Open Sources, Open Minds

by Danny Faught

published in the Dallas/Fort Worth Unix Users Group Newsletter, October 1999

A book review of Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution, edited by Chris DiBona, Sam Ockman, & Mark Stone, O'Reilly & Associates, Inc., 1999, ISBN 1-56592-582-3

Open Sources is a parade of celebrities from the Open Source revolution. Perhaps it's a testament to the community they're a part of that so many of the Open Source pioneers were able to come together in this one book. The book is a compilation of the work of 14 authors. See how many names you recognize: Brian Behlendorf, Scott Bradner, Jim Hamerly, Kirk McKusick, Tim O'Reilly, Tom Paquin, Bruce Perens, Eric Raymond, Richard Stallman, Michael Tiemann, Linus Torvalds, Paul Vixie, Larry Wall, Bob Young.

The book will be most enjoyed by those who are already have an appreciation for the hacker community. Terms that are used without explanation include technical terms such as m68k, as well as business terms such as CAGR and VC. There are several in-jokes, such as a reference to "blinkenlights" which you wouldn't understand unless you've done some additional reading or you've been around long enough to have seen the posters on the machine room wall yourself. (Personally, I think the world needs more blinkenlights. :-) There are quite a few problems with the editing, ranging from misspelled words to obtuse grammar to flubbed graphics. O'Reilly has a habit of sending old printings out for their review copies, so perhaps many of the problems are already fixed. (I have the first edition, January 1999 printing.)

The articles in the compilation all fit within the theme, but they approach it from different angles. Don't expect it to read as a coherent storyline from one article to the next. However, there are a number of places where the authors recognize and discuss the writings of others in the book. And if you pay attention, you'll see a few places where the authors have disagreements. It's very nice to see these varying opinions side by side. For example, Torvalds mentions his dislike of emacs, and Stallman and others argue on each side of the "free software" vs. "open source" terminology debate. The arguments aren't always fully substantiated, but they are civil. I recognize at least one of the articles as having been published earlier, so I suspect that several of the articles are reprints. Those who follow the Open Source community religiously will recognize most of the concepts, if not the articles themselves.

Highlights include a very eclectic piece from Larry Wall, originally delivered as a keynote speech. I didn't quite get the point, but it was fun. A nice surprise was a few articles which were more serious, such as "Open Source as a Business Strategy." "Software Engineering" by Paul Vixie was a real treat, since the concept of using a real software engineering process for an open source project is something I've been wanting to explore.

Some people have a hard time with the concept of open source software. Everyone loves to be able to take advantage of free software. But when you tell someone that the software they work on should be made available free of charge, they start to worry about where their paycheck will come from. So will Open Sources win them over? There are many good arguments for this fundamentally different business model for marketing software. But the book is targeted more toward those who are predisposed to the idea, and it isn't going to convince those who cling the strongest to the traditional methods of software development.

For me, Open Sources did a great job of presenting several angles to the open source philosophy and the reasons that it's a practical choice. And it puts a lot of the history of the movement, as told by the pioneers themselves, in one convenient place. I highly recommend the book for any true hacker.