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Black Duck Waddles Into Early Lifecycle


Code Center aims to introduce proper guidance

By Alex Handy


 Alex Handy
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January 28, 2008 —  For developers beginning projects based on open-source building blocks, the legal issues can be just as vexing as the code. Building applications with Eclipse may be routine to navigate, but tapping open-source libraries for closed-source software that will run on an open-source database creates a legal labyrinth.

To ease the tracking and monitoring of all those pieces, Black Duck Software Inc. has created Code Center, a Web-based management system that can shoulder some of the burden developers assume from legal teams doing due diligence on new software projects.

Addressing the concerns over monitoring the use of open-source software in enterprise development processes, Code Center, released today Jan. 28, is a Web-based open-source license information and management site. Business analysts and development managers alike can create stacks of open-source software and associate them with internal projects. Then, when lawyers assess the building blocks of said application, Code Center can format reports detailing all of the licensing nitty-gritty involved.

Black Duck CEO Doug Levin said, “We believe from practical experience that companies want to harness third-party and open-source components, because [doing so] lowers the cost of development. These require an approval process, and it's often very involved, using multiple people in multiple locations.”

To meet the needs of far-flung development teams, Black Duck Code Center is Web-based. For US$50,000, enterprises can buy a 25-user license and gain access to a system that can shepherd the approval process through any organization. Developers logged into Code Center can select the components they'll be using from Black Duck's catalog of open-source software. The licenses associated with those components then can be categorized and viewed by the legal team involved in approval.

As development matures, projects can be added or subtracted from Code Center's listings. Developers will not have to maintain their own internal lists or spend time compiling those sticky legal details for the lawyers.

Earlier and Earlier
For Black Duck, the goal is to be tapped earlier and earlier in the development cycle, said Levin. He added that Code Center could help when developers and business people are “seeking out meta-information about those components [they are using]. It's about ultimately getting into the software development lifecycle.”

Levin said that Code Center could be a solution to the approval process woes that may ail software development teams. With the ability to track approvals through this Web-based system, team leads can check periodically to see just who's holding up the process, and where they are. With a pretty face on the process, those spreadsheets and weekly meetings can take a backseat to the coding, said Levin.

Code Center is available now at www.blackducksoftware.com.




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