open source Archives - Stack Overflow Blog

code-for-a-living February 3, 2021

Sequencing your DNA with a USB dongle and open source code

It takes the most exquisite measurements you can imagine, recording the changes in current associated with different bits of DNA.

Ben Popper Director of Content

podcast February 2, 2021

Podcast 309: Can’t stop, won’t stop, GameStop

How many times have you explained the bittersweet nature of open source to your therapist?

Ben Popper Director of Content

code-for-a-living January 7, 2021

Open source has a funding problem

Relying on volunteers to maintain every open source project isn't long term sustainable. Funding open source projects could keep development moving, but would that funding be raised and who would pay for it?

James Turner

podcast December 18, 2020

Podcast 296: Adventures in Javascriptlandia

Yes, there was once a plan to acquire a private island, name it Javascriptlandia, and certify it as a nation state so that they could start giving out top level .js domains.

Ben Popper Director of Content

code-for-a-living November 17, 2020

The complexities—and rewards—of open sourcing corporate software products

Two engineers at Salesforce talk about how they decoupled a complex library from old spaghetti logic, then open sourced that library by creating a new internal process where none existed before.

Demian Brecht and Drew Shafer

podcast October 23, 2020

Podcast 280: How should tech titans act when productizing tiny open source projects?

You don't get to pick and choose who turns your OS code into something commercial.

Ben Popper Director of Content

podcast September 29, 2020

Podcast 273: Chris Anderson on drones, driverless cars, and creating communities around code

How did a community of online hobbyist create the code that is now being utilized by the Department of Defense?

Ben Popper Director of Content

code-for-a-living September 9, 2020

Can one person run an open source project alone?

No matter how well-intentioned and free wheeling a project is, at some point, to succeed at scale, decisions need to be made and conflicts need to be resolved. But is a project managed best by a single person with the final say or through building consensus with a committee of several people?

Ryan Donovan

code-for-a-living August 3, 2020

Getting started with contributing to open source

It can be intimidating to start contributing to an open source project. But with a little research and planning, you can be a valuable part of your favorite open source software.

Zara Cooper

podcast May 26, 2020

Podcast 238: Mayor of Open Source town

The software industry has become a kinder, more welcoming place. Has it finally left a certain kind of leadership behind?

Ben Popper Director of Content

code-for-a-living May 14, 2020

The most successful developers share more than they take

After interviewing several developers, a pattern started to become clear: great developers share a lot. This takes different forms for different people, but is very often a blog. But for many top developers, their sharing mindset came before their success, and was the direct cause of it, not the result of it.

Ben James