Company provides opens OS source code

Not only can developers view the QNX Neutrino source code, but they can improve, modify, or extend that code for their own purposes or for the QNX community at large.

QNX Software Systems is opening access to the source code of its QNX Neutrino real-time operating system (OS) under a new hybrid software licensing arrangement.

QNX will make the source code available for download.

The first source release includes the code to the QNX Neutrino microkernel, the base C library, and a variety of board support packages (BSPs).

Not only can developers view the QNX Neutrino source code, but they can improve, modify, or extend that code for their own purposes or for the QNX community at large.

They can then choose to offer back those changes to QNX Software Systems and the QNX development community or to keep their modifications private and proprietary.

These changes are part of a new hybrid software model created by QNX that supports the customer's goal of profiting from software while fueling the passion for developing it.

Access to QNX source code is free, but commercial deployments of QNX Neutrino runtime components still require royalties, and commercial developers will continue to pay for QNX Momentics development seats.

However, noncommercial developers, academic faculty members, and qualified partners will be given access to QNX development tools and runtime products at no charge.

Customer and community members will also have the ability to participate in the QNX development process, similar to projects in the open source world.

Through a transparent development process, software designers at QNX will publish development plans, post builds and bug fixes, and provide moderated support to the development process.

They will also collaborate with customers and the QNX community, using public forums, wikis, and source code repositories.

Dan Dodge, Chief Executive Officer of QNX Software Systems said "Both commercial and hobbyist developers will have unprecedented access to the 'crown jewels' of our software as the base for creating the next great computing innovation".

QNX has also introduced a new community portal website, called Foundry27, as the hub for its transparent development initiative.

At Foundry27, customers and developers can access resources relating to the QNX Neutrino RTOS and the QNX Momentics IDE, as well as to new community projects.

Upon completing the free registration, users identify which of three different software licenses is appropriate to their interests and gain immediate access to copies of most QNX software products, as well as to source code for many of these components.

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