Module Title: dgt_oss01 – Open Source projects assignment
Overview:
This module is designed for students enrolled in the Academy DevOps and Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) program. Its primary objective is to give each student real experience with a live open source project by assigning them a specific one. The aim is to build practical skills and to involve students in the work of an open source community.
Module Description:
In “dgt_oss01 – Open Source projects assignment,” students are introduced to the process of selecting and contributing to an open source project. The module begins with an overview of what open source entails and of its role in the software industry.
Consistent with the Academy’s method, contributions are made in natural language: students study the project’s codebase, architecture and conventions until they understand them, then instruct the machine to reproduce a bug, propose a fix or draft a documentation change. Their real work is to judge whether what the machine produced is correct, fits the project’s style and would survive a maintainer’s review.
Key Components:
-
Project Selection: Students are guided through a systematic approach to selecting an open source project that matches their interests and skills. Factors such as technology stack, community size, and project activity are considered to ensure a good match between the student and the project.
-
Assignment Process: Each student is assigned to a specific project based on their preferences and the needs of the project communities. The assignment takes each student’s level into account, so that the project is demanding but manageable.
-
Contributing to Projects: During the module, students engage with their projects by making contributions, such as bug fixes, new features, documentation improvements, or participation in community discussions. They describe each change to the machine in plain language, review the resulting diff and tests, and send it back with corrections until it is right. This exercises technical judgment and shows how collaborative open source development works.
-
Mentorship and Support: Throughout the module, mentors are available to provide guidance and support, including feedback on how clearly students instruct the machine and how carefully they verify its work.
-
Skill Development: Students develop a range of skills, including version control (e.g., Git), coding standards, communication within development teams, an understanding of open source licensing, and the ability to read and assess code they did not type themselves.
-
Reflection and Feedback: At the end of the module, students are encouraged to reflect on their experience, share insights, and provide feedback. This reflection helps consolidate learning and identify areas for further improvement.
Module Outcomes:
By the end of this module, students will:
- Gain practical experience by contributing to a live open source project through natural-language instructions and rigorous review.
- Develop technical skills relevant to DevOps and SRE practices.
- Understand the dynamics of collaborative software development within the open source ecosystem.
- Have a public record of their contributions that can be included in a portfolio.
Target Audience:
This module is intended for students who have a foundational understanding of programming and version control systems and an interest in DevOps and SRE practices. It also applies to anyone who wants hands-on experience in open source projects.
The students can push their exercises to the Academy DevOps & SRE Git project. For this module, create a folder with your username as its name in the following subfolder: https://github.com/Garanti-Del-Talento/gdt_academy