OSCON 2011

I attended OSCON, the O'Reilly-run conference on open source software.

There were four "take-aways" from the conference:

Java has renewed interest, due to Oracle

Oracle purchased Sun Microsystems, and acquired Java in the process. Oracle has invested in Java, and the results show it. Java is not open source, and relations between Oracle and the open source community are uneasy, but as one person put it: "People are afraid of Oracle and its reputation of money-grubbing, hard-business operations. But it is precisely those money-grubbing, hard-business operations that allows Oracle the resources to invest in Java." Oracle has invested in Java. Recent changes to the JVM allow for dynamic languages, something that will enable open source projects.

Open source has matured to a respectable choice for development

Open source has changed its status. In the past, open source was a subversive movement, a "rebel alliance", against the empires of commercial software. That has changed. Open source is now a respected alternative for software. Its success with projects such as Apache, Linux, and Android have demonstrated that it can deliver workable solutions.

Open source is the research arm of the software industry

Open source has become the research laboratory for software. There are projects for large and small efforts, in various areas of software development. They explore new ideas and techniques, and release software quickly. Some recent accomplishments:

Scripting languages: Perl, Python, and Ruby are all open source projects. While Perl has been released slowly (version 6.0 has taken over a decade) the other languages have seen a number of revisions. The languages are capable and usable.

Future languages: There are open source implementations of a number of new languages. Some of these fall in the "functional programming" category, and offer efficiencies for cloud computing. The company that wants to get an early grasp of these languages can evaluate them today, thanks to open source.

Databases: The "NoSQL" data store concept was built in open source. This idea of a database abandons the SQL language and the relational organization of databases in exchange for performance and flexibility. NoSQL databases don't enforce a structure on the data and therefore can store varied information. They are often used for high-performance, large user base applications.

Distributed version control: Expanding version control for distributed projects, these DVCSs (distributed version control systems) allow people to work independently in distant locations. The DVCS coordinates updates from multiple people without the need for constant contact with the central database.

Open source is allowing companies to thrive in the current economic environment

Numbers can tell the story better than words. Of the two dozen exhibitor companies, over half were hiring. The hiring companies included small, obscure companies (Azur, Neustar, Percona, and Linbit) and large, well-known companies (the New York Times, O'Reilly, and Facebook). Some folks were at the conference for the express purpose of hiring -- no product demos, no sales pitches... just recruiting.

Hiring was competitive enough to spark a good-natured "recruitment war" during one of the closing sessions. Two companies (Grant Street Group and Booking.com) made multiple requests, advertising their hiring packages. Grant Street Group offered generous salaries and medical benefits; Booking.com offered to re-locate people to Amsterdam. No other companies joined the debate; perhaps they were overwhelmed by the competition.