source: A Guide to Developing an Enterprise Open Source Strategy, a MySQL Business White Paper, February 2005.

The concept of “freedom" is very important to the open source community. With its huge community of testers and rapid iteration, the open source approach has been able to produce higher quality code, with fewer defects and fewer security vulnerabilities. In fact, a December 2003 study conducted by Reasoning (a leading provider of automated software inspection services) showed that the code quality of MySQL was six times better than that of comparable proprietary code. This is because a huge community of developers tests the software across a range of platforms before it is certified for production. Bugs are found and fixed quickly. Access to source code ensures a thorough understanding of the system. Developers can also make modifications or performance enhancements as necessary.

Some confuse the concept of “open source freedom"with “free-of-charge software". A growing number of companies offer open source software products under a dual licensing model including MySQL, Digium, OSAF, MandrakeSoft, Sleepycat Software, Technical Pursuit and Trolltech. Under this model, the software is available at no cost for open source projects through a Free / Open Source Software license (such as the GNU Public License or similar), and is also available through a commercial license backed by the company delivering the software. Under the commercial license option, companies can develop and distribute applications without opening their source code to the public.

This quid pro quo solution benefits everyone. The open source license helps create a huge community with potentially millions of users. The testing and feedback from this community continually improves the product. For those corporations that do not want to publish the source code of their applications, the commercial licensing option provides the benefits and support they need for a modest fee.