Starting an Open Source Project

Starting an open source software project might seem like a daunting undertaking, but luckily there are plenty of examples of how to do it successfully.

Take any number of projects with vibrant communities and it’s easy to see that if you recognize the need for a project that can solve a problem, the likelihood is that hundreds or thousands of others do, too. Or, even millions. Consider Linux. Twenty years ago this year Linux creator Linus Torvalds saw a need and today millions of people around the world are using and/or participating in Linux.

Open source software vendor Black Duck recently surfaced projects that should be able to shed some light on how to begin a project. It organized the projects into what it calls the Top 10 Open Source Rookies of the Year. The projects it highlights in the report are examples of new communities that are growing and solving real problems in software, especially in the areas of mobile and cloud computing. Black Duck reviewed thousands of projects and scored them based on commit activity within a project, the number of developers involved, and the number of web sites linked to the project.

These projects and their stories could be very useful to folks who are considering spearheading a new project. Black Duck will host a webinar on February 10 that will share more detail about its findings. Could be worth checking out.