Nursing Informatics
Open Source Software/Free Software
What is open source software?
What is free software?
What is the difference between the two?
How the two differs from shareware?
How the two differs from proprietary software?
Nursing Informatics
Open Source Software/Free Software
Everybody who sends email or uses the Web, uses
OSS/FS, as majority of the hardware and software
that allows the Internet to function (Web servers,
File transmission protocol (FTP) servers, mail
system) are OSS/FS.
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Open Source Software/Free Software
OSS/FS – The theory
The major philosophies of OSS/FS are
FSF Philosophy
OSI (Open source initiative) Philosophy
The key commonality between FSF and OSI is that
the code is made available to the users by the
program. Where FSF and OSI differ is in the
restrictions placed on redistributed source code.
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Open Source Software/Free Software
OSS/FS should not be confused with freeware or
shareware.
Freeware is software that offered free of charge but
without the freedom to modify the source code
and redistribute changes.
Shareware is another form of commercial software,
which is offered on a “try before you buy” basis.
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Open Source Software/Free Software
Free Software Definition
Free software is a matter of the user’s freedom to
run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve
the software.
Four kinds of freedom for the users of the software:
 The freedom to run the program for any purpose
 The freedom to study on how that program works and
adapt it to your needs.
 The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your
neighbor.
 The freedom to improve the program and release your
improvements to the public so that the whole community
benefits.
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Open Source Software/Free Software
Open source doesn't just mean access to the source code. The
distribution terms of open-source software must comply with the
following criteria :
Free Redistribution
Source Code
Derived Works
Integrity of The Author's Source Code
No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups
No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor
Distribution of License
License Must Not Be Specific to a Product
License Must Not Restrict Other Software
License Must Be Technology-Neutral
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Open Source Software/Free Software
Open Source definition
Open source is any software that satisfies the open
software initiative (OSI) definition.
Open source initiative has created certification
mark “OSI certified”. On order to be OSI certified,
the software must be distributed under a license
that guarantees the right to read, redistribute,
modify and use software freely.
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Open Source Software/Free Software
Choosing OSS/FS or not
Its benefits :
 OSS/FS has been described as the electronic equivalent
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of generic drugs.
It can obtained royalty free, it is less expensive to acquire
than proprietary alternatives.
Lack of proprietary lock-in, which freeze out
innovation.
Security
Reliability/stability
Developing local software capacity.
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Open Source Software/Free Software
Issues in OSS/FS
 Licensing
 Copyright and intellectual property
 TCO
 Support and Migration
 Business models
 Security and stability
Nursing Informatics
Open Source Software/Free Software
TCO – Total Cost of Ownership
 It is the sum of all the expenses directly related to the
ownership and use of a product over a given period of time.
 Reasons why OSS/FS is cheaper:
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OSS/FS costs less to initially acquire because there are
no license fees.
Upgrade and maintenance costs are typically far less
due to improved stability and security.
OSS/FS can often use older hardware more efficiently
than proprietary systems, yielding smaller hardware
costs and sometimes eliminating the need for new
hardware
Increasing numbers of case studies using OSS/FS
show it to be especially cheaper in server
environments.
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Open Source Software/Free Software
Security and Stability
 OSS/FS are well known for its stability and reliability,
and many anecdotal stories exist of OSS/FS servers
functioning for years without requiring maintenance.
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Open Source Software/Free Software
Open Source Licensing
 Licensing as defined by Merriam Webster-giving the
user of something permission to use it.
 Most software comes with some type of licensing
commonly known as the End User Licensing
Agreement (EULA)
 The license may have specific restrictions related to
the use, modification, or duplication of the software.
 Most licenses also have statements that limit the
liability of the software manufacturer toward the user
in case of problems that may arise in the use of the
software.
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Open Source Software/Free Software
 Licensing gives a person the right to use software with
restrictions in some cases while copyright is described
as the exclusively-granted or owned legal right to
publish, reproduce, and/or sell a work
 One form of copyright is “copyleft” to distinguish it
from commercial copyright terms, works by stating
that the software is copyrighted and then adding
distribution terms.
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Open Source Software/Free Software
Types of OSS/FS License
 GNU GPL
 GNU LGPL
 X11 License
 Modified BSD license
 W3C Software Notice and License
 MySql database license
 Apache License, Version 1.0
 GNU Free Documentation License
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Open Source Software/Free Software
OSS/FS Applications
 Operating System
 Web browser
 E-mail client
 Word processing or integrated office suite
 Presentation tools
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Open Source Software/Free Software
OSS/FS Applications
 Operating Systems: GNU/Linux
- named in recognition of the GNU Project’s
significant contribution, but often just called Linux
-contains the Linux kernel at its heart and all the
OSS/FS components required to produced full OS
functionality
- originally the name of the kernel created by Linus
Torvalds
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Open Source Software/Free Software
OSS/FS Applications
kernel – the critical center point of an OS that controls
CPU usage, memory management and hardware
devices
- also mediates communication between the different
programs running within the OS
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Open Source Software/Free Software
OSS/FS Applications
 Web browser and Server: Apache and Mozilla
Apache – responsible for receiving and fulfilling
requests from web browser
Mozilla – a graphical web browser design for
standards compliance and with a large number of
browser features
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Open Source Software/Free Software
OSS/FS Applications
 E-mail: Sendmail (E-mail Server)
- to deliver user e-mail to its destination
Sendmail began development in 1982 at the University
of California, Berkeley as a project to enable e-mail
routing between different servers
- the market leader in Internet based e-mail system
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Open Source Software/Free Software
OSS/FS Applications
 Word Processing or Integrated Office Suite: Open
Office (Office Productivity Suite)
– an equivalent of Microsoft Office
- includes a full-featured word processor,
spreadsheet and presentation software
Advantage:
 It reads most Microsoft Office documents without
problems and will save documents to many formats,
including Microsoft Word (but not vice versa)
Impress – an open office that is similar to PowerPoint
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Open Source Software/Free Software
Nursing Informatics
Open Source Software/Free Software
OSS/FS Healthcare Applications
 openEHR
 FreeMED
 OpenEMR
 Care2X
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