Understanding Open Source Software: A Research Classification Framework
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-6-2006
Publication Title
Communications of Association for Information Systems
Keywords
open source project, software engineering, software development, open source, economics of open source
Abstract
Open source software (OSS) allows users to access source code, to freely use the software as they see fit, to improve it, to fix the bugs, to augment its functionality, and to redistribute it. Distribution to other users is typically for free, or at a charge under an Open Source Initiative (OSI) approved license type . These users can, in turn, modify and/or use the software according to their own needs. This approach is in contrast to proprietary and commercial software controlled by the owner (developer or corporation). Some popular examples of open source applications and their proprietary competitors are given in Table 1. The definitions of different OSS license types and the classification of select OSS licenses are given in Appendix A.
DOI
10.17705/1CAIS.01712
Recommended Citation
Nelson, M., Sen, R., & Subramaniam, C. (2006). Understanding Open Source Software: A Research Classification Framework. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 17, pp-pp. https://doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.01712
Comments
The success of open source applications such as Apache, Linux, and Sendmail spurred interest in this form of software, its development process, and its implication for the software industry. This interest is evident in the existing research being done to address various issues relevant to open source software and open source methodology. This paper proposes a research classification framework that: (/br)
• informs about the current state of open source software research,
• provides a formal structure to classify this research, and
• identifies future research opportunities.