By Rathindra Kuruwita
At a time when software giants are lobbying for stringent registration policies and tightening their control over their products, the freedom offered by Free and Open Source Software, also F/OSS, FOSS, or FLOSS (for Free/Libre/Open Source Software) is like a breath of fresh air. Free and Open Source Software is software which gives the users the “source code” and allows them to study, alter, improve and even sell the improved product in the market.

Chamith Kumarage is a Systems Engineer at WSO2, an Open Source SOA Company, but he would like to call himself a FOSS activist. An Old Boy of Ananda College Chamith was first introduced to free software by a friend who wanted to install Linux into his PC.

“I was in year 12 in school, and a friend of mine came looking for me and asked me to help install Linux. So he bought me his lap top and I we tried to install Linux. Until that point I had not even heard about Linux,” he said. “After a lot of trouble we installed it. But when we tried to operate it not only did the system crash but also we lost a lot of valuable data. But that incident made me interested in Linux and I wanted to know more about it,” he added.

As luck would have it, about the same time he saw a notice by a group called “Linux User Group” requesting all who are interested in Open Source software to join them. It was held at the Narada Centre and was led by a monk called Metthawihara, and Chamith joined the group in 2003.

“They had two mailing lists, a technical and an advocacy list. I met many like minded people from that group and we did a lot of things to promote the use of free software,” he said. “Then I joined NIBM,” he added. At first it was difficult to convince his lecturers of the merits of Open Source Software. “Back then no one was interested in Open Source Software, many thought that they were inferior or difficult to handle. Well I always used Windows till I was 18, and I knew it was difficult to change people’s perceptions,” he said.

After a string of discussions with his lecturers he was able to start a Linux user group, and convinced the administration to start a Linux class. “Each week we had small discussion groups where we shared our knowledge and answered each others questions. Then as time progressed the group became larger and we did bigger things,” he said. “And I got to know the guys at WSO2 through my work with the Linux User Group,” he added. According to Chamith the biggest reason for supporting Open Source Software is the freedom it gives the user. Open source software gives the user four freedoms: 1) The freedom to run the programme, for any purpose (freedom 0). 2) The freedom to study how the programme works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). 3) The freedom to re-distribute copies so you can help your neighbour (freedom 2). 4) The freedom to improve the programme, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3). “Access to the source code is a precondition for achieving these freedoms,” Chamith said.

Chamith said that unlike traditional close software (Windows, Adobe etc) Free and Open Source Software evolves quickly and the mistakes are quickly rectified. “When Microsoft produces a software only a limited number of people can inspect it, and if there is a mistake the user has to wait until the company releases a new version,” he said. “But with the Free and Open Source Software if we spot a mistake I can rectify it, and I can share the rectified version with millions around the world. And if I release a programme, the community will add and improve my programme and the end result will be something mind blowing and good,” he said.

Human beings have always shared their knowledge, and it is this sharing of knowledge that has helped our advancement. “If people didn’t write down what they discovered and their insights, we will still be in the Stone Age. Open source software brought that concept to the world of software,’ he said.

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