The US has finally taken a big step for the open source world and launched its Code.gov website. The new move is aimed to offer the code of federal government’s software to all the citizens.
Hot on heels of the release of the Federal Source Code Policy, the launch of Code.gov is aimed to digital tools developed by the US government. The online repository already includes nearly 50 open source projects from over ten agencies. This would grow over time. Also, the Barack Obama-led government is set to provide tools and support to agencies to implement its code policy.
“It is a step we took to help Federal agencies avoid duplicative custom software purchases and promote innovation and cross-agency collaboration. And it is a step we took to enable the brightest minds inside and outside of government to work together to ensure that Federal code is reliable and effective,” writes US chief information officer Tony Scott, in a blog post.
The US is considering that its Code.gov will become a “useful resource” for government bodies as well as developers looking to build their offerings on the government’s code. This comes as an upgrade to the messaging bot which Obama launched last month.
Open source everywhere
Not just in the US but open source is influencing governments and authorities all across the globe. Last month, Russia showed its favour for open source software by reducing its dependencies on US software vendors like Oracle, Microsoft and IBM. The Indian government is also in development to launch a Code.gov-like repository in the coming future.
[…] the US launched its code.gov platform to enable developer contributions on various public platforms. The Indian government is […]
[…] to the public sector using Cochran’s experience. The new appointment comes in the midst of some major open source developments by the US government and at a time when companies like Acquia are expand their public sector […]
[…] their developments towards open source. The new launch comes months after the release of the Code.gov website by the US government. That development was aimed to publicly release the code of software developed […]
[…] US government last year took the open source way, and now it is a turn for National Security Agency (NSA). The national-level intelligence agency […]