Producing Open Source Software

3 min read Original article ↗
Order POSS from the publisher

How to Run a Successful Free Software Project

by Karl Fogel

(Consulting: Open Tech Strategies, LLC)
 

2020-08-14:
The 2nd Edition rewrite is finished and is all online below.
Thanks to all the backers of the campaign that funded the rewrite!
I'm doing a copy-editing and minor-improvements pass before sending it to the printer, for the reasons given in this update.

Producing Open Source Software is a book about the human side of open source development. It describes how successful projects operate, the expectations of users and developers, and the culture of free software. The book is released under an open copyright. You can buy it in bookstores, order copies from O'Reilly Media, or browse and download it here.

English Translations Bonus Tracks

Make a suggestion or comment on the book.

Special thanks to CollabNet for its extensive support in the writing of this book.

Video Presentations:

Ben Collins-Sussman and Brian Fitzpatrick, presenting

What's In It for Me? How Your Company Can Benefit from Open Sourcing Code
Ben-Collins Sussman and Brian Fitzpatrick

As the open source community continues to clamor for more companies to open source their code, more and more executives are asking themselves just what open source can do for their company. There are a number of ways for a company to open source an internal project: from tossing code over the wall on the one hand to running a fully open development project on the other to any combination of the two. This talk will discuss the costs and benefits associated with each method as well as how to successfully launch your new open source project. Given as a Google Tech Talk.