Key Points

IntroductionOpen Source Software

open source software is in use everywhere throughout the modern software ecosystem, particularly for research code
open source software allows usage of software through licensing of copyright
different licences may impose different obligations
“permissive” licences typically require some sort of acknowledgement of the original authors, but allow use in closed-source code
“copyleft” licences require that derived works (such as software which uses or modifies the original code) to also be open source with a compatible licence
assess open source software before using it
ensure that you comply with licences and cite code correctly

if you decide to open source a project, be mindful of the effort required to do it well
you should follow software development best practices with open source software
documentation is important for success
if your are successful, you will be managing a community, and all that goes with that

be mindful of the constraints that face developers of open source software
be clear to yourself on why you want to contribute to an open source project
follow the guidelines and conventions of any project that you are planning to work with
to make a contribution: make a fork of the project, clone it, and work on a branch, then push the branch and make a pull request
understand that your vision and the projects visions may not agree, and that contributions may not be accepted
consider alternatives to direct contribution to a project