HP: webOS Will Be Fully Open-Sourced By September

HP will release components of webOS for the next six months until it's fully in the hands of the community by September.

On Wednesday, HP released a schedule showing the company's plan to make its webOS source code available under the open source Apache License, Version 2.0.

For the uninitiated, the Apache License, Version 2.0 is typically used to govern contributions to open source software projects. According to HP, it provides a legal framework that balances open innovation and a dependable user experience, which is consistent with the company's vision for webOS.

Over the first half of the year, HP will make individual elements of the source code available, ranging from core applications like Mail and Calendar to its Linux kernel. HP will kick things off by releasing the source code for Enyo along with the Enyo 2.0 developer tool, and by September, the full code base will be contributed to the open source community.

"Enyo 2.0 enables developers to write a single application that works across mobile devices and desktop web browsers, from the webOS, iOS and Android platforms to the Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers -- and more," HP said in a press release. "The source code for Enyo is available today, giving the open source community immediate access to the acclaimed application framework for webOS."

Here's the schedule, provided by HP:

January
Enyo 2.0 and Enyo source code
Apache License, Version 2.0

February
Intended project governance model
QT WebKit extensions
JavaScript core
UI Enyo widgets

March
Linux standard kernel
Graphics extensions EGL
LevelDB
USB extensions

April
Ares 2.0
Enyo 2.1
Node services

July
System manager ("Luna")
System manager bus
Core applications
Enyo 2.2

August
Build release model
Open webOS Beta

September
Open webOS 1.0

"HP is bringing the innovation of the webOS platform to the open source community," said Bill Veghte, executive vice president and chief strategy officer, HP. "This is a decisive step toward meeting our goal of accelerating the platform's development and ensuring that its benefits will be delivered to the entire ecosystem of web applications."

For more about Enyo and the source code itself, head here.