January 15th, 2008
Open source a Pull-a-Part yard?
As programmed systems grow more complex, and need to be built from parts, the open source world starts to look like a Pull-a-Part yard.
Folks in the South and Midwest know what I’m referencing here. Pull-a-Part is not just a junkyard. It’s a database. Just as a car database will help you find a lime green 1978 VW Rabbit, Pull-a-Part will help you find its muffler. (Can’t find it? Ask.)
Once you find and price your part, of course, you have to get to the yard, tools in hand, locate where your part is hiding, then get it. Take it back to your yard, however, install it, and you’re a hero.
Sourceforge can be used in much the same way, although the result is going to be a lot better than an old Rabbit.
Your scaled system is going to be made of parts. You have to locate them, put them together yourself, and use your own tools. With over 166,000 projects in stock, you’re bound to find the one you need.
You can’t build today’s complex sites and systems from scratch, any more than you can build your own car. But with parts, the right tools, skill, and patience, you can build something very good, very quickly.
And this is why open source is the development platform of choice. Everything you need is visible, right in the yard. You can chat up the help and your fellow customers. Maybe hire one.
Many ZDNet users find Microsoft’s development resources superior to open source, once you accept the premise of Windows. Think of it as a car dealer’s parts yard.
Of course you won’t find it all there. You’ll only find what the dealer supports. And you’re going to pay. Many corporate developers, however, prefer that environment to the greasier pits of the junkyard.
But development, in today’s more complex environment, is no longer something you do with just a tool, or even a set of tools. It’s about tools and parts and help.
In a tools and parts age, open source is more flexible, more complete, and (when organized) a better value.
Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist for 30 years, a tech freelancer since 1983. You can follow Dana on Twitter. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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