CSCI.4968 Open Source Software Practice Instructor: Will Shroder 3 Credits M,Th 4:00-5:30 Max enrollment: 30

This course will introduce the student to technical, legal, practical, cultural, economic, publication, and business aspects of open source software. History and rationale for open source software, definitions of key terms, advantages/disadvantages, certification, open-source ethics and community. Success stories such as Linux, Firefox, gcc, and LaTex?. Software process and tools CVS/SVN, bug tracker, testing, patch diff, source forge, and wiki. Legal issues: software patents and copyrights, licensing and assignment, GPL/BSD, LGPL, and MIT's QT. Economic issues including funding, business models, shareware, dual licenses, contracts, support, and widget frosting. Study of major open-source projects including VTK, ITK, Cmake, vxl, Insight Journal, and various bioinformatics efforts.

 http://public.kitware.com/OpenSourceSoftwarePractice Dr. Shroder's Wiki page at Kitware