CPSC 091R. Special Topics: Open Source Software Development


Free and open source software (FOSS) has evolved into an important model of development in the software industry. This course exposes students to the cultural, technical, and legal aspects of FOSS development and provides students with an opportunity to work on a real-world open source software project and gain experience in software maintenance and enhancing software quality.

The course covers topics such as: the need for and benefits of free and open source software; open source licensing and business models; intellectual property; case studies of successful open source software projects; humanitarian free and open source software; and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility issues in open source software development.

Class meetings will be run in a seminar style and involve discussion of assigned readings. There will also be two projects in which students become involved in and contribute to an open source software project. 
This is a Group 3 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 035 required.
Natural science.
1.0 credit.
Fall 2024. Murphy.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science 
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science


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