Linux gets that Tokyo glow

TOKYO -- There aren't a whole lot of really tall buildings downtown here. Fromthe 22nd story of an office tower you can see the city totally spreadout around you for miles, until your vision is stopped either by thehorizon, the clouds, or the pollution.

It was in a meeting room with this vista, earlier this week, where the Linux Professional Institute's Japanese wingtook flight and announced to the world the availability for the first timeof the LPI's certification exams in a language other than English.Forgetting the fact that I seemed to have spent more time flying to Japanthan actually staying there last weekend, the trip left me somewhatawestruck.

Before I go any further, I will state up front my bias here. I played apart in the beginnings of LPI, and I'm still on its board. That's why Iwas sitting at the table at the press conference as a participant and notas a reporter, offering answers rather than asking the questions. The room wasfull -- more than 30 reporters were taking notes and/or shootingcameras.

I'd be lying if I didn't say this trip was something of a source of pridefor me; I scanned the press conference in near-disbelief a number oftimes. Sitting around me were top executives of Japanese computer giantsFujitsu, Hitachi and NEC, Japanese reps from SGI and IBM, and folksrepresenting Japan's two top commercial Linux distributions, Laser5 and TurboLinux. In total, nineLPI-Japan people were there alongside me. It was like a who's who of theJapanese corporate Linux scene, all sitting at one table supporting aproject that started out as a couple of modest mailing lists barely morethan two years ago.

LPI could (and likely would) have happened whether or not I got involved-- but it couldn't have happened without the thousands of people that havebecome involved with it. They include the whole range, from President DanYork and the hundreds of hours he's put in, to the many hundreds of casualmailing list participants. LPI's organizational model, of combiningindustry talent with community contribution, stands as aliving demonstration of the smooth cooperation between the two groupsthat the Linux working environment encourages.

Consider, for a moment, the way LPI's exams were actually crafted. Aprofessional -- Scott Murray, who holds a masters degree in psychometrics -- wascharged with the design of each exam and making sure that it does the bestpossible job of separating those who know their stuff from those whodon't. Yet who actually wrote the questions that showed up on LPI's twoexisting exams? Anyone and everyone.

A special page on the LPI website was used to solicit exam questionsfrom the public. Scott and a team he'd assembled picked out thesubmissions that were useful from those that were not. Thefascinating (to me still) fact is that the LPI exams were written by theLinux community. That page will no doubt return during the creationof LPI's second level exams, a process which hasalready started.

And the community involvement doesn't end there. The LPI logo wasdesigned by a student from Bogota, Columbia; the design of the websitefrom a small company in Florida, and it's maintained by a trulyinternational team using management models that could just as easilyapply to open source software development.

LPI supporters are helping spread the word in almost every country.The LPI website has already been translated into five languages, withmore certain to come. The process of translating the exams themselvesis more difficult because doing it precisely is expensive, but no doubtthat will happen as well. In the meantime, volunteers are helping witheverything from the system's database to its publicity and fund-raisingefforts. And the support of Linux companies from around the world hascertainly helped in ways far beyond the simple financial benefits.Every new vendor or group supporting LPI is another group that'schosen not to re-invent the wheel, another group that has recognized the benefit of onecommunity-wide distribution over a landscape (such as we see in the Unixworld) where every vendor has their own parochial system.

In this regard, LPI is different from any other certification because it istotally independent of vendors -- Linux vendors, training vendors, bookpublishers, whatever. LPI's independence and non-profit mandate ensurethat the overall needs of the community -- which includes the vendors --are paramount.

When it all comes together, as in the case of LPI-Japan, it's a work of art. Iwish I could take credit but all I can do is sit back and watch Gen Nauri(who started it all here in Japan) and his team at work. And I know ofother groups in other countries that are interested in following the lead;the momentum is all forward.

Of course, where they're moving forward is not necessarily of interest toeveryone. Linux certification isn't everyone's cup of Oolong tea; it's a specialized fieldthat's designed to help develop the skilled Linux administrators who aregoing to be in high demand as Linux moves further into the computingmainstream.

(And yes, I know the objections. Linux certification is no substitute forbackground- or reference-checking, or a good interview. But when it comesto the task of making the choice to use Linux in business as easy aspossible, certification most certainly has a role. That issue isdiscussed right on the LPIwebsite.)

OK, so I'm gushing a bit. I figure I'm entitled, since my last few columnshave been downers of sorts, and it's just as important to bring attentionto what gets done right in the Linux world as to what needs help. Besides,given the scope of this column, leaving out the role of LPI in the growthof Linux into the computing mainstream is more of a disservice thanwriting about it from my admittedly biased perspective.

LPI is one such example of industry and community factions getting together to doit right. And while I'm indeed proud to have played a part in it, I'm onlyone of a cast of hundreds who have each done their part to help Linux intothe business world. They are too numerous to all be mentioned, but I hopereaders here will have a look at the LPI website themselves and see thatthe Linux spirit doesn't just apply to writing code.

Where do you exercise your Linux team spirit? Let me know in the TalkBackbelow.