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Open Source Projects - Beyond Code
Open Source Projects - Beyond Code

Open Source Projects - Beyond Code: A blueprint for scalable and sustainable open source projects

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Open Source Projects - Beyond Code

The Whats and Whys of Open Source

When I’ve explained open source to people who aren’t in tech or related areas, I often find myself in a conversation that goes something like this:

Person: “So what is this open source thing?”

Me: “It basically is a way that multiple people and organizations can collaborate on building software out in the open.”

Person: “So, it’s free?”

Me: “I mean yes, but there are licenses involved that set the terms of reuse.”

Person: “Is this stuff valuable? If it was, wouldn’t someone sell it?”

Me: “Well, yeah, it is, but it’s often the software that is a base technology that people would build a product from. Or it’s something enough people feel strongly about being out there in the open for anyone to use.”

Person: “Okay, so people get paid to build this software?”

Me: “Often, yes, but sometimes...

What is open source?

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source) defines open source as follows:

Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, [1] design documents, [2] or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized software development model that encourages open collaboration.

If you search online, you will find a number of definitions used:

While the definitions are certainly different, some common themes align here.

The first is the concept of source code being made freely available, allowing anyone to view, modify, and share the source code with others. This is often where people will start with open source, thinking of it as...

A brief history of open source

Open source as a term dates back to February 3rd, 1998, but the ethos and ideals date back decades before that. Let’s take a look back in time.

The concepts of viewing, modifying, and sharing, along with open collaboration, can be traced to way before the internet and computers. Much of this was commonplace in hacker and maker cultures, both rooted in artisan spirits. For hundreds and thousands of years, new technologies and innovations were born out of the sharing of ideas with each other, each time seeing the next effort built off of that of others before. The challenges were only the ability for ideas to travel, where Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press began the acceleration of knowledge that became the Renaissance.

There has always been a natural tension between the collaborative spirit and commercialization. The establishment of the system of patents in the 1400 and 1500s had the intention of protecting inventors but...

Implementing open source

You can see that there has been a long and winding history of open source, which has predominately been driven by enthusiasts who were passionate about the technologies they worked with and, over time, brought in commercial investment while staying true to form with the ethos that grew these communities.

With those years of effort came many patterns of success and patterns that did not pan out as well. We have seen the concept of open source applied to different areas outside of computing, including quilting patterns, the home brewing of beer, genome patterns, and more. From these efforts we have seen a few patterns in how open source has been used with a degree of success – let us look at those.

Information sharing amongst enthusiasts

The earliest use we’ve seen of open source (and arguably most pervasive) is just being able to share information and knowledge with others with a common problem. It generally is the underlying motivation...

Open source projects and why they are used

Now that I’ve walked through the what of open source along with its historical roots and how open source is used, to complete The Golden Circle [3], let’s look at the why of open source.

I heard Alan Clark of SUSE once describe open source as “the ultimate scratch-your-own-itch model,” meaning that participation is tied to whatever motivates the participant. As you can imagine, this makes the steering of an open source project challenging (another topic we will dig more into in later chapters, covering governance, bringing in new contributors, and growing contributors into maintainers in Chapter 5, Governance and Hosting Models). Still, it also makes answering the why open source question not one with a clear, universal answer.

The best way to answer the why is by looking at a few projects and understanding the motivations of those communities. Let’s take a look at some that hopefully will give you...

Summary

Open source, while being driven by a multitude of motivations and a diverse group of enthusiasts, is tied together by a common spirit; the idea of being able to freely share code and knowledge with others openly and do so through open collaboration in decentralized communities. Open source has been built on decades of collaborative spirit, with the ideal of sharing information to advance humanity. I’ve often seen open source described as the next Renaissance, harking back to the same outpouring of knowledge and innovation that advanced society but if you look at the last 3-4 decades, you can truly see how much our society has advanced in technology (which we could agree has opened up a new set of problems, but that is one of the aftereffects of progress, and we’ve tended to see society respond to and correct it over time).

This chapter was intended to give you a good foundation of the what and why of open source, which then lets us dig into the next key topic...

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Key benefits

  • Understand the method and rationale for launching an open source project
  • Explore best practices and insights for running an open source project
  • Leverage open source projects to advance your career

Description

Open source is ubiquitous in our society, with countless existing projects, and new ones emerging every day. It follows a "scratch-your-own-itch" model where contributors and maintainers drive the project forward. Through Open Source Projects - Beyond Code, you'll learn what it takes to develop a successful, scalable, and sustainable open source project. In this book, you’ll explore the full life cycle of open source projects, from inception, through launch, to maturity, and then discover how to sunset an open source project responsibly. Along the way, you’ll learn the concepts of licensing, governance, community building, ecosystem management, and growing maintainers and contributors, as well as understand how other open source projects have been successful or might have struggled in some areas. You can use this book as an end-to-end guide or reference material for the future. By the end of this book, you’ll be able to accelerate your career in open source. Your newly acquired skills will help you stay ahead of the curve even with the ever-evolving nature of technology.

Who is this book for?

This book is for software developers, product managers, project managers, business leaders, or general enthusiasts looking to start an open source project or currently maintaining one.

What you will learn

  • Explore what is open source and how you can use it to accelerate your career
  • Start an open source project while exploring its key considerations
  • Grow, support, and manage a vast community of developers and users
  • Build and maintain a mature and sustainable project
  • Enable mass users and developers to downstream productization and outreach
  • Use open source as a portfolio to build your career
  • Understand when to end a project and conduct it responsibly
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Table of Contents

19 Chapters
Part 1: Getting Ready to Go Open Source Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 1: The Whats and Whys of Open Source Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 2: What Makes a Good Open Source Project? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 3: Open Source License and IP Management Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 4: Aligning the Business Value of Open Source for Your Employer Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 5: Governance and Hosting Models Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Part 2: Running an Open Source Project Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 6: Making Your Project Feel Welcoming Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 7: Growing Contributors to Maintainers Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 8: Dealing with Conflict Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 9: Handling Growth Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Part 3: Building and Scaling Open Source Ecosystems Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 10: Commercialization of Open Source Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 11: Open Source and the Talent Ecosystem Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 12: Marketing for Open Source – Advocacy and Outreach Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 13: Transitioning Leadership Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 14: Sunsetting an Open Source Project Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Other Books You May Enjoy Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

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Dark_Alex Jun 04, 2023
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
As an open-source project contributor myself, I wish I could read this book earlier in my career. Great introduction and helpful examples, recommendations, and thoughts were given in this book could definitely make my early involvement in open-source projects more smoothly and avoid some of the unnecessary mistakes along the way.It is also very useful that some topics were covered in this book, such as dealing with conflict, how to grow the project and how you would like to commercialize or sunset your project at some point. Overall, this book provides valuable knowledges and inputs based on author's experience and I highly recommend it to anyone who wish to contribute to or start your own open-source projects.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
P Oswal Aug 18, 2023
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Open Source Projects - Beyond Code: A blueprint for scalable and sustainable open source projects is a comprehensive guide for anyone who wants to start, join, or improve an open source project. The book covers topics such as project vision, governance, community building, licensing, funding, and sustainability. The author, an experienced open source contributor and maintainer, shares their insight and best practices based on real-world examples and case studies. The book is not only about the technical aspects of open source development, but also about the human and social factors that make open source projects successful. The book is written in a clear and engaging style, with practical tips and exercises to help readers apply the concepts to their own projects. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, a developer or a manager, a hobbyist or a professional, this book will help you navigate the complex and rewarding world of open source projects. I was provided a free copy of this book via Packt Publishing, and I would like to thank them for the opportunity to review the materials of this book.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Madelyn Olson Jul 12, 2023
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
I help run very popular open source project and was glad I took the time to read it through this book. It had a lot of useful nuggets of information across project lifecycles that I found exceptionally useful. The section about how to avoid burning out as maintainer would have been very useful to read during the pandemic, but I'm glad I got around to it now.The highlight for me were the sections about aligning business interests with open-source projects. This is an area I have a lot of trouble with, as someone who frequently needs to balance the needs of my employer and the open-source project that I work on. I have often had trouble explaining to my businesses leaders the importance of having other engineers spend time working on the projects we build products on top of, since the strategic importance seems obvious to me. John does a great job of breaking down the various ways that companies can get value out of open source in a way that helped me apply it my own situation.As a whole, the book has been a great resource for me and I'll definitely revisit it as I continue to work in the open-source community. I would definitely recommend it for others looking to get involved in open-source projects as well as individuals trying to learn how to get their business into contributing or supporting open-source projects.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Dario Laverde Jul 15, 2023
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
This book is a comprehensive outline of all the main topics regarding open source projects, from licensing and IP management to managing and scaling projects, even when to sunset a project. The author clearly explains the answers to most questions his audience will have on the topic in a way that will make it work well as a general reference with in depth explanations and examples.Highlights include how to align business value with open source and the commercialization of open source projects. Whether it's employers or investors that you need to convince, having this volume to reference would be valuable. It's just the right length to be a go-to book as a refresher for those experienced with open source projects or beginners just starting out. It should be within arm's reach for anyone working seriously with open source.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Andy Maltz Jul 19, 2023
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Having been involved in open source projects for some time, I didn't expect to learn much by reading this book, but I was pleasantly surprised - the author provides a soup-to-nuts description of open source as a project framework, movement, business enhancer, talent development program, community-builder, and more in a very readable and conversational style. The contextual history and human interest aspects were fascinating, and the author's own personal stories made the book relatable and that much more interesting.A valuable resource for engineers, managers, and C-levels alike.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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