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The licenses associated with the offerings range from allowing only viewing of the code for reference, to allowing it to be modified and redistributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. BENEFITS OF SHARED SOURCE Shared source provides a number of benefits to end users that are not present in other proprietary software licenses. Among these is the availability of source code for reference when developing complementary systems. For example, having the source code to significant portions of an operating system aids application developers in maintaining stability and consistency in their own programs. The availability of source code also permits review and auditing from a security perspective, something which some large corporations and governments are now mandating. Shared source benefits the copyright holder in that much tighter control is kept over the use of their product than open source licenses, which generally include the voluntary abdication of many of the author's rights. From the perspective of companies which are used to developing proprietary software, this is a smaller transition to make, and may be seen as an interim step to full open source disclosure. COMPARISON OF OPEN SOURCE AND SHARED SOURCE From an end-user and original author perspective, shared source licenses share many of the benefits (and drawbacks) of open source licenses. From a "downstream" developer's standpoint, some of the shared source licenses stop short of the rights granted by an open source license while some of the shared source licenses, such as the Microsoft Permissive License and Microsoft Community License, could be characterized as open source licenses. No Shared Source licenses have yet been certified as "Open Source".http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2007088,00.asp Shared source has been submitted for review to the FSF, but not accepted as Open Source NOTABLE SHARED SOURCE PROGRAMS Microsoft Enterprise Source Licensing Program Microsoft gives enterprise customers viewing access to some parts of some versions of the Microsoft Windows Operating System s. The ESLP license agreement is among the most restrictive of the licenses associated with Shared Source programs, allowing no modifications of the code. Microsoft Windows Academic Program The Windows Academic Program provides universities worldwide with concepts, Windows kernel source code, and projects useful for integrating core Windows kernel technologies into teaching and research. Microsoft Shared Source Common Language Infrastructure The first widely-distributed shared source program is Shared Source CLI , the shared source implementation of the Common Language Infrastructure . The licensing permits non-commercial modification and distribution of the source code, as long as all distributions include the original license, or one encompassing the original terms As written in the license, examples of commercial purposes would be running business operations, licensing, leasing, or selling the Software, or distributing the Software for use with commercial products. Microsoft Shared Source Common Language Infrastructure is neither -approved Open Source . Windows Installer XML (WiX) WiX is a toolset for advanced Windows developers that builds Windows installation packages from XML source code. The first Microsoft Shared Source offering to be released on SourceForge, the WiX toolset is licensed under the Common Public License (CPL). ASP.Net AJAX Control Toolkit The ASP.Net AJAX Control Toolkit is a set of controls and extenders that use AJAX technologies to enable developers to easily improve the client experience on their web sites. The ASP.Net AJAX Control Toolkit, licensed under the Microsoft Permissive license (MS-PL), is accessible on CodePlex, Microsoft’s online community development portal for collaborative software development projects. NOTABLE SHARED SOURCE LICENSES Open Source Licenses Microsoft Permissive License (Ms-PL) Microsoft Community License (Ms-CL) This Microsoft license allows for distribution of derived code so long as the modified files retain the Ms-CL. The Ms-CL allows those files in the distribution that do not contain code originally licensed under Ms-CL to be licensed according to the intellectual property creator’s choosing. On December 9 2005 , the Ms-CL license was submitted to the Open Source Initiative for approval by John Cowan. CRYNWR OSI then contacted Microsoft and asked if they wanted OSI to proceed. Microsoft replied that they did not wish to be reactive and that they needed time to review such a decision. eWeek Then at OSCON in July 2007 Bill Hilf announced that Microsoft had now formally submitted MS-PL and MS-CL to OSI for approval. O'Reilly Non-open Source Licenses Microsoft Reference License (Ms-PL) This is the most restrictive of the Microsoft Licenses. The source code is made available to view for reference purposes only. Developers may not distribute or modify the code for commercial or non-commercial purposes. Microsoft Reference License Microsoft Limited Permissive License (Ms-LPL) This is a version of the Microsoft Permissive License in which rights are only granted to developers of Microsoft Windows -based software. This license is not open source, as defined by the OSI , because it violates the stipulation that open-source licenses must be technology-neutral. Open Source Definition at OSI Microsoft Limited Permissive License Microsoft Limited Community License (Ms-LCL) This is a version of the Microsoft Community License in which rights are only granted when developing software for a Microsoft Windows platform. Like the Ms-LPL, this license is not open source because it is not technology-neutral. Microsoft Limited Community License CRITICISM Some . However, the distribution of many licenses is considered an attempt to obfuscate the meaning of "Shared Source" and generate support from the Free Software Community . FSF Europe SEE ALSO REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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