Context and short history of the project.
The first versions of Dédalo were structured thinking about a specific project, the Museu de la Paraula of the Museu d'Etnologa de València, in 1998 we did not have the vision that a cultural heritage manager could be a project that would have an interest for other researchers or records. In those early versions, Dédalo didn't even have a defined name.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the project was expanded to manage another type of cultural heritage beyond Oral history, and it was proposed that the code had to be open and free. The first version with a GNU GPL (since 2008 AGPL v3) license was the late 2000 version, which has been renamed V1, later, in 2004, we move all dependences to free and open source.
Why free an open source?
Our philosophy is based on two fundamental premises::
The decision to leave a technology like Dédalo, under free an open source license, makes these premises a reality.
We believe that technology can help research, cataloging and dissemination of Heritage and Memory, but technology in many cases is inaccessible due to the high economic costs involved in developing complex applications. This high cost, which can be assumed by large institutions such as governments, international organizations or large museums, means that small research projects with limited resources cannot be developed at the same level or with the same opportunities.
Build Cultural Heritage archives require a great effort on the part of curators and researchers, field work, inventory, cataloging, ... carrying out this work on digital platforms makes the information dependent on the technology that supports it. Generating a file on standards and free software allows any developer to understand the logic and to adapt, change, expand or transform it to the needs, so that the data is not trapped on proprietary technologies over which there is no control.
A free technology for sustainability. Another factor to make this technology accessible is the conviction that a project developed with Dédalo will always be capable of accessing the code that supports it, and changing it, improving it, exporting it ... even if we fail in our attempt to create this tool , any developer will be able to access the code and know how it is built.
For these reasons, institutional bodies such as the EEC make it mandatory to use free and open source software and free and open standards to support information generated by any public body.
Using free and open source software and standards ensures the long-term sustainability of information. Besides, under the free license, any improvements must be made available to everyone.
The most important thing for us is that the Cultural Heritage, Memory archives and the research work will not lost, whatever happens. We cannot predict what will happen in 10, 100 or 1000 years, but working with an free and open source tool, we are sure that, whatever happens, the cultural heritage and the work will be safeguarded, since we will not be linked to a company or proprietary technology that does not allow the exportation or transfer of data to other applications, or even if the software stops developing, we can recover the data and continue the project in other ways.
We believe that future development for cultural heritage management has only one way: free and open.
The first versions of Dédalo were structured thinking about a specific project, the Museu de la Paraula of the Museu d'Etnologa de València, in 1998 we did not have the vision that a cultural heritage manager could be a project that would have an interest for other researchers or records. In those early versions, Dédalo didn't even have a defined name.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the project was expanded to manage another type of cultural heritage beyond Oral history, and it was proposed that the code had to be open and free. The first version with a GNU GPL (since 2008 AGPL v3) license was the late 2000 version, which has been renamed V1, later, in 2004, we move all dependences to free and open source.
Why free an open source?
Our philosophy is based on two fundamental premises::
- Democratisation of access to Culture and Memory (Culture and Knowledge).
- Democratisation of technology.
The decision to leave a technology like Dédalo, under free an open source license, makes these premises a reality.
We believe that technology can help research, cataloging and dissemination of Heritage and Memory, but technology in many cases is inaccessible due to the high economic costs involved in developing complex applications. This high cost, which can be assumed by large institutions such as governments, international organizations or large museums, means that small research projects with limited resources cannot be developed at the same level or with the same opportunities.
Build Cultural Heritage archives require a great effort on the part of curators and researchers, field work, inventory, cataloging, ... carrying out this work on digital platforms makes the information dependent on the technology that supports it. Generating a file on standards and free software allows any developer to understand the logic and to adapt, change, expand or transform it to the needs, so that the data is not trapped on proprietary technologies over which there is no control.
A free technology for sustainability. Another factor to make this technology accessible is the conviction that a project developed with Dédalo will always be capable of accessing the code that supports it, and changing it, improving it, exporting it ... even if we fail in our attempt to create this tool , any developer will be able to access the code and know how it is built.
For these reasons, institutional bodies such as the EEC make it mandatory to use free and open source software and free and open standards to support information generated by any public body.
Using free and open source software and standards ensures the long-term sustainability of information. Besides, under the free license, any improvements must be made available to everyone.
The most important thing for us is that the Cultural Heritage, Memory archives and the research work will not lost, whatever happens. We cannot predict what will happen in 10, 100 or 1000 years, but working with an free and open source tool, we are sure that, whatever happens, the cultural heritage and the work will be safeguarded, since we will not be linked to a company or proprietary technology that does not allow the exportation or transfer of data to other applications, or even if the software stops developing, we can recover the data and continue the project in other ways.
We believe that future development for cultural heritage management has only one way: free and open.