SCO, Skunkware, and the Open Source Movement
Ronald Joe Record (rr@sco.com), Open Source Program Archi-
tect, SSCCOO
February 1, 1999
The UNIX technical community has a longstanding tradition of publish-
ing the source code to programs in order to share technical accom-
plishments and facilitate peer review. Examples of this include send-
mail, bind, the X11 graphical windowing system and dozens of USENET
newsgroups devoted to the exchange of source. The recent rise in popu-
larity of the Apache web server and the Linux operating system have
provided a spotlight for "Open Source" software. How does SCO fit in
this picture ? How can SCO customers take advantage of this type of
software ? How can SCO developers contribute to this movement and
leverage the eyes and minds of thousands of programmers on the Inter-
net ?
11.. WWhhaatt iiss OOppeenn SSoouurrccee SSooffttwwaarree ??
There are a wide variety of phrases used and misused in describing
software whose source is freely available. In fact, a plethora of
licensing schemes are available for such software. Commonly used terms
include Open Source, Free Software, Freeware, Shareware and Public
Domain software. Recently Eric Raymond has created
where he provides a definition of the
Open Source certification mark and links to a variety of conforming
software licenses at .
Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation have provided an
extensive review of the many categories of software whose source is
available at . This
article will not attempt to delve into the vagaries and nuances of the
specifics of each of these licenses and categories. The term Open
Source Software will be used to include all software whose source code
is freely available and openly accessible. This will include Freeware
and Shareware when accompanied by source (e.g. XV) as well as
commercial products whose source is freely available (e.g. Mini-SQL).
22.. OOppeenn SSoouurrccee CCoommppoonneennttss iinn SSCCOO PPrroodduuccttss
Recent months have seen an explosion in Open Source awareness.
However, freely available source code has been with us for dozens of
years. Much of the infrastructure of the Internet is based on Open
Source software. Many of the core components of a UNIX operating
environment are Open Source.
Examples of Open Source components in standard UNIX environments
include the mail transport agent sseennddmmaaiill, the Berkeley Internet Name
Domain BBIINNDD, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol DDHHCCPP, the
InterNetNews server IINNNN and the X11 graphical windowing system XX.
Many Open Source components derived from research work done at
Universities. Partly in support of this research the UNIX operating
system source has traditionally been offered to Universities at a
minimal licensing fee. When SCO acquired the rights to early UNIX
source (the Mini UNIX operating system; the UNIX V6 operating system;
the PWB UNIX operating system; and the UNIX V7 operating system, which
also covers Editions 1-5, and the 32V), source licenses were made
available at cost.
33.. WWhhaatt iiss SSCCOO SSkkuunnkkwwaarree ??
SCO Skunkware is the generic name for a free collection of software
prebuilt and prepackaged for installation on SCO systems. The SCO
OpenServer 5.0.5 and UnixWare 7 media kits contain an SCO Skunkware CD
engineered specifically for that operating system.
Distributions are released on CD periodically and a repository of this
and previous distributions as well as updates and corrections can
always be found at . The SCO Skunkware
CD can also be ordered online via .
SCO Skunkware contains a wide variety of software ranging from
educational and experimental research tools to commercial grade
software suitable for use on a production server.
It is provided for free and is not formally supported by SCO. However,
Skunkware is undergoing something of a repositioning as previously
unsupported components move into the standard supported product. What
has, in the past, been known as Skunkware will likely continue to
exist as a component of a more traditionally supported Open Source
supplement.
The software on the Skunkware CD-ROM is licensed under a variety of
terms. Much of it is licensed under the terms of the GNU General
Public License . Some is
licensed under the GNU Library General Public License
. Other components are
licensed under the Artistic License
. Many of the components
are "Freeware" with no restrictions on their redistribution while a
few components are "Shareware" meaning the author would like you to
try the software and, if you wish to use it, send her some money. A
few components are commercial products which can be used freely for
non-commercial purposes. Some components simply restrict their use to
non-commercial purposes.
To determine the licensing conditions for a particular component, see
the corresponding source in the source directory
. With the infrequent exception of
SCO proprietary code, all Skunkware components are accompanied by the
source used to build them.
The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc. and SCO Skunkware are not related to,
affiliated with or licensed by the famous Lockheed Martin Skunk Works
(R), the creator of the F-117 Stealth Fighter, SR-71, U-2,
Venturestar(tm), Darkstar(tm), and other pioneering air and
spacecraft.
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SCO utilizes Skunkware as a delivery mechanism for Open Source
components which can provide customers with integrated solutions in a
wide variety of emergant enabling technologies and productivity tools.
Among these are:
+o TThhee GGNNUU CC CCoommppiillaattiioonn ssyysstteemm - perhaps the most widely used cross
platform C/C++/Objective C and Fortran development environment
+o MMttoooollss - utilities to access DOS disks and manipulate DOS files and
directories
+o IInndduussttrryy ssttaannddaarrdd ssccrriippttiinngg llaanngguuaaggeess - Perl, Tcl, TclX, Tk,
Python, BLT, Itcl and Expect
+o IInntteerrnneett//NNeettwwoorrkkiinngg sseerrvveerrss aanndd ttoooollss - the latest releases of
Apache, the world's most widely used commercial grade web server;
Squid, a high performance cacheing proxy server; INN, a complete
USENET news server; Enhydra, a Java application server; IRC,
internet relay chat clients and server
+o EEddiittoorrss aanndd tteexxtt pprroocceessssiinngg ttoooollss - groff, SGML-Tools, TeX, xcoral,
xemacs, ghostscript, vim, xhtml
+o JJaavvaa aapppplliiccaattiioonnss,, sseerrvvlleettss,, ccllaasssseess aanndd ddeevveellooppmmeenntt kkiittss - the
Java Servlet Development Kit, the Java Foundation Classes (Swing),
the Apache JServ server-side Java module, Apache JMeter URL
performance meter, the Acme labs Java classes and applications,
VRwave VRML browser, Jikes Java bytecode compiler, Java bytecode
editors/debuggers/obfuscators/disassemblers
+o MMuullttii--mmeeddiiaa ccoonntteenntt ccrreeaattiioonn aanndd vviieewwiinngg ttoooollss - the GNU Image
Manipulation Program (Photoshop-like facility), ImageMagick image
processing suite, Xanim animation viewer, MPEG 3 audio encoder and
player, MIDI player, audio editing and conversion tools, graphic
file conversion and manipulation libraries and tools
+o SSyysstteemm aaddmmiinniissttrraattiioonn aanndd sseeccuurriittyy ttoooollss - Sentry and Strobe port
scan detector and optimized TCP port surveyor, Cgiwrap for secure
user access to CGI, Procdump and Top for information about live
processes or core image, RPM the Redhat Package Manager
+o DDaattaabbaassee sseerrvveerrss aanndd cclliieennttss - MySQL, a threaded light-weight
powerful SQL relational database management system; Addressbook, an
on-line rolodex; Mini-SQL, another SQL relational database
management system
+o AAlltteerrnnaattee sshheellllss aanndd wwiinnddooww mmaannaaggeerrss - Bash/Zsh/Tcsh, WindowMaker,
KDE
Skunkware also contains a gaggle of games, graphics, eye candy and
amusements including:
+o XX1111 bbaasseedd aaddvveennttuurree aanndd vviiddeeoo ggaammeess - Xdoom, Xgalaga, Xboing,
Xpool, Xmame
+o MMaatthheemmaattiiccaall rreeccrreeaattiioonnss aanndd rreesseeaarrcchh ttoooollss for exploring chaotic
dynamical systems, iterated function systems, Lyapunov and
Mandelbrot sets, ...
+o MMiisscceellllaanneeoouuss ffuunn aanndd iinntteerreessttiinngg ssttuuffff - create graphical
astrology charts, simulate a fish tank, display your Scottish
tartan
A full list of hundreds of currently shipping Skunkware components can
be found at
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Open Source Software and SCO Skunkware have an alternative support
model. Since the source is available, it is often possible for the
end-user to self-support or to easily consult with local experts.
Further, due to the communal and open environment in which the
software is developed (see below), there are often quite active and
technically adept online discussion groups, mailing lists, web sites
and ftp download areas for patches and updates.
One drawback to this model is that it is difficult for a vendor to
provide monolithic support for a rapidly diverging Open Source product
as the user base modifies their source code and rebuilds the system.
Note that a recent survey of vendors of an Open Source operating
system (Linux) revealed that there are over 40 commercial variants of
Linux. This can pose severe compatibility, interoperability and
support problems.
66.. TThhee OOppeenn SSoouurrccee DDeevveellooppmmeenntt MMooddeell
Open Source development teams are rapidly emerging as the dominant
force behind the continuing evolution of computing. Eric Raymond's
paper, The Cathedral and The Bazaar (
) details the
philosophy, scope and social organization of this model. "Release
early and often, delegate everything you can, be open to the point of
promiscuity" is a development philosophy sharply in contradistinction
with the conservatively centralized approach of the traditional
development model in which large software projects were "built like
cathedrals, carefully crafted by individual wizards or small bands of
mages working in splendid isolation, with no beta to be released
before its time".
SCO is attempting to synthesize these models - carefully protecting
those customers heavily invested in the stability, interoperability
and compatibility offered by the traditional approach while rapidly
deploying emerging technologies and methodologies offered by the
bazaar.
77.. LLiinnuuxx EEmmuullaattiioonn
SCO recently engaged in an Open Source project which oversees the
development and distribution of lxrun, a Linux emulation system. This
open source project is being incorporated into UnixWare 7 as a
supported feature of the operating system. Additional details on lxrun
are available at .
The lxrun project is an example of how rapidly an open source project
can evolve. It's also an example of one of the many Skunkware
components that are being absorbed into the standard supported
product.
88.. TThhee SSkkuunnkkwwaarree SSuubbmmiissssiioonn PPrroocceessss
If you would like to contribute to the ongoing effort to provide
quality Open Source products to SCO customers:
+o Read the Skunkware FAQ at
+o Read the Skunkware submission guidelines at
+o Join the polecats mailing list by sending an e-mail message to
listproc@listproc.sco.com with any subject line and a single line
in the body of the message:
subscribe polecats-l
99.. AAuutthhoorr aanndd CCoonnttrriibbuuttoorrss
Ronald Joe Record has worked for The Santa
Cruz Operation for over 15 years.
Record holds a Ph.D. in
Mathematics from the University of California .
David Eyes (davidey@sco.com) contributed to this document in design,
review and editorial matters.
1100.. AAbboouutt TThhiiss DDooccuummeenntt
This document was created using SGML-Tools 1.0.6 in conjunction with
TeX, Version 3.14159 (Web2C 7.2) running on an SCO UnixWare 7
platform.
The source to this document is maintained at
. A Makefile and
formatted varieties of this document are also available at
. For instance, you will find
a postscript version at
.