Critical Skill 1.2 Understand the Open Source and MySQL Relationship

Open source is one of todays hottest buzzwords , and for many, the choice to go with open source software takes on an almost crusading tone. However, the choices involving open source are not as black and white as some would have us think.

Open Source vs. Proprietary Software

Lets look at the two basic questions about open source:

What does it mean by the word free ?
Why is it better or worse than the alternatives?

A common misconception is that open source software is always free of cost. Within a set of defined parameters (the Open Source Licensing Agreement), programs that are written as open source, or are innovations based on other open source code, can be packaged and sold. What open source does mean is that any open source program can be improved upon or used as the basis for another program, without needing to enter into complex contractual agreements to be allowed to even look at the source code. The source code is free in the sense of the intellectual property being open, or available, to all. The result is that a multitude of programmers can review, improve, and evolve popular programs.

A company may choose to release its product under a variety of open source licenses and most, including MySQL AB, do. This means that depending on the product, it can be literally free in the monetary sense, or it can be sold at varying levels of cost, as long as the original license for the software involved is transferred with the new product on which it is based.

Because so many programmers review the code, fix bugs and security issues, and add improvements of their own, open source programs tend to be more reliable and to have a faster development cycle (including quicker enhancements in response to user requests ) than closed source, or proprietary, software. Using open source programs can also be more cost-effective . A company with proprietary software may charge hundreds or thousands of dollars per end user (licensing seat). In contrast, the Open Source License guarantees that open source software must be redistributable. Instead of buying a copy for each computer in your company that needs a particular program, you may be able to download it to each computer for free, or choose to buy one copy and have everyone throughout the workplace access it from a main server.

Why then would anyone buy copies of something they can get for free? There are some advantages to buying open source software rather than downloading it for free:

The purchased package, unlike the freeware version, includes a warranty and, in most cases, support contracts.
Other open source programs that dovetail well with the main program are often bundled into the packaged versions.
You might want to support continuing improvements by the company that provides the software you use and depend on. Once youve found a program that is easily attainable, works well, and is cost-effective, it only makes sense to pay a reasonably affordable licensing fee to support the company that provides and improves on it.

Purchasing an open source package can lead to a faster, more convenient installation and a worry-free startup period.

MySQL As Open Source

MySQL AB subscribes to the open source view of software development and sales, and the company has what is referred to as a dual-license paradigm. If you are using MySQL on a small scale, you can download it for free. However, if you begin using the product on a more professional level, you are required to pay a reasonable licensing fee for its use. For some applications, the GNU General Public License (GPL) is adequate, but for others, a commercial license is more applicable . The MySQL web site (www.mysql.com) is the best place to investigate which licensing approach best applies to your situation.

MySQL ABs stated desire is that its database be affordable, available, and uncomplicated to use. The product should be always improving, while staying reliable, bug-free, and fast operating. Judging by the over 4 million active MySQL installations worldwide and over 35 thousand downloads per day, there are plenty of people willing to trust the results of the open source philosophy, given its obvious immediate rewards in terms of reliability and cost.

The relative youth of MySQL AB as a company (nine years old) also supports the rapid development claims of open source in general and MySQL specifically . While protecting the intellectual property of source code seems instinctively advisable from a traditional, commerce-oriented point of view, MySQLs growth as a product that rapidly responds to its users needs goes a long way toward positing that just because business has always been done in a way that seems right, that does not mean that it is the only or necessarily right way. Open source and companies willing to embrace that vision, like MySQL AB, appear to be here to stay, not only carving a place for themselves , but also perhaps shaping the way the future manufacturers of software do business.

There has been much made of the migration of various larger- sized companies to open source environments. Rather than indicating the death knell of proprietary software, it simply indicates that the point of viability for open source software in the business world has been reached and indeed passed. It has happened faster than most industry observers would have guessed, which arguably validates the claim of the open source community that rapid development is a hallmark of the open source software process.