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How to Contribute to Madagascar and Why. Sergey Fomel July 22, 2011 Beijing, China. software value. Connections. Power. software: free or open-source. software: free or open-source?. “Run a program as you wish, for any purpose you wish, not limited to any narrowly defined
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How to Contribute to Madagascar and Why Sergey Fomel July 22, 2011 Beijing, China
software value Connections Power
software: free or open-source? • “Run a program as you wish, • for any purpose you wish, not • limited to any narrowly defined • application.” • 2. “Help yourself by improving • the program (which requires • access to source code).” • 3. “Help your neighbor by sharing a copy of the program • with them.” • 4. “Help community by sharing the improved copy at large.”
software: power and connections • “Given a large enough beta-tester and co-developer base, almost every problem will be characterized quickly and the fix obvious to someone.” • "Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow."
open-source software and science “Abandoning the habit of secrecyin favor of process transparency and peer review was the crucial step by which alchemy became chemistry. In the same way, it is beginning to appear that open-source development may signal the long-awaited maturation of software development as a discipline.”
free/open-source software • Linux kernel • GPL, 1991, Unix • GIMP • GPL, 1996, Photoshop • R project • GPL, 1993, S • Sage • GPL, 2005, MATLAB/Mathematica • Madagascar • GPL, 2006, SEPlib
how to add your own programs • Create a directory for yourself or your group under RSFSRC/user. Put your programs there. • Create a SConstruct file in your directory by following examples from other user directories. • http://reproducibility.org/wiki/Adding_new_programs_to_Madagascar
how to contribute your programs • Register at SourceForge. Send your SourceForge user name to one of the administrators. • Upload your files to the repository using svn add and svn commit. • Add reproducible examples of using your program under RSFSRC/book. • http://reproducibility.org/wiki/Contributing_new_programs_to_Madagascar
summary • Power • Run a program as you wish • Help yourself by improving the program • Help community by sharing your program • Connections • Easy to join and contribute • Wiki, mailing list, conferences, blog