The US Department of Defense has backed the use of moreopen source softwareto boost its software
development capability.
Open source software enables the Department of Defense to
develop its software capabilities faster to anticipate new threats
and respond to constantly changing requirements, David Wennergren,
chief information officer at the Department of Defense said in a
memo.
The memo, issued this week, contains a set of guidelines aimed
at clarifying "misconceptions" about the use of open source
software in the Department of Defense, according to
reports.
The guidelines include considering open source software in
almost all cases as "commercial computer software" when conducting
market research for new products.
The memo lists the benefits of open source software as lower
total cost of ownership, reliability supported by peer review, the
ability to modify source code as needed, and the ability to "test
drive" the software with minimal costs and administrative
delays.
The memo also clarifies the misconception that changes made to
code had to be released. The memo said that such changes have to be
released only if the program is publicly distributed.
