Collection of Open Source GIS Work
This is a reflection on readings regarding Open Source GIScience for Friday, February 26.
Both Singleton et al. (2016) and Rey (2009) provided interesting prospectives on the use and function of open source in and out of an academic setting. Although Singleton et al. focussed more on the general implications of open source for the world around us, there were some really interesting concepts introduced about the integration of open source into academia as well. While debating the pros and cons of open source, Singleton et al. argued that without reproducibility the potential advancements of open source would be discounted. Singleton et al. laid out a strong framework for best practices in open source GIScience that can be beneficial in better understanding how we might conduct our labs in this course. This paper has helped me understand further the importance of this movement that is still in its early stages. Creating websites that not only explain our reproductions and replications, but also link all of the data in our open access repositories is key to having more transparency, which further validates these studies we replicate.
Rey (2009) discusses the intersection between science and open source as their differences are important to note in the application of open source to science and academia. Some important distinctions are brought up as Rey outlines the differences between free and open source software, defining free software as something users are able to modify and use for any purpose, but not all open source software is free. Rey makes an important analogy that open source can be free as in beer or free as in speech. This perfectly summarizes the differences in open source that not all open source software is modifiable and cannot provide the same freedoms as free speech could for example. Although there are many challenges associated with open source, the future is headed towards creating a more accessible, transparent system that can enable all to reap the benefits of others’ accomplishments, which is, in my opinion, at the heart of science. What good is it to study something, if the knowledge cannot be shared?