Developer says RP should contribute to open source community
By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 12:46:00 07/02/2008
Filed Under: Software, Technology (general)
PASIG CITY, Philippines -- The Philippine open source community should speak up and contribute to global open source projects, an Australian developer and expert said in an interview here.
Greg Wilkins, a lead developer of the so-called "Jetty open source servlet server" and a member of an experts group for the servlet specification from the Java Community Process, said the country is in a good position to take an active role in the open source community.
While Southeast Asia has been primarily a consumer of open source software, Wilkins said the Philippines is in a good position to contribute more to the open source software community because it understands different cultures.
"There's a large usage of open source software in Southeast Asia but there is also a large resistance to contribute or engage the open source community. It might be cultural," he said.
The open source community in the Asian region has primarily been very quiet, with the exception of Japan and China, he said. Both Asian countries however are involved in open source projects that serve their "internal needs" of both countries, he added.
Wilkins has founded Mort Bay Consulting, Core Developers Network and Webtide, where he is currently the chief technology officer.
During his talk in the Philippine Open Source Summit in Cebu, Wilkins urged Philippine developers to become active members of the open source community.
"The most important thing is how much do you contribute back to the open source community," he said, stressing that merely saying that one is a user of open source software is a good start.
Giving feedback or even sharing documentation of open source projects to the open source community is another way Filipino developers can "influence" the direction of global open source projects.
"No one is not good enough to contribute to the open source community," Wilkins said.
Wilkins has been contributor to many open source projects, including Dojo, DWR, Geronimo, ActiveMQ, and JBoss, according to his short profile.
|
