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The most significant 2025 open source stories centered on three key themes: validation of commercial OSS (COSS), rising tension over license changes, especially regarding "source-available" licensing. and expansion of open source AI and infrastructure projects backed by big vendors. Also, while Linux and related FOSS projects remain important, in the spotlight were open source AI and several important tooling projects. This blog provides analysis and insights into these and related topics, on both commercial and technical angles.

Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) is "free", right? Free as in speech, and sometimes free as in beer. But the intellectual property expressed in FOSS code does not inhabit the public domain. Nearly all FOSS code is distributed under one or more licenses -- all binding agreements subject to copyright law. Compliance with FOSS licenses should not be left until a redistribution event or the launch of a service implemented with open source. This blog lays out what those compliance activities entail.

LabVIEW is a graphical environment developed by National Instruments. Used for data acquisition, instrument control, and industrial automation, LabVIEW enjoys popularity for developing automated test systems, validating designs, and conducting research. The LabVIEW OpenTAP plugin makes it is possible to call LabVIEW VI functions from OpenTAP test plans by mapping LabVIEW VI functions to OpenTAP test steps.

Migrating from legacy proprietary software to open source can offer lower costs and freedom from vendor lock-in. Such savings and independence can be elusive, and are highly dependent upon the legacy technology, use cases, and the commercial arrangements governing the tech, and the technical and financial goals of the migration.

The intersection of AI, open source, and test automation is defined by the use of community-driven AI tools to automate, optimize, and scale software testing. Read how open source platforms make advanced AI capabilities accessible, while AI transforms traditional test automation into a smarter, more adaptive process, enabling faster, higher-quality software delivery.

The OpenTAP platform, and Keysight PathWave Test Automation products built with it, consume and interpret Test Plans. Test Plans don't spontaneously spring into existence, and they almost always evolve over time, requiring tools to compose and maintain them.

This blog reviews options for building and modifying OpenTAP test plans, including open source, and community-licensed and commercially-licensed tools from Keysight.

An SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) is an inventory of the software components in an application, software stack or device. SBOMs typically also communicate information about software licenses, vulnerabilities, and other metadata of interest to integrators, supply chains and deployers. This blog calls out a range of SBOM types and formats, and lists tools for SBOM generation and management.

A blockchain is distributed ledger with records securely linked using cryptographic hashes. Blockchains offer multiple applications in test automation for enhancing the testing process itself, providing secure, transparent, and automated mechanisms for optimizing the testing life cycle, and of course for testing blockchain applications. Blockchain-based test automation is particularly relevant in industries with high compliance needs (e.g., medical devices, supply chain) and where transparency, traceability, and trust are critical.

This blog seeks to inform test code creators and test automation practitioners about real-world best practices for using and integrating open source software. Many of the missteps described also apply to code published under proprietary / closed-source licenses, albeit with different terms and particulars. It is not intended to scare readers away from open source but rather, to inform test automation practitioners how to avoid the most common missteps, to realize the greatest value from open source software with the least risk.

Open source test automation offers compelling Return on Investment by reducing costs, maximizing efficiency, and enabling continuous quality improvements, especially when implemented strategically and maintained preemptively.

This blog examines how and when organizations participate in, contribute to and appreciate returns from using open source test automation software, and how adopting open source and participating in open source development can offer substantial returns.

6G-SANDBOX is a European research project to support an experimentation ecosystem for next-generation technology and research needed for the emerging 3PPP 6G communications standard. The 6G-SANDBOX targets technologies and research that span the entire 6G service provisioning chain, with reference to user/data, control and management planes. This blog provides a high-level view of the SANDBOX and highlights the role of OpenTAP and Keysight technologies in it.

Test plans play a central role in test automation. Plugins extend the functionality of a test automation platform and enhance the functionality of test plans. But should test plans and plugins be treated as intellectual property (IP) on a par with other types of software, patented tech and methods, and trade secrets?