LAMP at Public Sector Web Sites

A new breed of IT firm is helping federal, state and local governments create a “public infostructure” of interoperable, effective Web-based applications.Linux runs right under the radar, not exactly in stealth mode, at many high-profile government agencies, including the Departments of Defense, State and Labor; the General Services Administration; the Census Bureau; and USAID. At the heart of these applications lies the LAMP framework, which stands for Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP, Perl or Python. Tom Walker, former Lt. Commander of Navy Special Operations and adamant proponent of open-source technologies, said, “The next computing revolution, like that of the Internet, will emerge from unexpected and perhaps even modest sources…the next great leap in computing and software technology will come from small firms who have the creativity and strength to stand up…by offering advanced solutions using Open Source technologies.†Firms like Walker’s group and a few others have led the charge on Capitol Hill and elsewhere with open-source software (OSS).