Training > Open Source Best Practice > A Beginner’s Guide to Open Source Software Development (LFD102)
Training Course

A Beginner’s Guide to Open Source Software Development (LFD102)

This free course introduces developers to the key concepts in developing open source software. It covers the who (successful projects and communities), what (definition), why (benefits), where (Git) and how (licensing, compliance, collaboration tips, managing diversity and continuous development & integration).

Who Is It For
This course is addressed to software developers seeking to understand the ‘rules of the road’ of creating open source software, either as a newbie or as someone with experience primarily in creating proprietary code.
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What You’ll Learn
This course will teach you the key concepts involved in developing open source software (OSS), the benefits of using OSS as compared with using proprietary products, which open source projects form the foundations of today’s worldwide technology infrastructure, how to behave properly while engaging in OSS projects, OSS licensing issues, how to make use of projects such as FOSSology and SPDX to foster compliance, best practices for long term sustainability of projects, including how to respect and encourage diversity, and the importance of GitHub and other hosting providers and advanced interfaces, such as Gerrit.
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What It Prepares You For
The course will prepare you to leverage open source software in development activities in a sustainable, compliant manner.
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Course Outline
Chapter 1. Course Introduction
Chapter 2. Open Source Software (OSS)
Chapter 3. Why Use Open Source Software?
Chapter 4. Examples of Successful OSS Projects
Chapter 5. Developing an OSS Strategy
Chapter 6. The ToDo Group
Chapter 7. The OpenChain Project
Chapter 8. How to Work in OSS Projects
Chapter 9. Continuous Integration
Chapter 10. OSS Licensing and Legal Issues
Chapter 11. Compliance Projects: Fossology, SPDX, CHAOSS
Chapter 12. Leadership vs Control and Why Projects Fail
Chapter 13. Respecting and Encouraging Diversity in OSS
Chapter 14. GitHub and Other Hosting Providers
Chapter 15. Advanced Git Interfaces: Gerrit
Lab Info
Lab exercises in this course are designed to work either on native hardware, or using a virtual machine (VM), under a hypervisor, such as those in the KVM, VMWare, or Virtual Box families. Detailed instructions to set up your lab environment are provided in the course.
Reviews
Aug 2024
It touches upon a wide diversity of topics relating to OSS, and addresses both hard skills and soft skills. I also learned a lot about various projects of the Linux Foundation I had not heard of before (CHAOSS, SPDX, Open Invention Initiative).
Jun 2024
Very informative. Great detail, and easy to understand the overview of different kinds of licensing, licensing implications and compliance!
Jun 2024
Up-to-date and good information regarding OSS applied to different companies and licensing, which is a topic often ignored. Plus, the OSS Office cleared out some gaps I had. In general, all the content was very illustrative.
May 2024
This course gives an excellent summary of important concepts. I really enjoyed section 10. OSS Licensing and legal issues.
May 2024
I got a fairly comprehensive idea about how an open source project is maintained, and how I can contribute. Another great thing that I like about this course is the emphasis on License, which I wouldn’t have looked into otherwise.
Mar 2024
It was beginner-level, and now I have a mind map and route on how to implement the OSS approach to my own projects.
Mar 2024
I particularly enjoyed the practical approach of this course. The hands-on projects and real-world examples really helped solidify the concepts we were learning. Additionally, the instructor's clear explanations made complex topics easier to understand. Overall, the combination of theory and practical application made the learning experience both enjoyable and valuable.
Mar 2024
Very valuable, and a huge amount of information which was structured perfectly, and hence was easy to read through.
Feb 2024
It is a great course for beginners. They can get a top-view of open-source, and choose whether open-source is suitable for them or not.
Feb 2024
This course covered a lot of important concepts in a concise bite-sized manner. It not only gave beginners the foundations to OSS, it also pushed the learner even further. I feel like I have learned quite a lot in such a short amount of time!
Sep 2023
I liked the ease of going back and forth through the material. The quizzes at the end of every section affirmed what I learned!
Sep 2023
Simple and concise information to get into the world of OSS.
Aug 2023
I had little knowledge of open source, and now I feel I can talk intelligently about it.
Jun 2023
I liked the videos at the beginning of lessons, because it gave me some indication about what I'd be learning, that was better explained in the lesson.
Jun 2023
The course structure, contents, depth of the topics, and visual material were up to the mark.
Includes
Online, Self Paced
7-10 Hours of Course Material
12 Months of Access to Online Course
Digital Badge
Discussion Forums
Course Rating
4.4/5 Stars
Experience Level: Beginner
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