How to participate effectively in open source software development.
Dates: Fri, Jan 20 - Fri, Jan 27
Learning Outcomes
Use and develop open source software appropriately
You can choose a suitable open source license for your projects.
You can create software projects that satisfy the three prime directives and thus can support an open source community.
You can interact with the open source community via appropriate questions and forums.
Create high quality technical essays
You demonstrate the ability to write professional-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