Introduction to Open-Source
In this article, I want to talk about open-source. After finishing a course in the All in Africa program. The program is designed to provide African open-source enthusiasts and professionals with the skills and knowledge they need to contribute to the open-source software ecosystem. I learned about open source and how important it is. I will share some concepts I learned during the course and hope that it can help many understand and enter the open-source world.
What is open source?
Well, open source is a movement, open source is a publicly accessible project. Today, open source decentralizes the way we build software, making it more collaborative.
The advantages of open-source software are:
- Flexibility: the ability to scale as projects grow
- Security: More secure than closed-source software due to the many programmers and transparency.
- Community-oriented: contributors from all over the world propose changes, add features and provide support.
- Decentralization: several people collaborate on a project and it is not owned by one person, authority or organization.
- Supplier dependency: when a person or organization is forced to continue using a product or service, regardless of its quality, because it is not feasible to change products or services.
- Sustainability: the project can be maintained as it grows in popularity and complexity.
Open source can:
- > Help you improve your technical skill
- > Make a positive social impact
- > Build your networking
- > Become more well-rounded.
Did you know that open source isn’t just for engineers or programmers? There are some roles for those who contribute to and work on open-source projects.
- Maintainer: the CEO of the project, ensures that the project is running smoothly and that users are satisfied. Most of the time, this is the person who created the project.
- Software developers: these are the people who contribute code to the project, use the code to correct errors, add new features, and sometimes review the code of other programmers.
- Software testers or QA: the people who test the software to make sure it works properly.
- Designers: ensure that the logos look great, that the user experience is accessible, and that the user interface or website is applicable and easy to navigate.
- Writers: they can help write or update documentation, help users learn how to navigate the project, and help keep the words in the application appealing and clear to users.
- Developer advocates: help get the word out by creating content and speaking at conferences.
- Translators: help translate the project and documentation into other languages.
- Project managers: organize tasks and help plan the future of the project, help those responsible for maintenance.
I’m going to write one or two more articles about Git and GitHub. For those who can speak Portuguese, here is the Portuguese version of this article.
Until next time.