However, OpenOffice has changed from a “copyleft” (GPL) licence to a permissive Apache license, which means anybody can use the code for commercial purposes. “Copyleft” licences try to ensure that the code contributed by open source programmers can only be re-used on the same terms. LibreOffice is being developed under two “copyleft” licences: GNU’s LGPLv3 and the Mozilla Public License (MPLv2). Indeed, Christian Schaller, a software engineering manager at Red Hat, recently wrote An Open Letter to Apache Foundation and Apache OpenOffice team to suggest that they “re-direct people who go to the website to the LibreOffice website instead.” But then IBM pulled out as well, giving its Symphony code to Apache.Īpache looks determined to continue the development of Apache OpenOffice, but without Sun, Oracle or IBM programmers, and without the sort of community support that powers LibreOffice, it’s hard to see the point. IBM needed the code for its own office program, Lotus Symphony, which was another OpenOffice fork. It laid off the programmers and gave the code and trademarks to the Apache Software Foundation, under Apache’s liberal open source license.Īt that point, a handful of IBM employees were doing the majority of OpenOffice programming.

After LibreOffice came out, Oracle released one version of Oracle Open Office before deciding that the project wasn’t worth the effort.

Sun Microsystems was also failing, and it was taken over by Oracle, the database software company.

Dissatisfaction with Sun’s stewardship eventually prompted most of the open-source developers – along with backers such as Novell, Red Hat, and Canonical – to defect, and they forked the code to create LibreOffice. As a result, it never developed much of a community. Much of the programming was done by Sun staff, and open source contributors were obliged to give Sun rights to use their code in its commercial version of Star Office. OpenOffice was born when Sun Microsystems bought a failed German program, Star Office, and made it open source. This includes faster development, better distribution, a slicker website, and a greater focus on meeting customers’ needs. Third, LibreOffice has a better marketing strategy. Second, LibreOffice’s choice of open source licences gives it an advantage. First, LibreOffice has many more programmers and far more community support. There are three reasons why I think LibreOffice will win.

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