Thread: DOD Use of Free Software

I had a chance to read through a recent report on the Department of
Defenses use of free and open source software last night
(http://www.egovos.org/pdf/dodfoss.pdf) I think it's an interesting read
for those actively involved in promoting open source software. I suspect
it sums up the conditions in most companies in the US, not just the DOD.
The main reason I bring it up here is that PostgreSQL is conspicuously
absent from the list of open source software currently being used,
although I would swear I've seen a couple of emails come into the list
from folks involved in military work. Additionally, the report describes
MySQL as "...the world's most popular FOSS database. It is fast,
full-functioned, and precise enough to be used in both heavy load and
mission critical applications". Now I'm sure I am biased, but personally
I think PostgreSQL fits that description much better than MySQL,
especially in regards to being ready for mission critical work. Add to
that the fact that the DOD uses *BSD quite a bit, and (imho) I think we
provide better support for BSD and it confounds me as to how PostgreSQL
has been overlooked.  Either way, we need to keep this on our radar
screen because one of the suggestions in the report is to create a list
of approved open source software for use in DOD activities. Should such
a list be created, we ought to be on that list. Again, this is not
really a call to arms (as afaik the DOD isn't looking for additional
input at this time), but something I think that is worth keeping an
eye/ear out for.

Robert Treat

Robert,

> The main reason I bring it up here is that PostgreSQL is
> conspicuously
> absent from the list of open source software currently being used,
> although I would swear I've seen a couple of emails come into the
> list
> from folks involved in military work. Additionally, the report
> describes
> MySQL as "...the world's most popular FOSS database. It is fast,
> full-functioned, and precise enough to be used in both heavy load and
> mission critical applications".

I read the report too.  There are *numerious* inaccuracies regarding
specific software packages; for example, OpenOffice.org was listed as
"Open Office", a GPL-licensed package (It's LGPL) yet "Not completely
Open Source" (it is).  So both our omission and the failure to mention
MySQL's limitations are undoubtedly the result of sloppy research
rather than any specific decision by the writers.

However, this points out a bigger problem, which is that, through
Monty's relentless marketing, people have come to think "Open Source
Database = MySQL", sort of like "Word Processor = MS Word".   Not that
I begrudge Monty his success -- after all, better MySQL than MS SQL
Server -- but it's a situation we desperately need to rememedy.

Part of that, we'll do through press releases.   Just keeping our name
in the tech press will make a significant difference in people
remembering we exist.

But, I was thinking:  currently, SAP DB and Phoenix are in the same
boat as us ... both good, Open Source databases with less-than-stellar
name recognition.   Is there any way we could team up with the
volunteers on those two projects to promote "Open Source Database
diversity"?   OpenOffice.org is gaining a lot of ground in Europe by
teaming up with KOffice, AbiWord and GnomeOffice to break the MS
file-format lock.   Surely there's some way for us to pool our
resources with other database projects for similar promotion.

-Josh Berkus