Samizdat (book)
Encyclopedia
Samizdat: And Other Issues Regarding the 'Source' of Open Source Code is a book by Kenneth Brown
, which was prereleased in May 2004 and was to be published later that year by the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution
(AdTI). Among other controversial theses, the book suggests that the Linux kernel
may have been created or distributed illegally and that open-source software
may be generally subject to such abuses.
The book was greeted with almost universal derision by the technical world and was repudiated by many of its claimed sources.
The book claims that the Linux kernel was written using copied source code
from Minix
and other resources acquired improperly or possibly illegally by Linus Torvalds
. It also suggests that one can never be certain of the origins of open source
code, so similar misuse of copyrighted code may exist for other open-source projects. Finally, it claims that the GNU General Public License
is bad for the economy.
The title is a reference to samizdat
, a form of private circulation of suppressed literature within Soviet-bloc countries.
The prerelease has long been delisted from the distributor's site and the book was never given a proper release, although the prerelease PDF is readily available online.
used source code
taken from Minix
, a small Unix-like
operating system
used in teaching computer science
, to create Linux 0.01, on the theory that no mere student could write an entire Unix-like kernel single-handedly.
The book also recommends that government-funded programming should never be licensed under the GPL, but under the BSD license or similar simple permissive licenses. It states that the US government should:
, author of Minix; Dennis Ritchie
, one of the creators of Unix
; and Richard Stallman
, leader of the GNU
project. Others have said that quotes attributed as being from an "interview with AdTI" were in fact from prerelease journal papers (Ilkka Tuomi
) or from messageboard posts (Charles Mills, Henry Jones).
Alexey Toptygin said he had been commissioned by Brown to find similarities between Minix and Linux 0.01 source code, and found no support for the theory that Minix source code had been used to create Linux; this study is not mentioned in the book. Toptygin has been quoted as saying that he had been asked by a friend "if I wanted to do some code analysis on a consultancy basis for his boss, Kenneth Brown. I ended up doing about 10 hours of work, comparing early versions of Linux and Minix, looking for copied code. To summarize, my analysis found no evidence whatsoever that any code was copied. When I called him to ask if he had any questions about the analysis methods or results, and to ask if he would like to have it repeated with other source comparison tools, I was in for a bit of a shock. Apparently, Ken was expecting me to find gobs of copied source code. He spent most of the conversation trying to convince me that I must have made a mistake, since it was clearly impossible for one person to write an OS and 'code theft' had to have occurred."
Although Linux 0.01 was written using Minix as an example and starting point — Minix had been created by Tanenbaum as an example for study — no code from Minix was actually used in it (Tanenbaum agrees on this point). Furthermore, Linux 0.01 was a barely functional first draft, far from the sophisticated, industry-grade Linux-based operating systems
it would later grow into.
Samizdats detractors also point to the fact that AdTI has been funded directly since 1999 by Microsoft
, a company which publishes the competing proprietary operating system Microsoft Windows
, and considers Linux one of its most important competitors (see Halloween documents#Documents I and II).
After a month of almost universal derision towards the book from the technical press, Microsoft also repudiated it in mid-June, a spokesman calling it "an unhelpful distraction from what matters most — providing the best technology for our customers." (WSJ, 14 June 2004)
Notably absent from Brown's research for Samizdat was any direct communication with Torvalds.
Kenneth Brown (author)
Kenneth P. Brown, Jr. is an American lobbyist and author, and the former president of the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution , a think tank based in Arlington, Virginia....
, which was prereleased in May 2004 and was to be published later that year by the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution
Alexis de Tocqueville Institution
The Alexis de Tocqueville Institution is a Washington, D.C.–based conservative think tank that produced reports and policy research....
(AdTI). Among other controversial theses, the book suggests that the Linux kernel
Linux kernel
The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by the Linux family of Unix-like operating systems. It is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software....
may have been created or distributed illegally and that open-source software
Open-source software
Open-source software is computer software that is available in source code form: the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, improve and at times also to distribute the software.Open...
may be generally subject to such abuses.
The book was greeted with almost universal derision by the technical world and was repudiated by many of its claimed sources.
The book claims that the Linux kernel was written using copied source code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
from Minix
Minix
MINIX is a Unix-like computer operating system based on a microkernel architecture created by Andrew S. Tanenbaum for educational purposes; MINIX also inspired the creation of the Linux kernel....
and other resources acquired improperly or possibly illegally by Linus Torvalds
Linus Torvalds
Linus 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...
. It also suggests that one can never be certain of the origins of open source
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...
code, so similar misuse of copyrighted code may exist for other open-source projects. Finally, it claims that 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....
is bad for the economy.
The title is a reference to samizdat
Samizdat
Samizdat was a key form of dissident activity across the Soviet bloc in which individuals reproduced censored publications by hand and passed the documents from reader to reader...
, a form of private circulation of suppressed literature within Soviet-bloc countries.
The prerelease has long been delisted from the distributor's site and the book was never given a proper release, although the prerelease PDF is readily available online.
Arguments of the book
Samizdat claims that Linus TorvaldsLinus Torvalds
Linus 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...
used source code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
taken from Minix
Minix
MINIX is a Unix-like computer operating system based on a microkernel architecture created by Andrew S. Tanenbaum for educational purposes; MINIX also inspired the creation of the Linux kernel....
, a small Unix-like
Unix-like
A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification....
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
used in teaching computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
, to create Linux 0.01, on the theory that no mere student could write an entire Unix-like kernel single-handedly.
The book also recommends that government-funded programming should never be licensed under the GPL, but under the BSD license or similar simple permissive licenses. It states that the US government should:
- "Work vigorously to create a true 'free source' code capability program at universities and colleges. This program should go to promote true open source projects, not hybrid source projects like the GPL and Linus . The federal government should support a $5 billion budget over ten years to produce a free source code project in partnership with the IT industry and other governments interested in promoting increased computers [sic] science research and development. This effort would be a benefit to academia, the private sector, and the IT economy."
- "Actively study the taxpayer return on investment (TORI0) [sic] from government funded governmental research and development at colleges and universities."
- "Increase the US Patent and Trademark Office budget to properly [sic] support the anticipated growth in intellectual property filings by the public as a result of the 'open source' program at colleges and universities."
- "Increase financial incentives for corporations to participate in an open source program at colleges and universities." http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/33929.html
Reaction to Samizdat
The book's claims, methodology and references have been seriously questioned, including by many of those it quotes in support of its thesis, such as Andrew S. TanenbaumAndrew S. Tanenbaum
Andrew Stuart "Andy" Tanenbaum is a professor of computer science at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam in the Netherlands. He is best known as the author of MINIX, a free Unix-like operating system for teaching purposes, and for his computer science textbooks, regarded as standard texts in the...
, author of Minix; Dennis Ritchie
Dennis Ritchie
Dennis MacAlistair Ritchie , was an American computer scientist who "helped shape the digital era." He created the C programming language and, with long-time colleague Ken Thompson, the UNIX operating system...
, one of the creators of Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
; and Richard Stallman
Richard Stallman
Richard Matthew Stallman , often shortened to rms,"'Richard Stallman' is just my mundane name; you can call me 'rms'"|last= Stallman|first= Richard|date= N.D.|work=Richard Stallman's homepage...
, leader of the GNU
GNU
GNU is a Unix-like computer operating system developed by the GNU project, ultimately aiming to be a "complete Unix-compatible software system"...
project. Others have said that quotes attributed as being from an "interview with AdTI" were in fact from prerelease journal papers (Ilkka Tuomi
Ilkka Tuomi
Ilkka Tuomi , a native of Finland, is noted for writings on the subject of the Internet.-Works:Ilkka Tuomi has written books, including Networks of Innovation: Change and Meaning in the Age of the Internet which develops theory of open innovation based on analysis of Internet-related innovations...
) or from messageboard posts (Charles Mills, Henry Jones).
Alexey Toptygin said he had been commissioned by Brown to find similarities between Minix and Linux 0.01 source code, and found no support for the theory that Minix source code had been used to create Linux; this study is not mentioned in the book. Toptygin has been quoted as saying that he had been asked by a friend "if I wanted to do some code analysis on a consultancy basis for his boss, Kenneth Brown. I ended up doing about 10 hours of work, comparing early versions of Linux and Minix, looking for copied code. To summarize, my analysis found no evidence whatsoever that any code was copied. When I called him to ask if he had any questions about the analysis methods or results, and to ask if he would like to have it repeated with other source comparison tools, I was in for a bit of a shock. Apparently, Ken was expecting me to find gobs of copied source code. He spent most of the conversation trying to convince me that I must have made a mistake, since it was clearly impossible for one person to write an OS and 'code theft' had to have occurred."
Although Linux 0.01 was written using Minix as an example and starting point — Minix had been created by Tanenbaum as an example for study — no code from Minix was actually used in it (Tanenbaum agrees on this point). Furthermore, Linux 0.01 was a barely functional first draft, far from the sophisticated, industry-grade Linux-based operating systems
Linux
Linux 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...
it would later grow into.
Samizdats detractors also point to the fact that AdTI has been funded directly since 1999 by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, a company which publishes the competing proprietary operating system Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, and considers Linux one of its most important competitors (see Halloween documents#Documents I and II).
After a month of almost universal derision towards the book from the technical press, Microsoft also repudiated it in mid-June, a spokesman calling it "an unhelpful distraction from what matters most — providing the best technology for our customers." (WSJ, 14 June 2004)
Notably absent from Brown's research for Samizdat was any direct communication with Torvalds.
AdTI
- Samizdat: And Other Issues Regarding the 'Source' of Open Source Code (The prerelease e-book) (PDF, 468KiBKibibyteThe kibibyte is a multiple of the unit byte for quantities of digital information. The binary prefix kibi means 1024; therefore, 1 kibibyte is . The unit symbol for the kibibyte is KiB. The unit was established by the International Electrotechnical Commission in 1999 and has been accepted for use...
) - AdTI notes recent attacks on web site (press release, 3 June 2004)
- Samizdat's critics ... Brown replies (Ken Brown, 4 June 2004)
Responses by critics
- Criticism of the 2004 "Origins of Linux" report (PDF) (Julião Duartenn, Security Skill Center, Oblog Software SA)
- Some notes on the "Who wrote Linux" Kerfuffle (Andrew S. Tanenbaum, 20 May 2004)
- Comparison of Linux code with MINIX code: A message I received from Alexey Toptygin (email from Alexey Toptygin to Andrew S. Tanenbaum, 20 May 2004)
- Source comparison of early linux and minix versions (Alexey Toptygin; referred to in above email)
- Ken Brown's Motivation (Andrew S. Tanenbaum, 21 May 2004)
- Comparison of Linux code with MINIX code: A message I received from Alexey Toptygin (email from Alexey Toptygin to Andrew S. Tanenbaum, 20 May 2004)
- Linux before Linus (Shane Shick, ITBusiness.ca 20 May 2004)
- Reputation of the Dead (CommsWorld AU, 21 May 2004)
- Criticism of ADTI's Samizdat (Martin Pool, 22 May 2004 — page by page criticism of the prerelease)
- The Tide Of FUD (Peter H. SalusPeter H. SalusPeter H. Salus is a linguist, computer scientist, historian of technology, author in many fields, and an editor of books and journals. He has conducted research in germanistics, language acquisition, and computer languages...
, unixreview.com, May 2004) - Ken Brown's corporate-funded FUD (Jem Matzan, NewsForge, Tue 25 May 2004)
- Samizdat: Stinks on Ice (Eric S. RaymondEric S. RaymondEric 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...
, 24 May 2004) - Accusatory Report Deliberately Confuses (Interview with Richard StallmanRichard StallmanRichard Matthew Stallman , often shortened to rms,"'Richard Stallman' is just my mundane name; you can call me 'rms'"|last= Stallman|first= Richard|date= N.D.|work=Richard Stallman's homepage...
, LinuxInsider, 30 May 2004) - Samizdat — a Noble Word with a Touching History (Groklaw, 30 May 2004)
- Dennis Ritchie's Interview for Samizdat (Groklaw, 01 June 2004)
- Evolution of the Linux Credits file (Ilkka Tuomi, First Monday vol 9 no 6, 4 June 2004)
- Ken Brown Takes Off the Mask; and a Gilbert & Sullivan Parody (Groklaw, 04 June 2004)
- Rebuttal to Ken Brown (Andrew S. Tanenbaum, 6 June 2004)
- Critique of Ken Brown's response (Ta bù shì dà yú, Kuro5hin.org, 6 June 2004)
- Ken Brown's "interviews" (Martin Pool, 10 June 2004)
- Does Prentice Hall Really Own Linux? (Bruce Perens, NewsForge, 12 June 2004)
- Two More — Swartz and Perens — Rebut Alexis de Tocqueville's Brown (Groklaw, 12 June 2004)
- Editor's Note: AdTI Fires Cheap Shot at ... Us (Brian Proffitt, Linux Today, 16 June 2004)
- Smear Factor (John C. DvorakJohn C. DvorakJohn C. Dvorak is an American columnist and broadcaster in the areas of technology and computing. His writing extends back to the 1980s, when he was a mainstay of a variety of magazines. Dvorak is also the Vice-President of Mevio and well known for his work for Tech TV...
, PC Magazine, 3 August 2004)
Other press coverage
- Tanenbaum Disputes Methods of Controversial Report (LinuxInsider, 21 May 2004)
- ADTI: Open-Sourcers Skirt Copyrights (Lisa Stapleton, LinuxInsider, 16 June 2004)