"This is how we did it." --Linus Torvalds, creator of the Linux kernel It all started with a series of odd statistics. The leading challenger to Microsoft's stranglehold on the computer industry is an operating system called Linux, the product of thousands of volunteer programmers who collaborate over the Internet. The software behind a majority of all the world's web sites doesn't come from a big company either, but from a loosely coordinated group of volunteer programmers called the Apache Group. The Internet itself, and much of its core software, was developed through a process of networked collaboration. The key to these stunning successes is a movement that has come to be called open source, because it depends on the ability of programmers to freely share their program source code so that others can improve it. In 1997, Eric S. Raymond outlined the core principles of this movement in a manifesto called "The Cathedral and the Bazaar," which was published and freely redistributed over the Internet. Mr. Raymond's thinking electrified the computer industry. He argues that the development of the Linux operating system by a loose confederation of thousands of programmers--without central project management or control--turns on its head everything we thought we knew about software project management. Internet-enabled collaboration and free information sharing, not monopolistic control, is the key to innovation and product quality. This idea was interesting to more than programmers and software project leaders. It suggested a whole new way of doing business, and the possibility of unprecedented shifts in the power structures of the computer industry. The rush to capitalize on the idea of open source started with Netscape's decision to release its flagship Netscape Navigator product under open source licensing terms in early 1998. Before long, Fortune 500 companies like Intel, IBM, and Oracle were joining the party. By August 1999, when the leading Linux distributor, Red Hat Software, made its hugely successful public stock offering, it had become clear that open source was "the next big thing" in the computer industry. This revolutionary book starts out with "A Brief History of Hackerdom"--the historical roots of the open-source movement--and details the events that led to the recognition of the power of open source. It contains the full text of "The Cathedral & the Bazaar," updated and expanded for this book, plus Mr. Raymond's other key essays on the social and economic dynamics of open source software development. Open source is the competitive advantage in the Internet Age. The Cathedral & the Bazaar is a must for anyone who cares about the computer industry or the dynamics of the information economy. Already, billions of dollars have been made and lost based on the ideas in this book. Its conclusions will be studied, debated, and implemented for years to come.

我们就是这样做的。" --Linus Torvalds，Linux内核的创造者 这一切都始于一系列奇怪的统计数据。微软扼杀计算机行业的主要挑战者是一个名为Linux的操作系统，它是成千上万的志愿者程序员通过互联网合作的产物。世界上大多数网站背后的软件也不是来自一家大公司，而是来自一个松散协调的志愿者程序员团体，名为阿帕奇集团。互联网本身以及它的许多核心软件都是通过网络化的合作过程开发的。这些惊人的成功的关键是一个被称为开放源代码的运动，因为它取决于程序员自由分享他们的程序源代码的能力，以便其他人可以改进它。1997年，埃里克-S-雷蒙德在一份名为 "大教堂和集市 "的宣言中概述了这一运动的核心原则，该宣言在互联网上发表并免费重新传播。雷蒙德先生的思想让计算机行业为之振奋。他认为，由成千上万的程序员组成的松散联盟开发的Linux操作系统--没有中央项目管理或控制--颠覆了我们对软件项目管理的所有认知。互联网支持的协作和自由信息共享，而不是垄断控制，是创新和产品质量的关键。这个想法不仅让程序员和软件项目负责人感兴趣。它提出了一种全新的经营方式，以及计算机行业权力结构发生空前变化的可能性。1998年初，网景公司决定在开放源码许可条件下发布其旗舰产品网景导航仪，从而开始了利用开放源码理念的热潮。不久，英特尔、IBM和甲骨文等财富500强公司也加入了这一行列。到1999年8月，当领先的Linux分销商红帽软件公司公开发行股票取得巨大成功时，开放源代码显然是计算机行业的 "下一件大事"。这本革命性的书从 "黑客王国简史 "开始--开源运动的历史根源--并详细介绍了导致人们认识到开源的力量的事件。它包含了 "大教堂与集市 "的全文，并为本书进行了更新和扩展，另外还有雷蒙德先生关于开源软件开发的社会和经济动态的其他重要文章。开放源代码是互联网时代的竞争优势。大教堂与集市》是任何关心计算机行业或信息经济动态的人的必读之作。基于本书的观点，已经有数十亿美元的收益和损失。它的结论将在未来几年内被研究、辩论和实施。