Open-source scanning and governance specialist OpenLogic said that the first quarter of 2012 saw a 730 percent increase in the number of files scanned by its software. Suggesting both a deeper and wider implementation of open source software application development and deployment at the enterprise level, these "findings" come at the same time as comments from Gartner pointing to as many as 50 percent of firms having some level of open source software deployment in production.
Code scanning tools are argued to be near-essential when implementing open source components due to the licence obligations and the wider legalities often associated with commercial usage.
"Our enterprise customers applaud our open-source scanners' speed and accuracy and appreciate that our product road map is driven largely by customer input. Our agility has enabled us to conduct scans on millions of files quickly and accurately for our growing number of customers," said Steve Grandchamp, chief executive of OpenLogic.
OpenLogic's OSS Discovery is a free, open source software tool that helps companies find the open source software embedded in applications and installed on workstations and servers. OSS Discovery produces an inventory of open source software, which helps enterprises better manage open source software usage and comply with policies, regulations, and licenses. Closely allied to this product, OSS Deep Discovery scans developer's source code and binaries to help identify potential licensing action points, even when the open-source code has been modified, augmented, or copied.
This open source code scanning news comes in the same week that the Linux Foundation has announced the availability of The Linux Foundation FOSS Bar Code Tracker.
Released as an open source project under the MIT license, the new software tool aims to simplify the way open source components are tracked and reported by using an auto-generated, custom QR code for each product. The QR code contains important information on the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) stack contained in a product, such as component names, version numbers, license information, and links to download the source code, among other details.
"As the supply chain has gotten more distributed, the process of license compliance needs to be easy, fast, and streamlined. The Linux Foundation's new FOSS Bar Code Tracker addresses this with a tool everyone can use," said Eben Moglen, executive director, Software Freedom Law Center. "Automating this process will result in gains for FOSS developers, manufacturers embedding FOSS in their products, and users who want to get the most value from the products they buy."
