As open source grows technically closer to its proprietary brethren and becomes more interoperable, will it be influenced by the commercial model? In the face of stiff competition, will it be forced to give up the openness that is its central tenet?
The gains in market share that open-source software has made in recent years create a quandary for this newcomer to the world. Several years back, when open-source development was in its infancy, it was used chiefly by purists. There was no need for Linux and other open-source software to interface with proprietary applications -- the early pioneers who adopted it were, for the most part, seeking to avoid using systems like Windows. But as open source moves into the mainstream and is being used for all manner of tasks in all sorts of corporate data centers, it often needs to live side by side with proprietary applications. This close proximity poses a challenge: Will open source itself be forced to become proprietary? As open source vies for greater adoption in the , will it need to employ the same methodologies that apply to proprietary software?