Skip to main content

News

Fri, 18 Mar 2005 Google opens up

Juan Carlos Perez

  • Email to a friend
  • Print this article
  • Bookmark this page
  • RSS feed

Google has launched a site that provides Google source code for free, along with discussion forums.

The site, called Google Code, has been in development for about six months.

"We have derived a great amount of software from the open source community, so we felt it would be appropriate for us to interact more closely with those developers than we have done to date," said Chris DiBona, Google's open source program manager.

"Enough people at Google came from the open source community that it's sort of built into us that we want to do this. It's one of the reasons I was hired," said DiBona.

The site offers the open source community with software tools developed and used internally by Google, contributing code that external developers might find useful, DiBona said. An added bonus for Google would be to get feedback from developers on ways to improve the code it posts on the site, he said.

While Google Code contains links to information on Google's open application programming interfaces (APIs), the site's purpose isn't to get external developers to write applications that extend Google functionality, he said.

"These aren't applications per se. They aren't environments to develop in. These aren't interfaces to use Google search," DiBona said. "These are (tools) for creating software. This is about releasing code to help people develop."

An open source community leader praised Google's effort. "This looks great. It's great news. I'm not surprised. Google has always been a class act and it has had close ties to the open source community," said Eric Raymond, president emeritus and founder of the Open Source Initiative.

Google's decision to start the project modestly and allow the program to expand is the right approach, Raymond said. "In general, when you're dealing with the open source community the best thing is to speak softly and deliver a lot of code: underpromise and overperform. They're doing the right thing here."

Email A Friend

Email this article to a friend or colleague:



PLEASE NOTE: Your name is used only to let the recipient know who sent the story, and in case of transmission error. Both your name and the recipient's name and address will not be used for any other purpose.

<<prev article | back to news index | next article>>

Question of the day!

Mark Hattersley
Editor in Chief

Do you share your creations online?

Question of the day!

Do you share your creations online?

% of Macworld readers agree with you

Yes
TBC
No
TBC

What do you create and how do you share it?

124 characters remaining

Follow the conversation at @TabletChat

paintings & illustrations, mostly, which i upload to flickr.RT @fragmentedm

I draw manga/anime characters. I also do graphic design and photography.RT @spialelo

Yes. I usually put them up on my #deviantart account for feedback on how to improve.RT @spialelo

Latest News


More news...