This is Unit 1: Introduction to Open Source
Cognisa Introduction to Open Source Software Course
What You'll Learn
What open source software is
The history and philosophy behind it
Major players and real-world impact
Why it matters today
Let's get a quick and practical overview.
What is Open Source and the 'free as in freedom' movement?
Open Source Software (OSS) source code is freely available for anyone to use, learn from, modify, or
redistribute
Freedom to learn and do, is 'Free as in Freedom,' aka Libre...
What is Open Source and the 'free as in freedom' movement?
OSS is usually free of monetary cost
This is 'Free as in Cost,' aka Gratis...
Stallman on Free Software
Play relevant Stallman video here.
Key takeaway: Freedom in software is a fundamental right
It's not just software, though, it's an idea.
It Includes More Than Just Software Part 1
Despite being most clearly linked to software movements, Open
Source includes art, music, product design, and culture projects, (and probably more),
as well as software.
This allows people free access to huge libraries of media that they can use
legally in their own projects without copyright issues, which is the point of projects
like Wikipedia.
It Includes More Than Just Software Part 2
"Makers" who hang out at "makerspaces" routinely use Open Source
designs for building products and items (such as for 3d printing).
Websites like Instructables, Printables, and Thingiverse provide
free physical product item designs you can modify, and in a lot of cases, sell.
It Includes More Than Just Software Part 3
Organisations like Wikimedia (the Wikipedia umbrella organisation), and Creative
Commons, help people to freely license their writing, artwork, music, speech,
product designs, and ideas, if they want to.
To help everyone.
Let's study the history of open source.
History and Philosophy Part 1
Open Source Culture emerged most prominently in the 1980s as a response to proprietary licensing
restrictions.
Richard Stallman founded the Free Software Foundation and created the GPL License.
In 1991 Linus Torvalds created the Linux Kernel, which is probably still the most successful software,
of any kind, in history.
History and Philosophy Part 2
Probably the earliest roots of a deliberate Open Source concept, that is simliar to the modern day term,
and beyond family or local groups, come from the popular term "everyman" in 1400s England.
History and Philosophy Part 3
The term "everyman" was from a 1400s (15th-century) English morality play about an 'ordinary man' who God summoned to
face death and judgment.
In this play, the "everyman" served as as a representation of all humanity.
History and Philosophy Part 4
Everyman is therefore every-one.
The generic term "everyman" was adopted into historic popular culture.
It meant a person who anyone could imagine themselves as... “Things that could be attributed to someone normal.”
History and Philosophy Part 4
The everyman term is the foundation of building things freely "for the everyman"
It is still in use today to describe projects designed for everyone in wider society
The historical term is most often used today by Open Source-inspired makers
Let's attempt to memorise some impressive statistics.
Real-World Impact Today is Much Larger
72–73% of all smartphones worldwide run Android, which is built on the Linux Kernel.
Roughly 78% of all web‑facing servers are running Linux in 2025.
Google, Meta, Microsoft invest billions in open source.
All of the top 500 supercomputers run Linux.
That means most computers in the world run Open Source Software.
Let's consider what it really means for most people in society today.
Why It Matters To Community Today Part 1
Transparency and security for projects through community review.
Speedy innovation for problems through global collaboration.
Improves sustainability from not redoing work.
Reduces costs and eliminates lock-in for users.
Why It Matters To Community Today Part 2
Home developers can access the best enabled, most efficient, self-sovereign tools for projects.
Homesteaders and Small Businesses can download guides to produce anything they need, or source parts in the
most efficient ways.
Optimisations in supply chains could soon drastically lower pollution or lower critical mineral use.
Big Organisations Use Open Source *A Lot*
Audits show that over 96% of commercial codebases include open source, and
roughly 97% of organisations use it somewhere in their stack. Practically
every modern computer you interact with is running open‑source components under
the hood.
IBM on Free Software
Play relevant IBM video here.
Key takeaway: Major corporations depend on and contribute to open
source
Finally, let's absorb some of the humour around free software.
There is an invaluable extra section after this unit ends, containing resources you
will probably not want to miss but will not be tested on as part of this
introduction course.
The Matrix is all Around us Neo...
Play relevant Matrix humor video here.
Key takeaway: When the time comes will you choose to send an error
report or not to send one?
End of Unit 1
Introduction to Open Source
You should have learned
What open source software is
The history and philosophy behind it
Major players and real-world impact
Why it matters today
Its advised that you continue to the next slides anyway,
because we will be giving you some, websites to bookmark and read, and YouTube
channels to subscribe to, which will help with the next unit.
You will not be tested on content from this side or further for your Cognisa Introduction to Open Source
Software Certificate.
In the following slides is a list of extra learning resources,
which you should bookmark and subscribe to, to figure out what interests you.
You can skip to the next slide at any time if there is too much,
or if you just want to skip to the good part (the YouTube links).
This course is what you make of it...
This text describes an optional path. In future units, the extra
content in these sections at the end of the course will be leading all way up to a degree level knowledge by
providing collections of free professional resources, from multiple providers, equivalent to adegree course.
Lists of courses will be linked equivalent to a full set of modules, that genuinely, fully cover all modules
regularly studied in a Computer Science degree.
The providers (like MIT and Harvard) have deliberately
made certain parts of their courses free. In these extra sections of this course, we will bring these parts from
these providers together to provide "a free access equivalent" of a full degree level course (and a
complete path to a full computing background).
If the reading is completed, these extra linked courses
(designed to be completed over a number of years) will give you a free degree level Computer Science
knowledge. This relies on courses made by organisations such as professional
universities, that you can use. However, the free courses they provide are typically uncertified by
the providers in this scenario, so you will be encouraged to do things like follow the YouTube channels in the
following slides and engage, as well as completing the courses, and later contribute to official Open
Source projects to demonstrate skills and industry experience.
These skills are also often valid on a CV for many
professional computing roles, instead of
a formal degree. Lots of roles, but not all roles, accept valid industry experience. Open Source projects
can often formally provide this experience and demonstrate your skill to the right employers. The best
enablement is when you actually enjoy how you provide for yourself.
Speak to a Careers Coach
If this course has inspired you to complete a real and certified degree course, speak to a Careers Coach,
perhaps from Jobcenter Plus or Citzens Advice Beauro, and reach out yourself to universities to enquire.
NetworkChuck is the best channel to subscribe to and watch
because he is the most suited to people entering the computing industry in general. He teaches topics
like web-servers, Python, Docker, and a Certified Ethical Hacking (CEH) course.