the.world.is.flat-第25章

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all　these　fixes　together。　
So　in　many　ways；　Bellendorf　and　his　open…source　colleagues…most　of　whom　he　had　never　
met　but　knew　only　by　e…mail　through　their　open…source　chat　room…had　created　a　virtual；　
online；　bottom…up　software　factory；　which　no　one　owned　and　no　one　supervised。　〃We　
had　a　software　project；　but　the　coordination　and　direction　were　an　emergent　behavior　
based　on　whoever　showed　up　and　wanted　to　write　code；〃　he　said。　
But　how　does　it　actually　work？　I　asked　Behlendorf。　You　can't　just　have　a　bunch　of　
people；　unmonitored；　throwing　code　together；　can　you？　
〃Most　software　development　involves　a　source　code　repository　and　is　managed　by　tools　
such　as　the　Concurrent　Versions　System；〃　he　explained。　〃So　there　is　a　CVS　server　out　
there；　and　I　have　a　CVS　program　on　my　computer。　It　allows　me　to　connect　to　the　server　
and　pull　down　a　copy　of　the　code；　so　I　can　start　working　with　it　and　making　
modifications。　If　I　think　my　patch　is　something　I　want　to　share　with　others；　I　run　
a　program　called　Patch；　which　allows　me　to　create　a　new　file；　a　compact　collection　
of　all　the　changes。　That　is　called　a　patch　file；　and　I　can　give　that　file　to　someone　
else；　and　they　can　apply　it　to　their　copy　of　the　code　to　see　what　impact　that　patch　
has。　If　I　have　the　right　privileges　to　the　server　＇which　is　restricted　to　a　tightly　
controlled　oversight　board＇；　I　can　then　take　my　patch　and　commit　it　to　the　repository　


and　it　will　become　part　of　the　source　code。　The　CVS　server　keeps　track　of　everything　
and　who　sent　in　what。。。　So　you　might　have　'read　access'　to　the　repository　but　not　
'commit　access'　to　change　things。　When　someone　makes　a　commit　to　the　repository；　that　
patch　file　gets　e…mailed　out　to　all　the　other　developers；　and　so　you　get　this　peer　
review　system　after　the　fact；　and　if　there　is　something　wrong；　you　fix　the　bug。〃　
So　how　does　this　community　decide　who　are　trusted　members？　
〃For　Apache；〃　said　Behlendorf；　〃we　started　with　eight　people　who　really　trusted　each　
other；　and　as　new　people　showed　up　at　the　discussion　forum　and　offered　patch　files　
posted　to　the　discussion　form；　we　would　
89　
gain　trust　in　others；　and　that　eight　grew　to　over　one　thousand。　We　were　the　first　
open…source　project　to　get　attention　from　the　business　community　and　get　the　backing　
from　IBM。〃　
Because　of　Apache's　proficiency　at　allowing　a　single…server　machine　to　host　thousands　
of　different　virtual　Web　sites…music；　data；　text；　pornography…it　began　to　have　〃a　
commanding　share　of　the　Internet　Service　Provider　market；〃　noted　Salon's　Leonard。　
IBM　was　trying　to　sell　its　own　proprietary　Web　server；　called　GO；　but　it　gained　only　
a　tiny　sliver　of　the　market。　Apache　proved　to　be　both　a　better　technology　and　free。　
So　IBM　eventually　decided　that　if　it　could　not　beat　Apache；　it　should　join　Apache。　
You　have　to　stop　here　and　imagine　this。　The　world's　biggest　computer　company　decided　
that　its　engineers　could　not　best　the　work　of　an　ad　hoc　open…source　collection　of　
geeks；　so　they　threw　out　their　own　technology　and　decided　to　go　with　the　geeks！　
IBM　〃initiated　contact　with　me；　as　I　had　a　somewhat　public　speaker　role　for　Apache；〃　
said　Behlendorf。　〃IBM　said；　'We　would　like　to　figure　out　how　we　can　use　＇Apache＇　and　
not　get　flamed　by　the　Internet　community；　＇how　we　can＇　make　it　sustainable　and　not　
just　be　ripping　people　off　but　contributing　to　the　process。　。　。'　IBM　was　saying　that　
this　new　model　for　software　development　was　trustworthy　and　valuable；　so　let's　invest　
in　it　and　get　rid　of　the　one　that　we　are　trying　to　make　on　our　own；　which　isn't　as　
good。〃　
John　Swainson　was　the　senior　IBM　executive　who　led　the　team　that　approached　Apache　
（he's　now　chairman　of　Computer　Associates）。　He　picked　up　the　story：　〃There　was　a　whole　
debate　going　on　at　thetime　about　open…source；　but　it　was　all　over　the　place。　We　decided　
we　could　deal　with　the　Apache　guys　because　they　answered　our　questions。　We　could　hold　
a　meaningful　conversation　with　these　guys；　and　we　were　able　to　create　the　＇nonprofit＇　
Apache　Software　Foundation　and　work　out　all　the　issues。〃　
At　IBM's　expense；　its　lawyers　worked　with　the　Apache　group　to　create　a　legal　framework　
around　it　so　that　there　would　be　no　copyright　or　liability　problems　for　companies；　
like　IBM；　that　wanted　to　build　applications　on　top　of　Apache　and　charge　money　for　
them。　IBM　saw　the　value　in　having　a　standard　vanilla　Web　server　architecture…which　
allowed　
90　
heterogeneous　computer　systems　and　devices　to　talk　to　each　other；　displaying　e…mail　
and　Web　pages　in　a　standard　format…that　was　constantly　being　improved　for　free　by　
an　open…source　community。　The　Apache　collaborators　did　not　set　out　to　make　free　


software。　They　set　out　to　solve　a　common　problem…Web　serving…and　found　that　
collaborating　for　free　in　this　open…source　manner　was　the　best　way　to　assemble　the　
best　brains　for　the　job　they　needed　done。　
〃When　we　started　working　with　Apache；　there　was　an　apache。org　Web　site　but　no　formal　
legal　structure；　and　businesses　and　informal　structures　don't　coexist　well；〃　said　
Swainson。　〃You　need　to　be　able　to　vet　the　code；　sign　an　agreement；　and　deal　with　
liability　issues。　＇Today＇　anybody　can　download　the　Apache　code。　The　only　obligation　
is　that　they　acknowledge　that　it　came　from　the　site；　and　if　they　make　any　changes　
that　they　share　them　back。〃　There　is　an　Apache　development　process　that　manages　the　
traffic；　and　you　earn　your　way　into　that　process；　added　Swainson。　It　is　something　
like　a　pure　meritocracy。When　IBM　started　using　Apache；　it　became　part　of　the　community　
and　started　making　contributions。　
Indeed；　the　one　thing　the　Apache　people　demanded　in　return　for　their　collaboration　
with　IBM　was　that　IBM　assign　its　best　engineers　to　join　the　Apache　open…source　group　
and　contribute；　like　everyone　else；　for　free。　〃The　Apache　people　were　not　interested　
in　payment　of　cash；〃　said　Swainson。　〃They　wanted　contribution　to　the　base。　Our　
engineers　came　to　us　and　said；　'These　guys　who　doApache　are　good　andthey　are　insisting　
that　we　contribute　good　people。'　At　first　they　rejected　some　of　what　we　contributed。　
They　said　it　wasn't　up　to　their　standards！　The　compensation　that　the　community　
expected　was　our　best　contribution。〃　
On　June　22；　1998；　IBM　announced　plans　to　incorporate　Apache　into　its　own　new　Web　server　
product；　named　WebSphere。　The　way　the　Apache　collaborative　community　organized　itself；　
whatever　you　took　out　of　Apache's　code　and　improved　on；　you　had　to　give　back　to　the　
whole　community。　But　you　were　also　free　to　go　out　and　build　a　patented　commercial　
product　on　top　of　the　Apache　code；　as　IBM　did；　provided　that　you　included　a　copyright　
citation　to　Apache　in　your　own　patent。　In　other　words；　this　intellectual　commons　
approach　to　open…sourcing　encour…　

aged　people　to　build　commercial　products　on　top　of　it。　While　it　wanted　the　foundation　
to　be　free　and　open　to　all；　it　recognized　that　it　would　remain　strong　and　fresh　if　
both　commercial　and　noncommercial　engineers　had　an　incentive　to　participate。　
Today　Apache　is　one　of　the　most　successful　open…source　tools；　powering　about　
two…thirds　of　the　Web　sites　in　the　world。　And　because　Apache　can　be　downloaded　for　
free　anywhere　in　the　world；　people　from　Russia　to　South　Africa　to　Vietnam　use　it　to　
create　Web　sites。　Those　individuals　who　need　or　want　added　capabilities　for　their　
Web　servers　can　buy　products　like　WebSphere；　which　attach　right　on　top　of　Apache。　
At　the　time；　selling　a　product　built　on　top　of　an　open…source　program　was　a　risky　
move　on　IBM's　part。　To　its　credit；　IBM　was　confident　in　its　ability　to　keep　producing　
differentiated　software　applications　on　top　of　the　Apache　vanilla。　This　model　has　
since　been　widely　adopted；　after　everyone　saw　how　it　propelled　IBM's　Web　server　
business　to　commercial　leadership　in　that　category　of　software；　generating　huge　
amounts　of　revenue。　
As　I　will　repeat　often　in　this　book：　There　is　no　future　in　vanilla　for　most　companies　
in　a　flat　world。　A　lot　of　vanilla　making　in　software　and　other　areas　is　going　to　shift　


to　open…source　communities。　For　most　companies；　the　commercial　future　belongs　to　
those　who　know　how　to　make　the　richest　chocolate　sauc