Open Source Software Tools for Researchers 2/27/2016

OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

TOOLS FOR
RESEARCHERS

Shailesh Chaure
Govt. Holkar Science College, Indore
Email : sk_chaure@rediffmail.com

Website : http://shaileshchaure.com

What is open source software?

Open source refers to a program or software in

which the source code is available to the general
public for use and/or modification from its original
design free of charge.

Open source code is typically created as a

collaborative effort in which programmers improve
upon the code and share the changes within the
community.

Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

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Open Source Software Tools for Researchers 2/27/2016

Open Source Software

Project lead

volunteer
volunteer

volunteer
volunteer

Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

Some Terms…..
• Open Source software
• Free to users and programmers
• Source code is available
• Copylefted, GNU General Public License
• Source code can be modified
• Source code can be redistribute
• Developed by collaborative effort

• Shareware software
• Free to download and try, suppose to pay if you use it
• Source code is not available
• No collaborations or community

• Free ware
• Free to users
• Source code is not available
• No collaborations or community. Mostly used for product
advertisement and endorsement

• Proprietary software
• Not Free
• Copyrighted, Modification, Sharing and redistribution restricted
• Owned by individual or company
Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

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Open Source Software Tools for Researchers 2/27/2016

Advantages of FOSS

• Security
• Quality
• Customizability
• Freedom
• Less resource intensive
• Interoperability
• Auditability
• Support of community
Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

Software
• Computer software is a collection of programmes and
related data that provides the instructions for telling
a computer what to do and how to do it.

System Software
UNIX, Linux, Ubuntu, Microsoft Windows, Mac Os

Programming software
Visual Studio, Turbo C/Pascal, Python, Lazarus, Java

Application software
Word processing, Spreadsheet, Graphic editors, CAD, GIS,
Image processing, Modeling etc.

Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

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Open Source Software Tools for Researchers 2/27/2016

Open Source OS
• Linux – One of the post popular
Unix like OS.

• Ubuntu – Linux based operating

system.

• Android OS – Linux based OS for

smart phones and Tablets.

Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

Ubuntu Screenshots

Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

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Open Source Software Tools for Researchers 2/27/2016

Requirements of a Researcher
• Data collection
• Data storage/Management
• Data Analysis
• Data visualization and Mapping
• Modeling
• Documentation
• Image editing
• Management of references/ Bibliography
Many power full open source software are available to fulfill these requirements
Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

FOSS for Data Collection

Open Data kit (ODK) - set of tools which help
and manage mobile data collection solutions.
Can be used to

Collect the data on a mobile device and send it to

a server.

Aggregate the collected data on a server and

extract it in useful formats.

http://opendatakit.org/

Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

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Open Source Software Tools for Researchers 2/27/2016

FOSS for Data storage & Management

• Free data storage facility is provided by many sites, which can be
used to store any kind of data (Picture files, Documents, Pdfs etc).
Some popular sites are
DropBox – 2 GB free storage
Google Drive – 5 GB free storage
SkyDrive – 5 GB free storage
MediaFire – 10 GB free storage
25 KB is required to store one A4 Page word document without graphics.
(5GB can store more than 20,000 A4 pages)

• MySQL - is an open-source relational database management

system (RDBMS);
• Postgres - is an object-relational database management
system (ORDBMS).

Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

FOSS for Data Analysis

• McAnova

• R(2.5)

• Tanagra

• ViSta

http://freestatistics.altervista.org/?p=stat
Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

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Open Source Software Tools for Researchers 2/27/2016

Screen Shot Tanagra

Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

FOSS for Data Visualization

• IBM OpenDx – Scientists & Engineers
(http://www.opendx.org/)

• Tulip – Information visualization framework

(http://tulip.labri.fr/TulipDrupal/)

• GGobi – Statistician
(http://www.ggobi.org/)

• IDL- Programmers
• Gnuplot – Command line 2D/3D plots
• InkScape – vector graphics software.
• Dia – For drawing structured diagrams

Use of Open Source Software in Research

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Open Source Software Tools for Researchers 2/27/2016

Screen Shot : InkScape

http://inkscape.org/
Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

Screen Shot : Dia

Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

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Open Source Software Tools for Researchers 2/27/2016

FOSS for Map Creation and Spatial Analysis

http://www.qgis.org/en/site/
Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

FOSS alternatives of MatLab

SciLab – numerical computational package. It can be used for

signal processing, statistical analysis, image enhancement, fluid
dynamics simulations, numerical optimization, and modeling,
simulation of explicit and implicit dynamical systems and symbolic
manipulations.

GNU Octave – is a high-level interpreted programming

language, primarily intended for numerical computations.

Sage – is mathematical software with features covering many

aspects of mathematics,

FreeMat – numerical computing environment and programming

language licensed under GNU GPL, similar to MATLAB and GNU
Octave. In addition to supporting many MATLAB functions and some
IDL functionality

Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

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Open Source Software Tools for Researchers 2/27/2016

Features of SciLab
Maths & Simulation
2-D & 3-D Visualization
Optimization
Statistics
Control System Design & Analysis
Signal Processing
Application Development

Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

FOSS for Documentation

• LibreOffice - Office productivity software suite.
It can export the files to Pdf format.
• LaTeX - LaTeX is a high-quality typesetting
system, with features designed for the production
of technical and scientific documentation. LaTeX is
the de facto standard for the communication and
publication of scientific documents.
• PDFCreator – Potrable document file creator.
• Google Docs – Web based application for
documents and spreadsheets.
https://www.libreoffice.org
http://www.pdfforge.org/pdfcreator
Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

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Open Source Software Tools for Researchers 2/27/2016

OpenOffice/LibreOffice
Writer : word processor

Calc : spreadsheet

Impress : Multimedia presentation

Base : Database

Draw : Drawing (Simple to 3D)

Math :Mathematical equations (Direct typing/ GUI)

http://www.openoffice.org/product/index.html
http://www.openoffice.org/documentation/conceptualguide/conceptual_guide_OOo_3_ebook.pdf
Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

Screenshot OpenOffice (Write)

Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

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Open Source Software Tools for Researchers 2/27/2016

Screenshot of OpenOffice (Math)

Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

Screenshot LibreOffice Impress

Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

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Open Source Software Tools for Researchers 2/27/2016

Screenshot LibreOffice Draw

Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

FOSS for Image Editing

• Gimp - image editor for scientist, graphic
designer, photographer and illustrator.

• Gimpshop - good alternative of photoshop.

• PicMonkey – Web based image editor.

• LightZone – digital darkroom software.

http://www.gimp.org/downloads/
https://www.gimpshop.com/

Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

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Open Source Software Tools for Researchers 2/27/2016

GIMP Screenshot

Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

FOSS for Reference Management

• JabRef – Bibliography reference manager

• Bibus – Multi-user bibliography and reference

manager

• Zotero - Acts like a personal research assistant to

search material online and stores any file, site and sync.

http://jabref.sourceforge.net/
http://bibus-biblio.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Installation
http://www.zotero.org/

Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

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Open Source Software Tools for Researchers 2/27/2016

JebRef Screenshot

Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

Limitations of FOSS
• Learning curve – Linux learning takes some time.
Learning linux is definitely worth your time.

• Equivalent programmes – FOSS equivalent software

are not available for many applications.

• More technical ability needed – if you plan to use

OS. Using application software is simple.

• Not all hardware compatible – support for new

hardware may not be available.

Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

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Open Source Software Tools for Researchers 2/27/2016

Remote Desktop Software

• Ultra VNC - This is a free tool developed for systems based
on Windows to remotely access other systems. You can
completely work on another remote system once the connection is
established.

• Chrome Remote Desktop - This free tool is available as

an extension for Google Chrome browser, accessible on any
operating system running it. The add-on lets users remotely access
any desktop and its contents right from their browser.
(https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/1649523?hl=en)

• AMMYY Admin - The tool, unlike heavy remote desktop

software, comes in as a tiny application, under 1MB. You can also
perform actions like file transfers and live chat in addition to
remotely connecting to the other system.
((http://www.ammyy.com/en/)

Open Source Software Tools for Researchers

Keep on learning, working & sharing.

Use of Open Source Software in Research

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