Open-source repository hits 2,000 apps
An EU platform for exchanging free and open-source code now offers more than 2,000 applications for use by public bodies in the region.
The EU Open Source Observatory and Repository (Osor.eu) announced the milestone on Wednesday.
"The federation of the 2,000th open-source project is an important milestone for Osor and a proof of its value," said Francisco García Morán, European Commission director of informatics, in a statement. "Furthermore, I am very happy to see the use of open-source progressing in public administrations."
Osor, which became operational in October 2008, promotes the sharing of open-source information, experiences and code for use by EU public-sector bodies.
Not all the applications are hosted on Osor. The site provides links to the applications on 10 similar software-development sites from national and regional public administrations around Europe.
The two largest software development websites Osor links to are the Spanish Forja de Rediris site, which offers access to 560 free software projects, and the French Adullact, which has more than 455 free software-development projects for local authorities, government and hospitals.
The three most popular projects that are hosted on Osor itself are geospatial analysis software called Sextante; Wollmux, which adds office template functionality to OpenOffice; and GvSig, which is software to manage, analyse and use geographic information.
The Osor website provides English translations of descriptions of the various applications.
Osor was announced in October 2006 as an extension of the European Commission's Open Source Observatory web portal.