Researcher/Programmer/RS-GIS Specialist/All-around Tech Guy
Phil-LIDAR 2: REMap
Juris Doctor
University of the Philippines College of Law
GIS user since late 2000's.
Started with ArcGIS 9.x
Began adopting FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) early 2010's
GNU/Linux OS (*buntu, OSGeo-Live)
LibreOffice Suite
QGIS, GRASS GIS, SAGA GIS
Majority of the software I use now are FOSS / available on Linux OS
Richard Stallman (1980's)
Free meaning not only as Free Beer (cost) but Free as in Freedom (Liberty).
A philosophy of writing and sharing software.
Four Essential Freedoms:
(Freedom 0) The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose.
(Freedom 1) The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish.
(Freedom 2) The freedom to redistribute copies.
(Freedom 3) The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others.
see: Free Software Definition (https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html)
Eric Raymond and Bruce Perens (1998)
Open source doesn't just mean access to the source code. The distribution terms of open-source software must comply with the criteria in The Open Source Definition.
see: The Open Source Definition (https://opensource.org/osd)
Pertains to a variety of geospatial software and tools (GIS, libraries, web-mapping toolkits, etc) released under a free and open-source license.
Examples:
QGIS, GRASS GIS, Leaflet, OpenLayers, MapServer, GeoServer, GeoNode, PostGIS
Growth is not hampered by licensing/number of licenses (if your license agreement computes costs per core/per server/per computer, the costs can grow exponentially).
No cost for the acquisition of the software.
Easier to fix/patch problems as you can view and edit the source code (No need to wait for a fix from the vendor/supplier).
Technically, you can't pirate an open-source software.
No risk of facing possible legal repercussions for "copy-pasting" the software.
No need to buy an entire software or software package just for a specific tool you need.
FOSS can easily be modified to tailor-fit your needs.
No single vendor lock-in.
FOSS can communicate better with other software and usually follow standards.
How to fix an issue in proprietary software:
1. Reboot the machine.
2. Contact the vendor and wait in a queue.
3. Wait for them to fix the issue.
How to fix an issue in FOSS:
1. Fix the issue yourself.
The use of open-source software promotes and fosters a culture of openness and transparency which is very important especially to an organization that is tasked and trusted with using public funds.
RESOURCES: Paul Ramsey, The Unknowns: A Managers Guide to Open Source (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUgiG6eaYtI)