SCO Skunkware
Encyclopedia
SCO Skunkware, often referred to as simply "Skunkware", is a collection of Open Source
software projects ported
, compiled
, and packaged
for free redistribution on SCO operating environments. SCO Skunkware packaged components exist for SCO Xenix
, SCO UNIX, SCO OpenServer
5, SCO OpenServer
6, UnixWare
2, Caldera OpenLinux
, Open UNIX 8, and UnixWare
7. SCO Skunkware was an early pioneering effort to bring open source software into the realm of business computing and, as such, provided an important initial impetus to the acceptance and adoption of open source software in the small and medium business market. An extensive SCO Skunkware download area has been maintained since 1993 and SCO Skunkware components were shipped with operating system distributions as far back as 1983 when Xenix
for the IBM XT was released by The Santa Cruz Operation. Later additional open source distributions for operating platforms such as the FreeBSD Ports
collection and the Solaris Freeware repository would lend additional momentum to the adoption of open source in the business community.
and as a downloadable CD ISO image
. Individual packages are distributed via FTP
. The Skunkware CD release history is as follows:
approved Open Source license. Many are licensed under the terms of either the GNU General Public License
or the GNU Library General Public License.
Licenses used by SCO Skunkware components include or are similar to:
A few of the components are "freeware" with no restrictions on their redistribution. Some components may restrict their use to non-commercial purposes or require a license fee for commercial use (e.g. MBROLA
). Some components may be redistributed with special permission from the author(s) as is the case with KISDN.
s used by SCO Skunkware include the following:
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
software projects ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
, compiled
Compiler
A compiler is a computer program that transforms source code written in a programming language into another computer language...
, and packaged
Software package (installation)
In package management systems, which are commonly used with Linux-based operating systems, a package is a specific piece of software which the system can install and uninstall....
for free redistribution on SCO operating environments. SCO Skunkware packaged components exist for SCO Xenix
Xenix
Xenix is a version of the Unix operating system, licensed to Microsoft from AT&T in the late 1970s. The Santa Cruz Operation later acquired exclusive rights to the software, and eventually superseded it with SCO UNIX ....
, SCO UNIX, SCO OpenServer
SCO OpenServer
SCO OpenServer, previously SCO UNIX and SCO Open Desktop , is, misleadingly, a closed source version of the Unix computer operating system developed by Santa Cruz Operation and now maintained by the SCO Group....
5, SCO OpenServer
SCO OpenServer
SCO OpenServer, previously SCO UNIX and SCO Open Desktop , is, misleadingly, a closed source version of the Unix computer operating system developed by Santa Cruz Operation and now maintained by the SCO Group....
6, UnixWare
UnixWare
UnixWare is a Unix operating system maintained by The SCO Group . UnixWare is typically deployed as a server rather than desktop. Binary distributions of UnixWare are available for x86 architecture computers. It was originally released by Univel, a jointly owned venture of AT&T's Unix System...
2, Caldera OpenLinux
Caldera OpenLinux
Caldera OpenLinux is a defunct Linux distribution that was created by the former Caldera Systems corporation. It was the early "business-oriented distribution" and foreshadowed the direction of developments that came to most other distributions and the Linux community generally.-Novell and...
, Open UNIX 8, and UnixWare
UnixWare
UnixWare is a Unix operating system maintained by The SCO Group . UnixWare is typically deployed as a server rather than desktop. Binary distributions of UnixWare are available for x86 architecture computers. It was originally released by Univel, a jointly owned venture of AT&T's Unix System...
7. SCO Skunkware was an early pioneering effort to bring open source software into the realm of business computing and, as such, provided an important initial impetus to the acceptance and adoption of open source software in the small and medium business market. An extensive SCO Skunkware download area has been maintained since 1993 and SCO Skunkware components were shipped with operating system distributions as far back as 1983 when Xenix
Xenix
Xenix is a version of the Unix operating system, licensed to Microsoft from AT&T in the late 1970s. The Santa Cruz Operation later acquired exclusive rights to the software, and eventually superseded it with SCO UNIX ....
for the IBM XT was released by The Santa Cruz Operation. Later additional open source distributions for operating platforms such as the FreeBSD Ports
FreeBSD Ports
The FreeBSD Ports collection is a package management system for the FreeBSD operating system, providing an easy and consistent way of installing software packages. As of October 2011, there are over 22,700 ports available in the collection...
collection and the Solaris Freeware repository would lend additional momentum to the adoption of open source in the business community.
Release history
SCO Skunkware has been released frequently on CD-ROMCD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
and as a downloadable CD ISO image
ISO image
An ISO image is an archive file of an optical disc, composed of the data contents of every written sector of an optical disc, including the optical disc file system...
. Individual packages are distributed via FTP
File Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol used to transfer files from one host to another host over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet. FTP is built on a client-server architecture and utilizes separate control and data connections between the client and server...
. The Skunkware CD release history is as follows:
- 1983 - First SCO Xenix Games Diskette
- 1993 - Skunkware (SCO UNIX 3.2)
- 1994 - Skunkware 2.0 (OpenDesktop)
- 1995 - Skunkware 5 (OpenServer 5)
- 1996 - Skunkware 96 (OpenServer 5)
- 1997 - Skunkware 97 (OSR5 + UW2)
- 1998 - Skunkware 7 (UnixWare 7)
- 1998 - Skunkware 98 (OpenServer 5)
- 1999 - Skunkware 7.1 (UnixWare 7)
- 1999 - Skunkware 99 (OpenServer 5 and UnixWare 7)
- 2000 - Skunkware 2000 (OpenServer 5)
- 2000 - Skunkware 7.1.1 (UnixWare 7)
- 2001 - Skunkware 8.0.0 (Open UNIX 8)
- 2001 - SOSS 3.1 (OpenLinux 3.1)
- 2002 - Skunkware 8.0.1 (Open UNIX 8)
- 2002 - SOSS 3.1.1 (OpenLinux 3.1.1)
- 2006 - Skunkware 2006 (OpenServer 6)
Licensing
SCO Skunkware components are licensed under a variety of terms. Most components are licensed under an OSIOpen Source Initiative
The Open Source Initiative is an organization dedicated to promoting open source software.The organization was founded in February 1998, by Bruce Perens and Eric S. Raymond, prompted by Netscape Communications Corporation publishing the source code for its flagship Netscape Communicator product...
approved Open Source license. Many are licensed under the terms of either the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
or the GNU Library General Public License.
Licenses used by SCO Skunkware components include or are similar to:
- GNU General Public LicenseGNU General Public LicenseThe GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
- GNU Library General Public License
- Artistic LicenseArtistic LicenseThe Artistic License refers most commonly to the original Artistic License , a software license used for certain free and open source software packages, most notably the standard Perl implementation and most CPAN modules, which are dual-licensed under the Artistic License and the GNU General Public...
- Mozilla Public LicenseMozilla Public LicenseThe Mozilla Public License is a free and open source software license. Version 1.0 was developed by Mitchell Baker when she worked as a lawyer at Netscape Communications Corporation and version 1.1 at the Mozilla Foundation...
- Netscape Public LicenseNetscape Public LicenseThe Netscape Public License is a free software license, the license under which Netscape Communications Corporation originally released Mozilla....
- The Open GroupThe Open GroupThe Open Group is a vendor and technology-neutral industry consortium, currently with over three hundred member organizations. It was formed in 1996 when X/Open merged with the Open Software Foundation...
Public License - The AST Open Source License
- X Consortium LicenseMIT LicenseThe MIT License is a free software license originating at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . It is a permissive license, meaning that it permits reuse within proprietary software provided all copies of the licensed software include a copy of the MIT License terms...
- Berkeley Based LicensesBSD licensesBSD licenses are a family of permissive free software licenses. The original license was used for the Berkeley Software Distribution , a Unix-like operating system after which it is named....
A few of the components are "freeware" with no restrictions on their redistribution. Some components may restrict their use to non-commercial purposes or require a license fee for commercial use (e.g. MBROLA
MBROLA
MBROLA is an algorithm for speech synthesis, and software which is distributed at no financial cost but in binary form only, and a worldwide collaborative project...
). Some components may be redistributed with special permission from the author(s) as is the case with KISDN.
Packaging Formats
SCO Skunkware packages are typically distributed in the native packaging format of the operating system release for which they are intended. Package management systemPackage management system
In software, a package management system, also called package manager, is a collection of software tools to automate the process of installing, upgrading, configuring, and removing software packages for a computer's operating system in a consistent manner...
s used by SCO Skunkware include the following:
- Old SCO Custom installable floppy images (SCO Xenix & UNIX 3.2v4)
- New Custom SSO architecture media images (SCO OpenServer 5 and 6)
- SysV pkgadd datastreams (UnixWare 2, UnixWare 7, Open UNIX 8)
- RPMRPM Package ManagerRPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...
(OpenLinux 3, UnixWare 7, OpenServer 5 & 6)) - CompressedData compressionIn computer science and information theory, data compression, source coding or bit-rate reduction is the process of encoding information using fewer bits than the original representation would use....
tarTar (file format)In computing, tar is both a file format and the name of a program used to handle such files...
and cpioCpiocpio is a general file archiver utility and its associated file format. It is primarily installed on Unix-like computer operating systems. The software utility was originally intended as a tape archiving program as part of the Programmer's Workbench , and has been a component of virtually every...
archives (all platforms)
See also
- Open SourceOpen sourceThe term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
- List of open source software packages
- The Cathedral and the BazaarThe Cathedral and the BazaarThe Cathedral and the Bazaar is an essay by Eric S. Raymond on software engineering methods, based on his observations of the Linux kernel development process and his experiences managing an open source project, fetchmail. It examines the struggle between top-down and bottom-up design...
External links
- [ftp://ftp2.sco.com/pub/skunkware SCO Skunkware FTP download area]