June 21, 2023
We’re celebrating FreeBSD Day all week long by focusing on a different aspect of FreeBSD each day!
Today’s Theme: FreeBSD For Students
Teaching others about FreeBSD is an important part of the Foundation’s mission, and students are the bedrock of this effort. In the same way that teaching students through FreeBSD can help them learn to be better developers, involving students in the development process also drives innovation and progress for the Project as a whole.
Learning how to use and develop an entire operating system allows students to interact with more than just a kernel. Many courses teach separate elements that do not function as a full working system. Working with FreeBSD allows students to interact with some of the features that developers are most likely to engage with, and see how the system works in practice, not just in theory. This allows developers to see how their work functions in real-time on a contemporary system.
The strong mentorship culture that already exists within the community is a strength of the FreeBSD operating system. Documentation is expansive and well maintained, encouraging self-growth and research through easily accessible system and tooling references. When submitting patches, feedback is quick and constructive, and maintainers are often willing to work with new contributors to ensure the any changes are made correctly. The flat contributor model encourages development work from newer users, from various backgrounds and expertise.
FreeBSD is proud to have participated in Google Summer of Code since its inception, and continues to work closely with co-op students every year. Many of these GSoC mentees continue being avid contributors after the program concludes.
Want to read more from students and mentors on the topic? Check out some of these articles and stories:
Blog Posts:
FreeBSD Journal Articles
Other Links:
