It was even instrumental in the creation of Unix. Linus Torvalds is often wrongly labelled the head of the open source software movement, as well as the creator of the Linux operating system (OS). It's an idolatrous world we live in.
Disclosure of the technical information could rebuff long-standing criticism that Microsoft used undocumented application programming interfaces (APIs) to make the company's software work better with Windows than competitor's products.
By Martin LaMonica Sun Microsystems is building a Java-based development kit for its StarOffice software to help corporate programmers customise desktop applications, a move designed to pose a serious challenge Microsoft's dominant Office.
Microsoft also plans to build peer-to-peer application programming interfaces (APIs) into Windows XP. For example, with the planned APIs, Windows XP will allow devices on a peer network to find and interact with each other automatically.
Traditionally, SAP's products have had proprietary APIs, that require specialised skills and tools. SAP, already the biggest business application maker on the block, wants to bulk up even more - and it's turning to smaller software companies for help.
A UK government-funded initiative aims to accelerate the use of open source software within the public sector, through various activities including the creation of a government-specific code repository and a directory of open source providers.
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