OpenFoundry | Taiwan Open Free Software Library

In response to the increasing popularity of free software applications both domestically and internationally, the Institute of Information Science at Academia Sinica in Taiwan received funding from the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Industrial Development Bureau's "Free Software Industry Promotion Plan" in 1992 to establish the Open Source Software Foundry (OSSF) to expand the application scope and research and development capabilities of free software in Taiwan.

At present, some of the funding comes from subsidies from the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Executive Yuan, while others come from the Information Technology Innovation Research Center of the Academia Sinica.

The key task of OSSF is to cultivate local free software communities and talents, and the actual work includes:

（1） Promote the concept of free software

（2） Gather domestic free software communities

（3） Promote talent cultivation and industrial cooperation in Taiwan

（4） Aligning with international trends and communication

Members of OpenFoundry and OSSF

The OSSF project is led by a researcher from the Information Technology Innovation Research Center of Academia Sinica, responsible for operational guidance and administrative coordination. The project members are divided into three groups based on their business attributes: technical, operational, and legal and political, to achieve the annual project goals.

What is OpenFoundry doing

The OSSF project provides users with important tools and services needed for free software project development through the OpenFoundry platform. From a functional perspective, the OpenFoundry platform has three main functional orientations; From the perspective of the service scope, the specific manifestations are the five major service projects, and the three major functional aspects and five major service aspects are briefly introduced as follows:

Integrate the three major functions

1. The orientation of project development

In terms of project development, OpenFoundry itself is a shared development platform for free software enthusiasts to discuss, write, and manage project content. Free software developers can build their free software projects through the tool modules provided by OpenFoundry; Ordinary users can download the required free software through OpenFoundry and provide suggestions for improving the download program.

2. Orientation of information gathering

In terms of information gathering, OpenFoundry provides users with the latest updates on this project, free software community activities, legal authorization reference information, as well as research reports and teaching materials related to free software, which can be downloaded and referenced for learning.

3. The orientation of talent media

OpenFoundry collects information on free software related talents from the domestic software community, academia, and industry in the field of talent media. It extends the development status of Taiwan's free software community to integrate cross disciplinary interpersonal networks and talent resources, and allows users to share information on free software activities, development experience, and personal situations. Users can also contact and negotiate with domestic manufacturers in need of free software talents through this platform.

The provision of five major services has been discontinued

1. Collect a directory of professional resources in the field of free software

In this resource directory, OpenFoundry collects link information related to free software and categorizes it into major categories such as enterprise computing, embedded systems, information security, legal licensing, general applications, development tools, etc. Users can use this resource directory architecture to gradually delve into the rich application world of free software.

2. Release the electronic bulletin of the Free Software Foundry

The electronic publishing system for promoting free software includes introductions to domestic and international free software technologies, industry trends, legal licensing issues, expert columns, and community activities. It is published twice a month in both text and web versions.

3. Organize various free software activities and workshops

OpenFoundry holds multiple seminars on free software related issues irregularly every year, and also collaborates with domestic communities and industries to hold free software technology exchange workshops. All activity information will be released to the public through the OpenFoundry information page. Interested friends are welcome to regularly check online or subscribe to the Free Software Foundry electronic newsletter!

4. Engage in campus promotion and provide free software related teaching materials and videos

OpenFoundry regularly promotes free software in domestic colleges and universities, and compiles relevant textbooks, briefings, technical documents, research reports, and online audio and video files on the website for interested users to download and use.

5. Provide legal policy consultation and services

Legal services include research on free software licensing terms, case tracking, business application models, and government policy research, among others. In addition, if legal issues arise during the actual application of free software, OpenFoundry also provides basic consultation or dispute resolution assistance. Information related to various legal policies can be found on the "Legal Source" webpage of the OpenFoundry website and in the "Legal Column" of the Free Software Foundry electronic newspaper.