Get Started With Open Source
Open Source For Dummies,
OpenTeams Special Edition
Whether you know it or not, much of the modern world depends on open source software. From cars to Space-X rockets, from internet infrastructure to smartphones, just about everything runs using some sort of software—and much of that software is open source.
But what is open source? How does it work? Who creates it, and how? Is it just code, or is it something bigger…something deeper?
We wrote Open Source For Dummies, OpenTeams Special Edition because we believe in the power and importance of open source, and our mission is to help it grow and thrive.
These pages contain something for everyone—from learning about where open source comes from and how it works to tips on taking your first steps in building it.
Download your free copy to start learning about the endless potential of open source. As you explore, you can reach out to us with any questions at [email protected]. Also, take a look at the additional resources we assembled that didn’t quite fit in the book itself.
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Additional Resources
Below, we’ve listed additional resources you can explore to learn more about open source. They’re organized by the chapters and major sections of Open Source For Dummies, OpenTeams Special Edition.
If you’re looking for the more advanced case study demonstrating the use of Python and Jupyter notebooks in Google Colab (Chapter 3), click through to this demo notebook. You’ll need a Google account in order to run the code in the notebook, but you can view it without one.
Click these links to jump to the resources for a specific chapter.
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: Open Source 101
- Chapter 2: Seeing That the Future Is Open Source
- Chapter 3: Getting Started as an Open Source User
- Chapter 4: Getting Started as an Open Source Contributor
- Chapter 5: Getting Help With Open Source
- Chapter 6: Building Business Activity Around Open Source
- Chapter 7: Implementing Open Source in Your Existing Business
- Chapter 8: Ten Reasons Why Open Source Is the New Frontier
Introduction
- Marc Andreessen’s Aug 2011 article, “Why Software Is Eating the World”
- JJ Jacks’ Feb 2022 blog post, “Open Source Is Eating Software FASTER Than Software Is Eating the World”
- Steve Weber, Harvard University Press, Apr 2004, “The Success of Open Source” (book ISBN 0674012925; Kindle e-book available)
Chapter 1: Open Source 101
Categorizing Open Source Projects
- Eric Steven Raymond, “The Cathedral and the Bazaar”
- Travis Oliphant, LinkedIn, Mar 2020, “Who Governs the Open-Source Project You Depend on?”
Exploring the Origins of Open Source
- Saumo Pal, “History of Open Source Software”
- Crystal Crowder, Jul 2021, “The History of Various Linux Distros”
Looking at Where We Are Now
- Nat Friedman, GitHub blog, Apr 2021, “Open Source Goes to Mars”
- Leo P. Singer (NASA), SciPy 2018 Keynote, “Role of Python in Recent Gravitational Wave Astronomy Breakthroughs”
- Randall Munroe, xkcd comic #2347, “Dependency”
Chapter 2: Seeing That the Future Is Open Source
Securing Open Source
- Sandra Gittlen, GitLab blog, May 2022, “Biden Administration Accelerates Software Supply Chain Security Expectations a Year Into Executive Order”
Standardizing Open Source
- Rigo Wenning, Jan 2009, “W3C Web Standardization”
- Consortium for Python Data API Standards
- WebAssembly
- Martin Heller, Sep 2022, “What Is CUDA? Parallel Programming for GPUs”
Funding Open Source
- Joseph Jacks, Sep 2022, “COSS Contradictions and Misconceptions”
- Ralf Gommers, May 2019, “Community-Driven Open Source and Funded Development”
- FairOSS
- George Anadiotis, Jul 2021, “Open-Source Growth and Venture Capital Investment: Data, Databases, Challenges, and Opportunities”
All of these are partial lists of entities in these categories.
- Non-profits: NumFOCUS, Apache Foundation, Linux Foundation
- Foundations: Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), OpenInfra Foundation
- Consultancies: Quansight, Enthought, Quantstack, PyMCLabs, Kitware
- Open source service/support subscriptions: OpenTeams, Tidelift, OpenLogic
Chapter 3: Getting Started as an Open Source User
The more advanced case study mentioned at the end of the chapter can be found in this demo Google Colab notebook.
Other resources:
Commercial notebook-as-a-service tools include:
Chapter 4: Getting Started as an Open Source Contributor
Understanding Key Tools for Codebase Interactions
- Git
- Scott Chacon & Ben Straub, “Pro Git,” “1.2 Getting Started – A Short History of Git”
- Ryan Donovan, The Overflow Blog, Jan 2023, “Beyond Git: The Other Version Control Systems Developers Use”
- GitHub
- GitHub, “About Forks”
- GitHub, “About Pull Requests”
Becoming an Open Source Contributor
- GitHub, “Hello World” (tutorial)
- GitHub, “Contributing to Projects”
Chapter 5: Getting Help With Open Source
Finding the Right Open Source Tools
- GeeksforGeeks, “Top 8 Python Libraries for Data Visualization” (mentioned in “Ask a question”)
- Javier Luraschi on GitHub, “Awesome Dataviz” (mentioned in “Look for awesome lists”)
- Discord, Element, and RocketChat (mentioned in “Hunt for topic-specific servers”)
Evaluating the Health of Open Source Projects
Understanding Documentation
- Diátaxis Framework (classifying types of documentation)
- Sphinx (documentation generation tool)
- mkdocs (documentation generation tool)
- MyST Parser (documentation generation tool)
- Hugo (static site builder)
- Jekyll (static site builder)
- Docusaurus (static site builder)
- ReadTheDocs (hosting service for documentation)
- GitHub Pages (webpage hosting service that works for documentation)
- WriteTheDocs (community for documentarians)
Finding Help With OpenTeams
Chapter 6: Building Business Activity Around Open Source
Marketing and Complementing Your Product
- Lucas Beyer, et al., Google Research Blog, May 2020, “Open-Sourcing BiT: Exploring Large-Scale Pre-training for Computer Vision”
- Jake Siegel, Microsoft News, Oct 2022, “Microsoft Open Sources Its ‘Farm of the Future’ Toolkit”
- Ingrid Lunden, TechCrunch, Jul 2022, “Meta Launches Sphere, an AI Knowledge Tool Based on Open Web Content, Used Initially to Verify citations on Wikipedia”
Providing Enhanced Services Around an Open Source Project
- Ben Rometsch, Flagsmith.com, May 2021, “OSS Capital’s Vision for Open Source Software” (discussion of ‘open core’ and ‘commercial open source software’)
Monetizing Your Network
- OpenSource.com, “Open Source Organizations” (in the context of non-profits with a mission to support open source)
Chapter 7: Implementing Open Source in Your Existing Business
Deciding When and How to Adopt
- OpenTeams @ YouTube, Nov 2022, “How to Select the Right Open Source Software for Your Product Stack” (conversation with Travis Oliphant)
Creating an Open Source Program Office (OSPO)
- Chris Aniszczyk et al., LinuxFoundation.org, “Open Source Guides: Creating an Open Source Program”
- FOSSA.com Editorial Team, Mar 2021, “Building an Open Source Program Office (OSPO)”
- Brian Proffitt, Red Hat Blog, Dec 2019, “What Does an Open Source Program Office Do?”
- J. Manrique Lopez de la Fuente, opensource.com, May 2020, “A Guide to Setting Up Your Open Source Program Office (OSPO) for Success”
- Ibrahim Haddad, LF AI & Data Foundation, Aug 2022, “A Deep Dive Into Open Source Program Offices: Structure, Roles, Responsibilities, and Challenges” (downloadable report hosted at LinuxFoundation.org)
Digging Into License and Legal
General resources:
- Ben Lutkevich, TechTarget.com, “What Is a Software License?”
- choosealicense.com
- Open Source Initiative, “Open Source Licenses by Category”
- GNU.org, “Various Licenses and Comments About Them” (note that the Free Software Foundation is a strong proponent of ‘copyleft’ licenses)
Examples of licenses (all on opensource.org):
Evaluating Risk
Defining Versioning Systems
- Semantic Versioning (SemVer)
- Calendar Versioning (CalVer)
- Phil Vuollet, Testim.io, Aug 2019, “What Is Test Automation? A Simple, Clear Introduction”
Chapter 8: Ten Reasons Why Open Source Is the New Frontier
Open Is More Than Just Software
- Consortium for Python Data API Standards
- Josh Berkus, opensource.com, May 2020, “What Is Open Source Project Governance?”
- Python Discuss, Nov 2018, “Comparison of the 7 Governance PEPs” (a snapshot of open governance processes in action, from the transition of the Python language from sole governance by Guido van Rossum to a new, community-defined model)
- OpenSource.com, “Open Source Organizations”
It Expands Business Opportunities
- Joris Lochy, FinExtra.com, Jan 2020, “Banks Are Finally Embracing the Open Source Movement”
- Fintech Open Source Foundation (FINOS)
It’s Built on Decentralized Governance
- Kevin Roose, NY Times, Mar 2022, “What Are DAOs?”
- CoinTelegraph.com, “What Is a Decentralized Autonomous Organization, and How Does a DAO Work?”
- Nathan Reiff, Investopedia, Sep 2022, “Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO): Definition, Purpose, and Example”
It Supports New Currency
- Alyssa Hertig, CoinDesk.com, Oct 2022, “Open Source: What It Is and Why It’s Critical for Bitcoin and Crypto”
- James He, Offchain Labs/Arbitrum, Jan 2023, “Open Source Ethereum Infrastructure: A Beginner’s Guide to Essential Resources”
It Upholds Innovation
- OpenSource.com, “What Is the Internet of Things?”
Commercial Success Is Thriving
Content Is King
- Nathalie Risbakk & Lucas Galvanini, opensource.com, Jul 2020, “Choosing Open Source as a Marketing Strategy”
