Open Source Software

I maintain an interest in a number of Free software projects.

While the immediate appeal of Free software lies in its lack of licencing costs (and licencing bureaucracy), there are hidden costs. The poor design and documentation of some under-subscribed projects is easily underestimated.

However, I have found the following tools to be well documented, well supported, and superior to existing commercial alternatives even when the price tag is ignored.

Apache

Now one of the most widely used webservers. Its somewhat technical configuration is off putting, but it is extremely versatile.

PostgreSQL

An excellent relational database server. Provides full ACID transactionality, easy integration with external systems via C APIs, a database programming language, and JDBC drivers. Reliable and offers good performance.

For more information see our overview page.

Tomcat

A good Application Server environment for small projects. Lacking in administration functionality, but its simplicity and reliability are appealing for systems requiring little subsequent management.

Ant

A very fine build tool for Java which can be used to perform other unrelated tasks, including configuration management. Can generally be used as a replacement for "make" and is infinitely easier to configure and understand.

CVS

An excellent version control system for small projects. Does not directly permit checkout locks, but this generally proves to be an advantage. Lacks some finesse in handling directories and binary files, but its ease of use generally makes up for this. CVS is widely used in Open Source development projects.

Linux

A well known Unix operating system kernel. Sometimes described as "GNU/Linux", though this is debated in tedious swiftian detail. Very much oriented towards efficiency and functionality, sometimes at the expense of backwards-compatibility. Well supported by commercial organisations, the standard distribution of Linux is from Redhat.

FreeBSD

Another well known Unix operating system, this one is particularly well respected for its concentration on good security policy. Excellent as a server operating system.

Yazd

Java based discussion forum software. These are lacking in some of the polish that one would expect of a commercial product, but they have great potential for the future. An organisation prepared to invest a little development time could find this software invaluable. We provide a step by step guide to installing this software in its simplest configuration.