Open source ecosystems

The open source (OS) community can deliver high-quality, very popular software-according to the May 2004 Net-craft survey, the Apache Web server runs roughly 67 percent of the world´s Web sites. This software is developed in a culturally and geographically diverse environment. The first myth to dispel is that OS development is a kind of communal (or communist, as some suggest) hippy-freak love fest. Developers work hard to win that reputation by delivering high-quality code. Once won, they work even harder to protect it. Compared to the OS model, it would be easier to argue that most corporate development has communist roots, with its strong belief in central planning and the interchangeability of production programming staff units. The second myth, often held by OS developers themselves, is that OS always produces great software. Often, these failures to thrive can be traced back to developers who don´t understand the OS model. The article looks at the practices used by those who develop great OS software.