Chapter 2. AIX Toolbox for Linux Applications 17
Linux has its own standardization organization, the Free Standards Group. For
more information please refer to the following Web site:
http://www.freestandards.org
The Free Standards Group has created a operating system conformity standard
for Linux systems called the
Linux Standard Base (LSB), for more information
please refer to the following Web site:
http://www.linuxbase.org/spec
It is possible for Linux distributors and Linux-based developers to certify their
distributions and applications against the LSB. The certification process is
managed by the Open Group, for more information please refer to the following
Web site:
http://www.opengroup.org/lsb/cert
For a list of certified distributions please refer to the following Web site:
http://www.opengroup.org/lsb/cert/cert_prodlist.tpl
2.1.2 Toolbox objective
The goal of the AIX Toolbox for Linux Applications is to provide ready-to-run,
installable Open Source tools and facilitate recompilation of Open Source
Software, without modifications, on AIX systems. These days many Open
Source applications are created on Linux systems and are using Linux libraries
and APIs. Since Linux is a UNIX clone and not a UNIX branded operating system
(It aims towards
POSIX and Single UNIX Specification compliance), supporting
Linux Open Source Software requires that the Linux APIs are available in AIX to
successfully recompile the sources.
For more information regarding the Linux kernel, please refer to the following
Web site:
http://www.kernel.org
Once recompiled, the original Linux source applications become native AIX
applications, meaning they can take advantage of the same scalability, reliability,
and performance as any other AIX application. These applications are AIX
binaries.
2.1.3 Open Source Software
Open Source Software (OSS) is software in source-code form that is often
created and maintained by a collaborative, virtual community on the Internet and
is usually downloadable for free over the Internet or available on CD-ROM at
18 Linux Applications on pSeries
nominal cost. Open Source Software has several important features that
distinguish it from other kinds of software:
򐂰 You cannot be prohibited from redistributing OSS.
򐂰 You cannot be prohibited from distributing modifications to OSS.
򐂰 No royalties can be imposed on you for using OSS.
It is important to understand that OSS is not Public Domain Software:
Public Domain Author
gives up copyright; no restrictions on how the
source code can be used
Open Source Author
retains copyright to source code; allows author to
distribute the code under a license that defines what you
may (and may not) do with it
There are two distinctly different aspects to Open Source Software:
򐂰 The licensing model
򐂰 The development methodology
The Open Source Software community has a very precise definition of
Open
Source
. That definition is embodied in the various Open Source Software
licenses in use today.
The Linux kernel and the GNU software packages are some of the most
well-known examples of Open Source Software. The software development tools
in the Toolbox are the major ones that many Linux/UNIX application developers
prefer to use. However, the Toolbox content is not limited to development tools
only.
The Open Source Definition (OSD)
The Open Source Definition (OSD) is promoted and maintained by the
not-for-profit Open Source Initiative (OSI). For more information about Open
Source please refer to the following Web sites:
http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition_plain.html
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
Most of the popular Open Source Software licenses (for example, GPL, LGPL,
CPL, MPL, BSD, and MIT) have been certified
OSD compliant by the Open
Source Initiative and are listed on the following Web site:
http://www.opensource.org/licenses
Currently there are 35 approved Open Source Software licenses. There are also
over 100 licenses claiming to be Open Source Software licenses, each with its
own set of terms and conditions.

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