(Re-)using OSS

<Back to Jan 4, 2012 Program

Realizing the Benefit of (Re-) using Open Source Software

Time: 2:00-3:30

Location: Mt. Vernon

Convener: Chris Mattmann

Presentations

• Realizing the Benefits of Open Sources - Chris Mattman
• Alternative Approaches to Collaborative Software Deployment Leveraging �Open Source Software - Bob Downs

Action Items

• Communicating and Publicizing NASA’s OSS efforts
  • NASA Open Source Agreement license - NOSA
    • Do we need yet another license? Which one do we pick?
• Public dollars funding non-OSS projects?
  • How do we navigate the legal morass of subcontracting and third-party hardware/software reliance?
• Agency rules may stifle OSS development
  • New Technology reports, on-the-clock vs off-the-clock OSS development
  • Budgetary rules
  • Budget, reporting, long-term support requirements
  • Cultural change needed, toolchain retooling

Key Topics

• Areas for Open Source within NASA/Earth Science Data Systems
• Data flow from instruments to end-users and archival centers
  • Where should OSS be, where should it be produced?
  • What license is best? Custom? NASA OSS? Existing BSD, GPL, etc?
    • Redistribution, attribution, IP, commercial use, etc.
    • Ownership of original code vs submissions
      • Who’s dollar supported the code development?
      • What employer/employee contracts might impact release of code?
      • Uncovering (potential) patent infringements or marks, mitigating exposure
      • Free, in-house use only, commercial or export-controlled/classified?
    • Who can claim ownership?
      • Hardware owners, developers, contributors, etc
• What kind of OSS?
  • In-house developed, non-supported, vendor-supported, non-OSS commercial software with OSS parts, some combo?
  • What are your support requirements? Can you navigate poor code or documentation? What support can you afford?
    • Risk-cost-benefit analysis needed
    • Is there an active community supporting your software?
      • If so, is it an oligarchy or a meritocracy?
      • What mechanism connects end-users with code developers?
    • How do I support the software?
      • Not just code submission - documentation, bug reports, feature requests, review of features, support within the community for novice users, etc. Even just adopting and promoting it!
• What ecosystem will your OSS project live under?
  • What are the ecosystem rules? (Apache Maturity Model, eg.)
  • Will you control your own ecosystem?
  • Testing? Documentation? Patches and Bugfixes?

Contributions

• Chris Mattmann
• Robert Downs