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= Certificate course in FOSS Programming =

== Overview ==

The idea is that a graduate of the course should be up and running as a FOSS programmer by the time he/she has finished the course. So what are the characteristics of a FOSS programmer that the course is supposed to inculcate?

 * Collaborative programming

 * Not reinventing the wheel - building on other's code, either by joining projects or by branching

 * Creative and extensive use of SVN repositories, mailing lists, wikis and IRC

 * Ability to read and learn from the manuals/docs

 * Ability to install software with various dependencies and get all the parts working together

 * Fluency with various code editors - either general purpose like vim/emacs or specific language oriented ides like eric3, quanta+

 * Competence in at least one scripting language, one GUI toolkit, one web framework and one networking framework/toolkit

 * A basic knowledge of etiquette to be observed on mailing lists, devel lists, IRC and wikis

 * Some background on FOSS licenses and the comparative merits of the various licenses available. Basic background on copyright and patent issues.

 * i18n and l10n awareness and the realisation that this should be implemented from ground up

The course also needs a modern scripting language to illustrate the concepts. Python fits the bill here and will be used for this purpose.

== Duration ==

30 hours theory, 30 hours practical sounds good. There will be interim and final exams and a project. All exams will be open book.

== Modules ==

In no particular order

 * Python programming

 * Subversion and trac

 * Apache and postgresql

 * Django web framework

 * wxPython gui toolkit

 * twisted networking framework

 * zope application server

 * Javascript

 * Netiquette, licensing, copyright and patents

 * Project