Open Source at the BBC: When, Why, Why not & How

Michael Sparks, michaels@rd.bbc.co.uk, http://kamaelia.sf.net/Kamaelia

Michael SparksSenior Research Engineer

BBC Research

michael.sparks@bbc.co.ukLinux World London 2006

Open Sourceat the BBC

CurrentlySenior Research Engineer

BBC Research

PreviouslySoftware engineer and networkengineer at a mixture of public

and private companies

This talk is based on experienceof both public and private

company usage ofopen source

Who am I?

This talk will be summarised as a text

document and go online Friday, after

Linux World is over, and be linked from

the Kamaelia website

(hence link & contact details at the bottom of every page!)

This talk

Themes forthis talk

Whynot

Context

Improve

Originate

Overview

Context

Uses & createsopen source software

The BBC...

Uses & createsProprietary Systems

The BBC...

Why?Good business and

public service reasons

TerminologyFree/Libre, Open Source Software

TerminologyOpen Source:

Focus on approach... ...not politics

When, Why, Why not& How to...

Collaboratively Improve

Originate

Obvious Question:Why use open

source?

The BBC...

No specific policy for or against

The BBC...

Tools are evaluated on their merits

The BBC...

Adaptability to the business is a merit

Open source is adaptable

Better Question:Why avoid open source software?

Would you ask:Why avoid

proprietary software?

Would you ask:Why avoid

proprietary software? Ok, some at this conference yes,but generally speaking it would

be taken as a given

To avoid open source solutions ...

... would limit the BBC's choices

.. cuts you off from useful technologies

.. cuts you off from community

developments

... would avoiding Apple & even some Microsoft products

Since even these suppliers have some usefulsoftware which either are or or based on open source.

Open source software is difficult to avoid

Especially on the Internet

When to evaluate using an open source

solution?

When you are looking for a new solution

When you are looking for a new solution... alongside anyother solutions

Why use an open source solution?

Because it provides for the business need in the appropriate way

Why not use an open source solution?

If it does not provide for the business need in the appropriately

How to use an open source solution?

Same way as aproprietary solution

Obtain & install

Hire appropriate staff

Hire a consultant

Hire a services company

How does the BBC use open source?

Some highlights

Network InfrastructureApache, Perl, Python,

MySQL, Linux

Proprietary systems are also used here

The BBC...

Desktop ApplicationsFirefox

Open Office(in some areas)

Proprietary systems are much more widely used here

The BBC...

DesktopsMac OS X

Linux(in BBC Research)

Microsoft Windows is the dominant desktop OS at present

The BBC...

Benefits to the BBC

Adaptability

StabilitySecurity

MaintainabilityStandards

Market Expertise

Improve

We're talking about contributing back

Maintenance

You have a problem not seen before

You fix itor you report it

By contributing back you reduce your

maintenance burden

... and encourage others to do the same

What is contribution?

Code is the most obvious contribution

Bug fixes are the most welcome contribution

A bug report is contributing back

Documentationerrors are bugs

Intelligent questions can lead to improved

documentation

Talking about usage is contributing back

Why does the BBC contribute back?

Perhaps not as often as it would like

For all the previous reasons, but also a

special one

Open source is very similar to traditional

standardisation

Any interested and capable party is

welcome to participate

Long standing tradition of working in

standards bodies

May contribute to any existing project where

it benefits the BBC

Contributing backas a business

When to contribute to an open source

project?

When you have solved a problem or need to solve one

Why contribute back to an open source

solution?

Because it helps the product get better,

which in turn makes it more valuable to you

Why not contribute back to an open source project?

When doing so may reveal business or

personal confidential information

How to contribute back to an open source project?

Contribute repeatable, clear,

focussed bug reports

..without expectations

Contribute clear, focussed bug fixes

Make them focussedFollow project culture

Make them easy to applyMake them relevant

Include docs

If you don't know how, askotheriwise you will look stupid

bug fixes

Make them focussedFollow project culture

Make them easy to applyMake them relevant

Include docs

If you do it right, your company will be respected

bug fixes

Note: Open source is a meritocracy – conceptual

contributions are more important than money

Bluntly:

Start talking about money, and you will often alienate

developers

Bluntly:

Start talking about money, and you will often alienate

developers

even if the work done is often priceless...

If you've never done this, liase through an open

source consultancy

ProjectOrigination

We're talking about new open source

projects from the BBC

Not your core business,not a saleable product

Standards development, encouragement

External collaboration

Peer reviewRepeatability

Will be developed anyway

A key one:

eg: in house tools

A key one:

no feedback == no lossany feedback == benefit

less obvious: increase market sector viability

for your business

less obvious: increase market sector viability

for your businesseg, email, web, the internet as a whole

BBC Open Source

http://www.bbc.co.uk/opensource

Does not host BBC open source projects

Only contains pointers to the projects

Once you release the code, you are no

longer in control of that code

Community hosting makes it clear the

code is community owned

Code cannot be taken away

What has the BBC originated as open

source projects?

Kamaelia, Dirac, TVAnytime API, Betsie, Media Dispatch, MXF File Test Engine, Video

Shot Change Detector, Media Lounge, Pony, 2

Apache Modules, 10 CPAN Modules, BAP Tools, ID3v2 Chapter tools, Flash tools,

AFFEditPack, ....

To develop a royalty free video codec for online and

offline delivery

Benefits of release include:Community collaboration,

peer review, and critique by peers for standardisation

Downside of release includes:People viewing release of

Dirac as entering direct competition with suppliers

Release enables collaboration

Kamaelia

Original aim: to develop tools for scalable long term online delivery of all BBC content

Kamaelia

Community collaboration is evolving the system into a

general purpose multimedia toolkit

Kamaelia

Revised high level BBC aims: To do for software systems what IKEA has

done for furniture, and spreadsheets have done for traditional business

but for the BBC's business ofstorytelling and distribution

Kamaelia

Benefits of release include: Peer review; a much more

general purpose and hence more generally useful system,and dissemination from R&D

dept into the business

and so on.

Appropriate Licensing

Both preceding use the “Mozilla TriLicense”, why?

MPL – explicit patent grant

GPL – most widely used licenseLGPL – most appropriate for a

library

For prior 2 projects interoperation on all 3 levels

has been impotant

For businesses...

When to originate an open source project?

When you have software developed

inhouse as an overhead not as

product

Why originate an open source project?

When you have aninhouse tool that you

think others will find useful

When it will benefit your market sector

making it more attractive & viable

Communities of companies can generate wealthfor all concerned

To gain competitive advantage –

consumers prefer open platforms

Why not originate an open source project?

When you gainreal competitive

advantage by not doing so

When that software is all you sell

If you're not prepared to accept community

contributions

If you're not willing to risk letting go of control of the

codebase

If your code contains secrets of any kind

How to originate an open source project

Create a project on an independent

hosting site

SourceforgeGoogle Code

Berliosetc

Choose a license and understand its implications

Create a contributor agreement

Create mailing lists

GeneralAnnouncementsVersion control

commits

Create a project bloguse it when anything

notable happens

Create a project bloguse it when anything

notable happens

Release something usable

Focus on the code in any release announcement,

not on you

Don't expect instantaneous success

Read how others have done it“Cathedral & Bazaar”

“Producing Open Source Software”

“Hackers & Painters”

Don't expect instantaneous success

Finally

This talk was titled “open source at the BBC”

Proprietary software is as widely if not more widely

used inside the BBC

If you want to use proprietary software the

business world is geared up to help you.

If you want to improve proprietary software the

traditional way is to start a new business

If you want to create proprietary software you

do the same thing

In either case, evaluate each based on their merits

Private businesses havethe option of ideology

as a merit

Public services do not

More information:

BBC OSS FAQs:http://tinyurl.com/yjyx83

Joel on Software – Strategy Letter Vhttp://tinyurl.com/4haso

Cathedral & Bazaarhttp://tinyurl.com/3ald3

This talk will be summarised on my blog:http://yeoldeclue.com/blog

Open Source at the BBC: When, Why, Why not & How

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