
> manage the code and to distribute the code as widely as possible to
> developing countries and partners without having to pay proprietary
> license fees. Another significant advantage we considered with this
> approach is the ability to encourage co-developers of the Development
> Gateway platform.
..then I now think the DG project software development is designed to
build its own system, and not to provide generic software, designed
appropriately for use by others in this sector.
I mean, if the DG project wanted to pay more than keyboard service to
notions of appropriateness of technology, it would have approached, and
sought to support, people already working in this sector, such as the
e-smith project (implementing a system to capture good practice know-how
with respect to Linux system administration), the APC software
development program (Action Applications providing some neat Web
applications, such as easy publishing and content syndication),
Back-end, GreyPHPNuke, and other "intermediate" software development
(and dedicated software developers), rather than adding, by default and
by neglect, to their social and economic insecurity. (Perhaps we aren't
important.) IBM certainly have seen fit to strategically invest hugely
in existing truly open source projects, so we see it's possible, and
sometimes desirable. The conviction, haste and near sighted
characteristics this project has exhibited from the outset seem to be
consistent with other complaints made about other projects sallying
forth from our international public financial institutions. If this is
how dam projects, and others, have tragically worked their infamous
damage, the march of the human mind is indeed slow.
Thanks for reading..
John Bywater.
ASF.
PS What is free software? Perhaps George Clinton would have answered
that free software is free from the need to be free! My point is that
you can't comply with freedom as such (and anyway I don't think there is
a 'true' definition of OSS, despite efforts) but you can help to
liberate things that are un-free. We could start by "liberating" the
eProcurement and eBookstore functionality!?! (I have ideas about how
they can be made to be seemlessly integrated with other's Web sites,
should there be any interest from the DG project. But I won't hold my
breath.). Have fun, wherever you go today...
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