With all the issues we have been facing with the drivers not working properly with the last version C7, especially knowing the some of these problems can really easily be fixed by the community.
I am wondering why does Hubitat not publicly release the source of the drivers? Like the SmartThings Community has done with the SmartThingsPublic Repository
There is actually no commercial nor intellectual property advantage of keeping them close source, on the contrariety its keeping the innovation and improvement of the the supported devices... Additionally it keeps us the advance users (Coders) waiting for full HE releases just to fix a minor driver issues.
Let's please all vote and request that the HE Team publicly releases the source code of the drivers (Groovy), so we can accelerate the device support and help resolves issues faster.
I think the intent is good; however, the idea fails in the area of configuration control and testing. A better idea would be for Hubitat to enlist volunteers to beta test upcoming releases with each beta tester having specific devices/applications to test (they are soliciting beta testers now).
However, any such decision is obviously the decision of the Hubitat Team.
That is exactly what the Current Beta process entails. They ask for specifics, however, I can't see how any Enforcement is practical or possible. Beta Testers aren't available 24x7x365 and thus there's at least some variance in how well their tests are accomplished. Really, in any practical evaluation, a Beta testing can uncover 50% of the total bugs. It's all about how well the beta group represents the total... and since Beta participation is voluntary, it becomes similar to how well elected politicians represent their constituents. Noble intent, absolutely. It certainly starts there.
I agree that they are not going to post their source code, if you've read through some of the other posts by the staff members of Hubitat you will see they don't believe in open source. They are not even meeting the minimum requirements of the open source libraries they are using. Take for instance the h2 database. they are supposed to provide a statement about their usage of it but have not even done that. They have also not posted a list of open source libraries they are using. It is a real shame that they appear to be so hostile towards open source.
If you distribute a binary that includes H2, you need to add the license and a disclaimer of liability
I would expect them to do something similar to what Smartthings did (FOSS) and post the libraries used and if they have not modified them, then they just need to post that they are using them and that what the license is for each one.
It applies because who wouldn't vote for bread (or cake) and circuses? Therefore the vote is predictable. The question is posed in the Developer Category, which means the voter's have been gerrymandered, making the vote even more predictable.
Yes wins the Vote, so move along. Move to the part where Hubitat picks themselves up off the floor from laughing so hard and releases the source.
I did not really want to start another thread flood but Home Automation is really near to my heart and anytime something breaks or stops working I really love solving the problems myself.
If they ever separate the main hub code and apps but specially the drivers, this can just be an opportunity for expansion and an overall better quality and quantity of drivers.
So HE Team, What is the real issue with releasing the source of just the drivers?
That’s a pretty definitive statement, particularly without any inside knowledge of how the company is run or their business plans. Can you elaborate on why?
I say this mainly because the drivers are just a translation of the device specifications (That are publicly available) and the specific Hub interactions, so there is really no secret sauce like with the Apps or Core Hub code.
If they are really speculating or thinking they make money with the drivers, they can go right now and close the house.
“A perfect democracy, a ‘warm body’ democracy in which every adult may vote and all votes count equally, has no internal feedback for self-correction. It depends solely on the wisdom and self-restraint of citizens… which is opposed by the folly and lack of self-restraint of other citizens. What is supposed to happen in a democracy is that each sovereign citizen will always vote in the public interest for the safety and welfare of all. But what does happen is that he votes his own self-interest as he sees it… which for the majority translates as ‘Bread and Circuses.’ "
--Robert A Heinlein
I'm sure an actual writer can say it better than me...
voting for self interest was the point I heard in my head as I typed "cake and circuses"
He also wrote this apparently.. much more succinct
"Democracy is four wolves and a sheep voting on dinner."
That's a bold statement. You can believe in the value of open source (and even use it) but not find it's in your right business model right now. Right or wrong, it's their choice and their business choices don't reflect value or opinion on Open Source.
Perhaps what you really mean is that HE right now doesn't have immediate plans to open source any of their platform.
First off, I won't be surprised when this gets locked. You can demand or ask all you want, but there is no point. They won't release anything but the samples in their Github. They have repeatedly said so.
They may be using certain specifications (Zwave and Zigbee in particular) but the actual driver or app code is authored by someone. I suppose that someone falls under the Hubitat umbrella. So I don't see how they are open source exactly. I don't think there are many or any commercial hubs that give out all their code.
There are plenty of community drivers and apps that are up to a point open source, you can read or edit or whatever you wish to do with them for your own use, AND as long as you follow the licensing within each app or driver.
So if you want open source I believe the easiest thing you can do is write your own apps/drivers and freely distribute it to everyone for free. They actually encourage that. The other option would be to use something like Home Assistant or whatever they are calling themselves this week, which IS open source.
Noble intent, absolutely. It certainly starts there. 
but Home Automation is really near to my heart and anytime something breaks or stops working I really love solving the problems myself.
