Is Open Source a Revolution?

We know that in every stable system, there are always two forces competing with each other trying to gain dominance. The dominant force will retire after a period because of the existence of the other force. The dominant force can retire because there is a second force, a second choice.

The majority part of the history of software industry is a history of open source computing. The code was readily given out between users in order to promote the use of the computer hardware. In the early days, companies like IBM actively organized programmer support groups to promote hardware sales. The programmers at that time had great skills in Mathematics and Science. The majority efforts were put in the area of algorithm optimizations. It was an art to be able to write efficient code.

With the advent of the so-called mass-market software products, the user base is expanding to non-technical users. These users are not concerned about how the software is written. They are more concerned about the usability of the software. Because of this industry trend, more and more programmers are trained to develop interactive user interface. The focus of most software vendors is no longer, in how efficient the code is running. The core libraries of software are only a small percentage of the total lines of code. They are hidden deep inside and becoming a lost art.

Because it is a lost art, majority of software vendors highly value the core libraries and apply for patents to protect them. This is the start of the so-called Intellectual Properties protected software products. The core libraries are buried so deep inside the software that it is becoming all right not to disclose anything but the user interface layer even to the most demanding users. The competition is focus on how to streamline the user learning curve. The situation is further worsening by the introduction of more powerful hardware every 3 months and the industry support of OOD.

The direct consequence of this industry trend is heavy vendor lock-in. Heavy vendor lock-in promotes the emergence of some of the largest software companies in the history. The absolute monopoly of these companies causes the dormant force inside the software industry to awake. In 1998, the Open Source Initiative was formed to provide a platform to address the problem.

The new political force in software industry helps to force some of the world largest companies to give up the IP right of a portion of the core libraries. Thousands of new open source projects are started to absorb the knowledge of the forgotten core libraries. Many open source software with features comparable to its commercial counterparts are readily available without cost. More and more people start to think that finally we all have a choice to leave expensive commercial software in the dust.

Unfortunately, the reality is the opposite. Commercial vendors continue to charge a premium for their software. Open source software is only dominant in non-mission critical deployments.