Module: Open Source Software

How to participate effectively in open source software development.

Learning Outcomes

Use and develop open source software appropriately

Create high quality technical essays

Readings

Guided tour of the open source software module

Why, what, how, and when you will learn about open source software.

Open Source Software

History of open source, licenses, prime directives, how to participate effectively

Understanding Open Source Licensing

Short summary of copyright, copyleft, and the motivation for open source licenses.

Choose a (open source) license

Simple overview of several open sources licenses and their implications.

How to ask questions the smart way

The classic guide to how to participate in the open source community effectively

The three prime directives for open source development

Three simple rules for assessing the open source quality of your project.

The Cathedral and the Bazaar

“I anatomize a successful open-source project, fetchmail, that was run as a deliberate test of some surprising theories about software engineering suggested by the history of Linux.”

Research Update: Impact of the Ask Question Wizard

What happens when StackOverflow automates the process of asking Smart Questions

Ceci ñ'est pas une programme

Why you should not upload images of your code when asking for help.

Experiential Learning

E11: Reflect on smart questions

Use Stack Overflow to find smart and not-smart questions