Sony Imageworks have released five of their in-house tools as open source software. CTO Rob Bredow writes:

Open Source: It's always been a part of what makes Imageworks tick. However, up until now we haven't had a chance to contribute back to the open source community. We're beginning to change that now.

We've chosen 5 projects to release as open source. This software can be freely used by large and small studios around the world. We've intentionally chosen popular non-restrictive licensing models to help ensure you have lots of options.

Each of these projects have passionate people behind them who are interested in seeing the code widely used. We're into the idea of building small development communities around this code. If you're interested in contributing, join the respective mailing lists and introduce yourself.

Take a moment to familiarize yourself with Imageworks' open source offerings. I hope you find something useful.

The five packages they’ve released are:

• OSL – Open Shading Language
• Scala Migrations – Database Library Manager
• Field3D – Voxel Data storage library
• pystring -Python String Handling in C++
• Maya Reticle – Flexible camera guides for Maya

The packages are all licensed under a BSD license. You'll find more information on their website.