COMP8440: 2010 Schedule

The course will be divided into three phases

  • 24th March - Information Evening. On Wednesady the 24th of March starting at 7pm there will be an introductory evening for students. The course material will be outlined, and students will be given some reading material that should be studied before the main course begins. The main presentation for the information evening will be recorded so that students who are not in Canberra on that day can see the material.
  • 6th to 10th April - Main course. The main course will be from the Tuesday to the Saturday (inclusive), in the week after Easter. The course will run from 9am to 6pm each day (with breaks).
  • 17th April, 24th April, 1st May. Laboratory sessions will be offered between 2pm and 5pm on the three Saturdays following the main course. These sessions are intended for students completing the assessment part of the course.
  • Assessment period. After the main course is over, the students are expected to prepare materials for assessment, which will be due by Friday the 14th of May. Details on assessment options are available on the assessment page.

Detailed Schedule

The following is a more detailed schedule for the 5 day intensive part of the course. 
Tuesday
 9:00 introduction and welcome
 9:30 Lecture: An introduction to FOSS
10:30 morning tea
10:45 Lab: Install a FOSS project - all on one project
12:00 Lecture: Getting started in a FOSS project
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Lecture: Source code management for FOSS projects
15:00 Afternoon tea
15:15 Lab: Installing a FOSS project - choice of 5
17:45 close

Wednesday
 9:00 introducing the course projects
 9:30 Lecture: The history of FOSS
10:30 morning tea
10:45 Lab: finding a FOSS project
12:00 Lecture: Inside FOSS licensing
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Lecture: FOSS and the law
15:00 Afternoon tea
15:15 Lab: study of chosen FOSS project
17:45 close

Thursday
 9:00 discussion of FOSS project work
 9:30 Lecture: How are FOSS projects governed?
10:30 morning tea
10:45 Lab: getting in touch with the project
12:00 Lecture: FOSS and business
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Lecture: What motivates a FOSS developer?
15:00 Afternoon tea
15:15 Lab: project work
17:00 Guest lecture: Lana Brindley
18:00 close

Friday
 9:00 discussion of FOSS project work
 9:30 Lecture: Case study: Samba
10:30 morning tea
10:45 Lab: project work
12:00 Lecture: FOSS distributions and platforms
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Lecture: FOSS Culture
15:00 Afternoon tea
15:15 Lab: project work
17:45 close

Saturday
 9:00 discussion of FOSS project work
 9:30 Lecture: Starting a new project
10:30 morning tea
10:45 Lab: project presentations
12:00 Lecture: FOSS Tales
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Lecture: Release early, release often
15:00 Afternoon tea
15:15 Lab: project presentations
17:45 close