Timeline: A brief history of open

Invented by Johannes Gutenberg, the printing press is considered the first example of technology driving openness and innovation. ^1, 2

The original printed book was designed to give anyone access to the accumulated knowledge of experts from the arts and sciences. These days, readers can learn about anything from Aak to Zywiec. ^{5, 6}

The A-2 compiler — one of the first instances of translating code into machine language — was released with its source code. Because users could send code improvements to the manufacturer, this is considered the first instance of open-source software. ⁸  

Founded by physicist and fighter pilot Edward Fredkin, DECUS brought together application and systems programmers to share code for DEC hardware via magnetic tape. DECUS was instrumental in the development of computer games in the 70s, including Zork and Hunt the Wumpus. ^{11, 12}

This OS, created by AT&T’s Bell Labs, was unique because of its portability and multitasking capabilities. Since the system’s inception, a multitude of different UNIX versions have been collaboratively developed — to run workstations, internet servers, and mainframes. Today, UNIX-like systems are still found in almost every computer in the world. ^{13, 14, 15}

Dr. Dobb’s Journal was first published so programmers could easily share BASIC code. Over the years, its scope broadened to encourage sharing of different programming languages, and discussion of all things microcomputing. Content was sourced from its readers, both hobbyists and professionals, including Steve Wozniak. ^{17, 18}

When he couldn’t get the source code to fix a printer, Richard Stallman logged into Usenet and announced the GNU project. His aim was for developers to collaborate and free themselves from proprietary software constraints. The project still runs today. ^{20, 21}

Founded by three friends, Cygnus Support becomes one of the earliest companies to offer paid support for free software, representing a new business model based on open source. Nearly 10 years later, Cygnus was acquired for $698 million by Red Hat. ^{24, 25 ,26}

As an early web browser, Mosaic has been credited for popularizing the World Wide Web. Andreessen and his team founded Mosaic Communications Corporations — which later became Netscape Communications Corporation. ³¹

In his essay — and, later, book — “The Cathedral and the Bazaar,” Eric Raymond offered an analysis of different free software models. The work rallied the open-source community by painting a picture of how open-source technology could work in a for-profit environment. Netscape Communications considered Raymond’s thesis a key motivator to open-source their code in 1998. ³³

Co-founded by author Eric Raymond and programmer Bruce Perens, the first task of the OSI was to define an agreed-upon meaning of open source and create a list of OSI-approved licenses. ³⁶

Relying on principles of collaboration and information-sharing, the free online encyclopedia allows anyone to edit entries. Within its first year, over 200,000 articles were published. And the pace hasn’t slowed: In May 2016, Wikipedia exceeded 40M articles across all language editions, and this number continues to grow at a rapid rate. ³⁸

Partly in response to what it considered the slow development of W3C, the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG) is formed. Promoting principles of collaboration, sharing, and openness, the group focused on pushing HTML-related technologies. Today, W3C and WHATWG are considered the two major standards bodies for the web. ⁴²

Under the Chromium project, Google released its open-source browser project so that developers can contribute to safer, faster browsing experiences. The project was based on WebKit, Apple’s own open-source browser engine. The projects highlight the high rate of innovation afforded by popular open- source projects with passionate contributors. ^{45, 46, 47}

The low-cost Raspberry Pi computer came complete with specs so users could program it any way they wanted. The credit card-sized machine has helped bring to life a voice-controlled microwave and HD surveillance cameras. ^{50, 51}

From C# to Java, GitHub’s chart shows the most popular programming languages used to build the open source ecosystem. Significantly, it shows that programming languages associated with proprietary efforts now play a prominent role in open-source projects. ⁵³