MAC0499
How to contribute to the Linux kernel project: the case of the FLUSP group
By Bárbara de Castro Fernandes
Proposal
The goal of this work is to be a subjective analysis of the Linux kernel community from the inside, through the sending of patches to two of its subsystems and direct interaction with the community. An analysis of how the Linux community works nowadays will then be made, and it will then be compared to how Raymond described it. The Linux project will be analyzed as a whole, as will its subsystems and the people who are essential for this project to happen.
Immersion on the development process of the Linux project is expected through the sending of contributions as a community developer. We will analyze what metaphor, if not the bazaar, best currently defines the Linux development model.
The two subsystems to be studied are the Industrial Input/Output and Crypto. The IIO subsystem aims to provide support to devices that perform analog-to-digital or digital-to-analog conversions, such as accelerometers, gyroscopes and temperature sensors. The Crypto subsystem is responsible for all the cryptographic algorithms and data transformation mechanisms existent in the kernel.
Interaction with the IIO subsystem is already in the works. Through FLUSP (FLOSS at USP) I became familiarized with the creation flux and the sending of patches to the kernel community. FLUSP is an extension group created at the Institute of Mathematics and Statistics of the University of São Paulo (IME-USP) in 2018 to stimulate the contribution to Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS). FLUSP members have already sent contributions to several large FLOSS projects, such as Linux, GCC, and Git.
Link to the entire proposal.
Personal appreciation
This study provided me with a great opportunity to get acquainted with the functioning of an open-source project, besides getting to know the history of this kind of software. It has also helped me get a few patches accepted in the Linux kernel, thus enabling me to have pieces of code I wrote running in the computer I am writing this text. Last but not least, I was able to make a lot of friendships in FLUSP. I believe not many students can say this subject has given them the means to do that, and because of this I consider myself to be very lucky to have chosen the topic I did.
Link to the monograph.
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