Tue, 28 Jan 2025

Will young developers take on key open source software?

The founders of important open source software are getting older, who will take over?

* Daniel Stenberg, founder of open source internet transfer engine curl, has prepared instructions and passwords for his Google and GitHub accounts to ensure someone can maintain the project after he's gone.
* Many open source software pioneers from the 1990s and early 2000s face a challenge in ensuring the future of their projects as they age.
* Loris Degioanni, CTO and founder of cybersecurity firm Sysdig, notes that while some open source projects remain relevant over time, founders and maintainers often struggle to pass on responsibility.
* Ensuring a steady supply of fresh developers is a key issue, particularly with many young developers not being attracted to unpaid work in the open source community.
* Technology barriers also exist, including the use of older coding languages like C, which are no longer widely used in the commercial world.
* Solutions include adopting newer programming languages like Rust and using plug-ins that allow new functionality to be written in different languages.
* Foundations can oversee projects, but they still face the issue of ensuring a steady supply of fresh developers.
* Encouraging younger people to participate in open source is essential, with foundations considering ways to show that contributing can be career-enhancing.
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