Benevolent Dictator For Life
Encyclopedia
Benevolent Dictator For Life (BDFL) is a title given to a small number of open-source software-development
leaders
, typically project founders who retain the final say in disputes or arguments within the community.
The coinage originated in 1995 with reference to Guido van Rossum
, creator of the Python programming language
.
Shortly after van Rossum joined the Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI) it appeared in a follow-up mail by Ken Manheimer
to a meeting trying to create a semi-formal group overseeing Python development and workshops.
BDFL should not be confused with the more common term for open-source leaders, "benevolent dictator
", which was popularized by Eric S. Raymond
's essay "Homesteading the Noosphere
" (1999). Among other topics related to hacker culture
, Raymond elaborates on how the nature of open source forces the "dictatorship" to keep itself benevolent
, since a strong disagreement can lead to the forking
of the project under the rule of new leaders.
Open source software development
Open source software development is the process by which open source software is developed. These are software products “available with its source code and under an open source license to study, change, and improve its design”...
leaders
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
, typically project founders who retain the final say in disputes or arguments within the community.
The coinage originated in 1995 with reference to Guido van Rossum
Guido van Rossum
Guido van Rossum is a Dutch computer programmer who is best known as the author of the Python programming language. In the Python community, Van Rossum is known as a "Benevolent Dictator For Life" , meaning that he continues to oversee the Python development process, making decisions where necessary...
, creator of the Python programming language
Python (programming language)
Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive...
.
Shortly after van Rossum joined the Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI) it appeared in a follow-up mail by Ken Manheimer
Ken Manheimer
Ken Manheimer has been a prominent software developer of Zope and GNU Mailman who worked for NIST, CNRI, Digital Creations and Zope Corporation. He's been listed by Guido van Rossum together with Barry Warsaw as the probable inventor of the term Benevolent Dictator For Life .-References:...
to a meeting trying to create a semi-formal group overseeing Python development and workshops.
BDFL should not be confused with the more common term for open-source leaders, "benevolent dictator
Benevolent dictatorship
Benevolent dictatorship is a form of government in which an authoritarian leader exercises political power for the benefit of the whole population rather than exclusively for his or her own self-interest or benefit or for the benefit of only a small portion of the population...
", which was popularized by Eric S. Raymond
Eric S. Raymond
Eric Steven Raymond , often referred to as ESR, is an American computer programmer, author and open source software advocate. After the 1997 publication of The Cathedral and the Bazaar, Raymond was for a number of years frequently quoted as an unofficial spokesman for the open source movement...
's essay "Homesteading the Noosphere
Homesteading the Noosphere
"Homesteading the Noosphere" is an essay written by Eric S. Raymond about the social workings of open-source software development...
" (1999). Among other topics related to hacker culture
Hacker culture
A hacker is a member of the computer programmer subculture originated in the 1960s in the United States academia, in particular around the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 's Tech Model Railroad Club and MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory...
, Raymond elaborates on how the nature of open source forces the "dictatorship" to keep itself benevolent
Benevolence
Benevolence means an act of, or a general inclination towards, charity."Benevolence" may also refer to:* Benevolence , a faculty in the discredited theory of Phrenology* USS Benevolence , a Haven class hospital ship-See also:...
, since a strong disagreement can lead to the forking
Fork (software development)
In software engineering, a project fork happens when developers take a legal copy of source code from one software package and start independent development on it, creating a distinct piece of software...
of the project under the rule of new leaders.
Examples of people sometimes referred to as Benevolent Dictator For Life
- Guido van RossumGuido van RossumGuido van Rossum is a Dutch computer programmer who is best known as the author of the Python programming language. In the Python community, Van Rossum is known as a "Benevolent Dictator For Life" , meaning that he continues to oversee the Python development process, making decisions where necessary...
, creator of PythonPython (programming language)Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive... - Linus TorvaldsLinus TorvaldsLinus Benedict Torvalds is a Finnish software engineer and hacker, best known for having initiated the development of the open source Linux kernel. He later became the chief architect of the Linux kernel, and now acts as the project's coordinator...
, creator of LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds... - Larry WallLarry WallLarry Wall is a programmer and author, most widely known for his creation of the Perl programming language in 1987.-Education:Wall earned his bachelor's degree from Seattle Pacific University in 1976....
, the originator of PerlPerlPerl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Perl was originally developed by Larry Wall in 1987 as a general-purpose Unix scripting language to make report processing easier. Since then, it has undergone many changes and revisions and become widely popular... - Martin DougiamasMartin DougiamasMartin Dougiamas , lives in Perth, Australia and is an educator and computer scientist with postgraduate degrees in Computer Science and Education...
, the creator of MoodleMoodleMoodle is a free source e-learning software platform, also known as a Course Management System, Learning Management System, or Virtual Learning Environment... - Patrick VolkerdingPatrick VolkerdingPatrick Volkerding is the founder and maintainer of the Slackware Linux distribution. He is the "Slackware Benevolent Dictator for Life." Volkerding earned a Bachelor of Science in computer science from Minnesota State University Moorhead in 1993.For a short while, Chris Lumens and others assisted...
, the creator of SlackwareSlackwareSlackware is a free and open source Linux-based operating system. It was one of the earliest operating systems to be built on top of the Linux kernel and is the oldest currently being maintained. Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding of Slackware Linux, Inc. in 1993... - Fabio Erculiani, the creator of Sabayon Linux
- Mark ShuttleworthMark ShuttleworthMark Richard Shuttleworth is a South African entrepreneur who was the second self-funded space tourist. Shuttleworth founded Canonical Ltd. and as of 2010, provides leadership for the Ubuntu operating system...
calls himself the "Self-Appointed Benevolent Dictator For Life", or SABDFL, and the UbuntuUbuntu (operating system)Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...
community often uses this name to refer to him - Adrian HolovatyAdrian HolovatyAdrian Holovaty is an American Web developer, journalist and entrepreneur living in Chicago, Illinois. He is co-creator of the Django Web framework and an advocate of "journalism via computer programming."...
and Jacob Kaplan-Moss, for Django - Dries BuytaertDries BuytaertDries Buytaert is an open-source software programmer notable as founder and lead developer of the Drupal CMS.- Career :...
, founder and leader of the DrupalDrupalDrupal is a free and open-source content management system and content management framework written in PHP and distributed under the GNU General Public License. It is used as a back-end system for at least 1.5% of all websites worldwide ranging from personal blogs to corporate, political, and...
project - Ryan Dahl, the creator of Node.jsNode.jsNode.js is a software system designed for writing highly-scalable internet applications, notably web servers.Programs are written in JavaScript, using event-driven, asynchronous I/O to minimize overhead and maximize scalability....
- Steve Coast, the founder of OpenStreetMapOpenStreetMapOpenStreetMap is a collaborative project to create a free editable map of the world. Two major driving forces behind the establishment and growth of OSM have been restrictions on use or availability of map information across much of the world and the advent of inexpensive portable GPS devices.The...
- Tony Locke, creator of ChellowChellowChellow is open source Energy accounting software for checking the correctness of UK electricity bills.Energy accounting software is a class of software products used for tracking, managing, processing, reporting and analyzing for accuracy of utility bills and energy information...
- Rasmus LerdorfRasmus LerdorfRasmus Lerdorf is a Danish programmer with Canadian citizenship and is most notable as the creator of the PHP scripting language. He authored the first two versions...
, the creator of PHPPHPPHP is a general-purpose server-side scripting language originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages. For this purpose, PHP code is embedded into the HTML source document and interpreted by a web server with a PHP processor module, which generates the web page document... - Theo de RaadtTheo de RaadtTheo de Raadt , born May 19, 1968 in Pretoria, South Africa, is a software engineer who lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He is the founder and leader of the OpenBSD and OpenSSH projects, and was a founding member of the NetBSD project.- Childhood :...
, the creator of OpenBSDOpenBSDOpenBSD is a Unix-like computer operating system descended from Berkeley Software Distribution , a Unix derivative developed at the University of California, Berkeley. It was forked from NetBSD by project leader Theo de Raadt in late 1995... - Rich Hickey, the creator of ClojureClojureClojure |closure]]") is a recent dialect of the Lisp programming language created by Rich Hickey. It is a general-purpose language supporting interactive development that encourages a functional programming style, and simplifies multithreaded programming....
- Ton RoosendaalTon RoosendaalTon Roosendaal is a Dutch software developer. He is known as the original creator of the open-source 3D creation suite Blender, as chairman of the Blender Foundation, and for pioneering large scale open-content projects...
, the creator of BlenderBlender (software)Blender is a free and open-source 3D computer graphics software product used for creating animated films, visual effects, interactive 3D applications or video games. The current release version is 2.60, and was released on October 19, 2011...