OS2 World Foundation are petitioning IBM to release the operating system's source code as open-source since the product still plays a vital role within many financial firms where the support and development needs still exists. Also, an earlier petition made by OS2 World Foundation during 2005 collected almost 12.000 signatures.
OS2 World Foundation would like to insist on implementing the stipulations contained in the petition because we believe that OS/2 is an important part of the history of the Operating System, and furthermore, it still contains values that the computer science field considers unique. Open-sourcing OS/2 will be the best option for customers who want to retain their investment in this platform and it will ensure the platform’s continued development into the future, especially in light of the fact that it’s "End of Support" passed by in December 2006.
After talks with the OS/2 development community, we have found that the following three important components will be basic to the continued development of OS/2:
- SOM (System Object Model) Core. This will also be a good contribution to the open source community in general and to the computer science educational area.
- Workplace Shell (WPS). According to press documentation, the OS/2 graphical user interface (GUI) was developed 100% by IBM. There are no third party restrictions to open sourcing it.
- OS/2 Kernel.
"The primary reason for the petition is to get vital parts of OS2 open sourced to gain from the technology in current technology. If the gain then can be made in eCS, Linux or the future Voyager project that Netlabs.org runs; well that doesn't really matter; but it's a shame if IBM lets the code go down the drain." said Kim Haverblad, Founder of the OS2 World Foundation. "Clearly we have showed IBM that there is still a huge interest for OS/2 as product and they should be happy for that instead they do their best to ignore almost 12.000 individuals representing both small and large corporations world-wide."
For more information about the ongoing petition, please then visit following link: http://www.os2world.com/petition