ApacheCon North America 2017

Apache community members can reference tenets from the Apache Way such as “community over code” and “openness” as if it were second nature. While they may sound simple, these concepts can be foreign to developers coming to open source for the first time. Success as an Apache contributor stresses skills not emphasized in other types of software development, including reconciling the requirements of the upstream development process with the realities of running a commercial software business.

With the assistance of choreographed Socratic dialogue, our two protagonists, an experienced Apache committer and an enthusiastic young gun contributor, explore the tensions of working on an Apache project as employees of a for-profit company. The audience will learn practical advice and problem solving techniques for working effectively as part of an Apache community. By the end, our greenhorn comes to understand that the yin and yang of commercial software development and the Apache Way can exist in harmony.