Software source code is a form of literature, written by humans to be read by humans as well as machines. It gives us a view into the mind of the designer, and studying code can teach us both historical and practical lessons. The Software Heritage project to collect, preserve, and share all publicly available […]
Software is the fabric which binds our personal, social, industrial, and digital lives. It is an important part of our cultural heritage, as well as a significant portion of the intellectual efforts of humanity since the invention of the digital computer. The Eclipse Foundation is pleased to support this important effort […]
Open source software is now the assumed default for the IT industry and for every computer user. It is also here to stay for the foreseeable future. We now need to secure past open source achievements, not only because they are part of human history, but also because they will […]
The freedom—and the ability—to build on the work of others is core to free software. Also central is the ability to be nimble and future-proof, to not be hostage to the whims of specific owners or authors. The relatively short history of computers already holds a tragically large graveyard of […]
The fundamental advantage of open source software is the freedom to use, modify, and redistribute existing work, accelerating innovation into the future. The Open Source Initiative is pleased to support the work of the Software Heritage project, preserving the treasure trove produced by 30 years of free and open source […]
The commons is made up of many parts, and many movements, with free and open software being an essential element. Archiving and open repositories are vital to a thriving and growing commons, as we need reliable, long-term access to the works people choose to share so we can all copy, study, use, and […]
We have decades of free and open source software that are the building blocks of the technology we rely on, all of which is interacting in new ways the implications of which we are only beginning to understand. We will need Software Heritage to help us develop the tools we’ll need as a […]
Pythagoras prohibited his disciples to divulge his theories : mathematics was born in secrecy. However, the philosophers of the « Greek miracle » considered that ideas, the universal ones, belonged to all and should be shared freely. Our civilisation values the sharing of knowledge because it helps the growth of […]
Software is the most important cultural technique of today’s society; it frames what we can and what we cannot do. Software shapes our communication and culture, our economy, education and research, as well as politics. It is important to preserve our collective knowledge about how software has influenced humankind. Collecting source code makes Software […]
Software Heritage has set itself the important task of curating software for the long run at a global scale, and to safeguard the long term availability of these bits carefully crafted for all intents and purposes. Technology is shaping our age and our societies (to quote professor Lawrence Lessig: « code is law »), and its history […]
