I'm Going Open Source!
Hmmm… not sure I really ever thought that I’d ever be the person saying those words, however, the day has finally come… hell has frozen over… open source is now in my vocabulary and I am embracing it wholeheartedly. I’m definitely still a newb in the OSS space, very unfamiliar with the vernacular, tools are foreign, approach is “odd”; but I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it over time. In order to get started, I’ve resurrected a project that I made available here almost a decade ago (really, it’s been that long?!?!?!) and published it to GitHub.
I have several other projects, some older, some newer that might be making their way to GitHub; most likely using the MIT license. These include:
- Solitaire Clone (circa Windows XP)
- Checkers Solitaire
- Diamond Dash
- A GameBoy Emulator
- AXSNX - Radio Automation Software
I’m also still weighing the pros/cons of making my tribute to GW-BASIC available as OSS.
Why the hesitation? Well, you know, although it’s not something new, it’s new to me. I’m going to start with things that I’ve already made available (with possible updates) since, ultimately, I’ve already “exposed my soul” with those projects anyway. As for other projects, I’m definitely experiencing feelings of fear, uncertainty and doubt regarding how things will be received and responded to; however, it’s something that I think it’s time to do. There are also huge upsides to going OSS, especially for “code sample” type of projects. Key of those advantages are that people can collaborate and contribute, something that really isn’t all that straight forward using any other approach. Additionally, the potential for reach is pretty astounding (which is one of those things that also adds FUD). So we’ll see where this goes from here.
I do have to admit that this move on my part is definitely inspired in no small part to Microsoft’s recent move with .NET in general toward OSS…