WhiteHouse.gov's contribution to Drupal is a win-win

Last week, WhiteHouse.gov announced its release of custom code developed during its first six months of Drupal implementation for WhiteHouse.gov. The news was also revealed during a speech at DrupalCon (video) in San Francisco on April 21.

The open source code, created by the president's web team, will allow developers to re-use what the White House has developed. There are four contributions from WhiteHouse.gov:

• A module called "Context HTTP Headers," which allows website builders to add new metadata to the content they serve. "We use this to tell our servers how to handle specific pages, such as 'cache this type of page for 15 minutes' or 'that type for 30,'" explained the Whitehouse.gov press release.
• A module called "Akamai," which allows WhiteHouse.gov to integrate with its content delivery network.
• A module called "GovDelivery," which allows emails to be customized to users' specifications.
• A module called "Node Embed," which makes sure all images on the site have the appropriate metadata to make them readable via screen-reading software.

Jay Lyman, an analyst with the 451 Group, told LinuxInsider that these contributions are significant pieces of code that will benefit the Drupal community.

In releasing the code, the White House has closed the open-source circuit. Though open-source software licenses don't require users who develop new code to release their work to the community, doing so is very much in the spirit of open source, which seeks to harness the collective efforts of developers from many projects.

Open source appropriation and release is a virtuous cycle that expands and improves capabilities. Plus, the more eyes that a developer has on his code, the more likely it is other users will help pinpoint vulnerabilities and offer solutions or patches.

Rob Klause, the man behind the transition from the Bush-administration's proprietary WCM system to Drupal, said Drupal was chosen because we "needed a system with agility and to me, innovation happens in the open-source communities."

In an interview, Dries Buytaert, the creator of Drupal, told FierceGovernmentIT that Drupal will gain momentum in the federal space "because Drupal offers agencies an open technology platform that enables officials to engage with their constituents in an open, transparent manner. Drupal's flexibility and modularity results in the availability of thousands of plug-ins that enables organizations to build sites quickly, at lower cost than most other solutions."

In releasing the code, the White House is showing that Buytaert could be right. It also shows that the federal government can be a successful participant in open source efforts. - Molly

Editor's Note: Meet Molly Walker, FierceGovernmentIT associate editor. Look for her insight in Editor's Corners to come and her regular contributions to the newsletter. - Dave