Internet success : a study of open-source software commons /
Schweik, Charles M.,1961-
English, Robert C.,1951-
The use of open-source software (OSS)--readable software source code that can be copied, modified, and distributed freely--has expanded dramatically in recent years. The number of OSS projects hosted on SourceForge.net (the largest hosting Web site for OSS), for example, grew from just over 100,000 in 2006 to more than 250,000 at the beginning of 2011. But why are some projects successful--that is, able to produce usable software and sustain ongoing development over time--while others are abandoned? In this book, the product of the first large-scale empirical study to look at social, technical, and institutional aspects of OSS, Charles Schweik and Robert English examine factors that lead to success in OSS projects and work toward a better understanding of Internet-based collaboration. Drawing on literature from many disciplines and using a theoretical framework developed for the study of environmental commons, Schweik and English examine stages of OSS development, presenting multivariate statistical models of success and abandonment. Schweik and English argue that analyzing the conditions of OSS successes may also inform Internet collaborations in fields beyond software engineering, particularly those that aim to solve complex technical, social, and political problems.
Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph
Mode of access: World Wide Web
Includes bibliographical references and index.
OCLC-licensed vendor bibliographic record.
The importance of open-source software commons -- The ecosystem -- The developer -- Technological and community attributes -- Institutional attributes -- The OSGeo case : an example of the evolving OSS ecosystem -- Defining open-source software success and abandonment -- What can SourceForge.net data alone tell us about open-source software commons? -- Filling gaps in our data with the survey on free/libre and open-source success -- Answering the questions raised in Part II -- Putting it all together in multivariate models of success and abandonment -- Thinking about Part III : a review of our epirical research -- Our study in perspective.
The use of open-source software (OSS)--readable software source code that can be copied, modified, and distributed freely--has expanded dramatically in recent years. The number of OSS projects hosted on SourceForge.net (the largest hosting Web site for OSS), for example, grew from just over 100,000 in 2006 to more than 250,000 at the beginning of 2011. But why are some projects successful--that is, able to produce usable software and sustain ongoing development over time--while others are abandoned? In this book, the product of the first large-scale empirical study to look at social, technical, and institutional aspects of OSS, Charles Schweik and Robert English examine factors that lead to success in OSS projects and work toward a better understanding of Internet-based collaboration. Drawing on literature from many disciplines and using a theoretical framework developed for the study of environmental commons, Schweik and English examine stages of OSS development, presenting multivariate statistical models of success and abandonment. Schweik and English argue that analyzing the conditions of OSS successes may also inform Internet collaborations in fields beyond software engineering, particularly those that aim to solve complex technical, social, and political problems.
Open source software.
Information commons.
INFORMATION SCIENCE/Internet Studies
DIGITAL HUMANITIES & NEW MEDIA/General
COMPUTER SCIENCE/General
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