Project Goals

Obviously, each developer working on OpenBSD has their own aims and priorities, but it is possible to classify the goals we all share:

• Provide the best development platform possible. Provide full source access to developers and users, including the ability to look at CVS tree changes directly. Users can even look at our source tree and changes directly on the web!

• Integrate good code from any source with acceptable copyright (ISC or Berkeley style preferred, GPL acceptable as a last recourse but not in the kernel, NDA never acceptable). We want to make available source code that anyone can use for ANY PURPOSE, with no restrictions. We strive to make our software robust and secure, and encourage companies to use whichever pieces they want to. There are commercial spin-offs of OpenBSD.

• Pay attention to security problems and fix them before anyone else does. (Try to be the #1 most secure operating system.)

• Greater integration of cryptographic software. This means IPsec, key engines, Kerberos, and other forms of strong crypto or crypto-using systems. OpenBSD is developed and released from Canada and due to Canadian law it is legal to export crypto to the world (as researched by a Canadian individual and as documented in the Export Control list of Canada). OpenBSD developers are doing active research and development on IPsec.

• Track and implement standards (ANSI, POSIX, parts of X/Open, etc.)

• Work towards a very machine independent source tree. Support as many different systems and hardware as feasible.

• Be as politics-free as possible; solutions should be decided on the basis of technical merit.

• Focus on being developer-oriented in all senses, including holding developer-only events called hackathons.

• Do not let serious problems sit unsolved.

• Provide a good cross compile/development platform.

• Import external packages with minimal modifications - making upgrading much easier. Also to submit back to the developers any changes made.

• Make a CDROM-based release approximately every six months.

Project Funding

Where do our developers live?