Fall 2012 DPI908/SBR600 Weekly Schedule

Tentative Schedule - Fall 2012
Please note that the schedule here is tentative. Week-by-week details will be added as the course progresses.

This is the Fall 2012 weekly schedule for the DPI908 and SBR600 courses.

Previous semester: Winter 2012 SBR600 Weekly Schedule

Week 1 - Introduction

Wednesday (September 5)

Welcome

• About this course
• Introductions

Intro to DPI908/SBR600 - Software Build & Release

• Brief overview of the Build & Release process
• Introduction to the Fedora Project
  • Fedora Project
  • Fedora ARM Secondary Architecture project at Seneca and at the Fedora Project
• Course Layout
  • Project-based course
  • Working with Open Source
  • Working with the Fedora Project
  • Course Outline
  • Course Outline
• How this Course Works
  • DPI908/SBR600 Communication Tools
  • How coursework is submitted
• Differences between DPI908 and SBR600
• Future
  • Winter 2013 Semester
    • Project continuation course
  • Upcoming Events
    • Free Software and Open Source Symposium 2012
    • FUDCon Lawrence 2013

To Do

By Monday, September 10:

1. Communication Lab
2. Fedora Installation

CDOT Wiki Issues
There is an issue with some email sent from the CDOT Wiki system to MySeneca email accounts. This will prevent important e-mail such as initial temporary passwords, e-mail confirmations, and password resets from being received. This issue is currently being examined by Seneca ITS and we expect a resolution soon. The deadline for the communication lab is being extended due to this issue.

Week 2 - Building from Source & RPM Packaging

Monday (September 10)

Using make

• Make and Makefiles

Building from Source

• Obtaining source code
• Configuring the build
• Performing the build
• Testing the build
• Installing the built software

RPM Packages

• Differences between managing RPMS and Installing from Source
  • RPMS provide a database of installed software
    • Let you determine what's installed
    • Automatic management of dependencies
    • Identify the origin of files
    • Permit easy update or removal
    • Enable you to verify installation (useful for spotting file corruption and intrusions)
• Contents of an RPM Package

The RPM Database

• Querying the RPM database

Using SSH

• Using SSH - a Review
  • Using public/private keypairs
  • Passphrase protection
  • Keyrings

Resources

• Two simple makefile examples
• Fedora Package Maintainers page
  • Packaging How-To
• Fedora Linux chapter 5 (see Seneca Library website > eBooks > View All > Safari > Fedora Linux).
• rpmlint
  • Fedora Common Rpmlint issues

To Do

By Wednesday, September 12:

1. Build-from-Source Lab
2. Send your SSH public key to your professors so they can create accounts for you on the CDOT Development Systems.

Wednesday (September 12)

Creating an RPM Package

• RPM Packaging Process

To Do

By Monday, September 17:

• RPM-Writing Lab

Week 3 - Mock and Koji, Signing and Repos

Monday (September 17)

Mock

Mock is a tool which builds a package using rpmbuild in a 'cleanroom' environment. This has several advantages:

• it tests the completeness of the BuildRequires in the spec file
• it avoids the installation of a lot of tools (BuildRequires) on the main host system
• it permits different tools and tool versions to be used for the build than are installed on the host (e.g., building for F18 on an F16 system)

Background information on using Mock:

• Using Mock to test package builds

Using Koji to Test on Multiple Architectures

• Using Koji

To Do

By Wednesday, September 19:

1. Mock Lab
2. Koji Lab

Wednesday (September 19)

Signing and Creating a Repository for RPM Packages

To Do

By Wednesday, September 26:

1. RPM Signing Lab
2. Repo Creation Lab

Week 4

Monday (September 24) and Wednesday (September 26)

Project Selection

This is a project-based course. These projects involve participation in an open-source community.

• Projects are listed on the SBR600 Potential Projects page.
• Select two or three projects that are of interest to you.
  • Do some initial research into what the project involves.
    • Find out who to talk to in the community (start with the initial contacts listed on the project description)
    • See what work has already been done related to that project. Check the Seneca wiki for work by previous SBR600 semesters, the upstream project's wiki and mailing list archives for information about the current state of the project, and the web for related information (similar projects being done by other groups).
    • Join the mailing lists and IRC channels of the upstream community.
  • Update the Winter 2012 SBR600 Participants table with your project information, according to the instructions at the top of that page.
• On Thursday we'll sort out project conflicts.
• Your professor will approve your project selection via the participants page.
• Link your project title on the participants page to a page of the same name to create a project page. Copy the contents of the Sample Project page to your project page and fill in the details.

This week, finalize your project plans and get started on your project:

• The project page must be filled in, including your 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 targets. Ensure that you have a link from the Projects column of the Fall 2012 DPI908/SBR600 Participants table to a page for your project; use the Sample Project template for your project page, and fill in as much detail as possible.
  • Release 0.1: Proof of concept (e.g., a first draft of a package, a basic script, infrastructure set up on a test system) - Note that this must include the release of something, not just research, and must be done in consultation with the community.
  • Release 0.2: Initial working state - Whatever you are working on -- package, script, infrastructure configuration -- should be working, although it may not be feature-complete, fully deployed, or fully documented. Feedback from the community should be solicited. If there is a review process required to submit upstream, it should be started.
  • Release 0.3: Completed working state - The work is complete and documented. Any upstream review, whether formal or informal, has been completed, feedback has been incorporated into the project, and the work has been committed to the appropriate repositories (or released in an appropriate manner).
• You must have a strategy in place for reaching your targets.

Be prepared to give a professional, detailed, but very brief (2- to 4-minute) presentation on your project plan. Include:

• Your approach to the problem.
• Contacts and resources you've identified.
• Your plans for each release. Note that at each release you will be expected to actually release something -- an RPM, a script, test results -- as appropriate to your project. Identify what you are intending to release at each stage:
  • 0.1 Release - proof of concept
  • 0.2 Release - initial functionality
  • 0.3 Release - tested and usable
• Challenges and potential pitfalls that you have identified, and your approach to mitigating those challenges so that you can complete your project on time regardless of things beyond your control.
• Time for a brief Q&A/Feedback session at the end.
• During your presentation, you'll

To Do

• Prepare your project page and project plan presentation.

Week 6

Note: Monday is the Thanksgiving Day Holiday.

Week 7

Monday (October 15)

Using GIT

Resources:

• http://git-scm.com/
• https://github.com/

Wednesday (October 17)

Python Primer

Python Lab

Study Week and FSOSS

• Please don't leave your 0.1 milestone work until the last minute!
• FSOSS 2012

Week 9-13

• Project work
• Schedule:
  • 0.1 Milestone: TBA
  • 0.2 Milestone: TBA
  • 0.3 Milestone: TBA

Week 9 - O.1 Release Presentation

• Please book your time slot on the presentation schedule page on a first come first server basis.
• Each presentation should take no more than 10 minutes.

Week 11 - 0.2 Release Presentation

• Please book your time slot on the presentation schedule page on a first come first server basis.
• Each presentation should take no more than 10 minutes.

Week 12 - Practical Quiz / Research Paper Discussion

Wednesday

SBR600 Only: Practical quiz

• The quiz consists of one task: you will need to update an RPM to the latest upstream version of the software. For example, if the package is foo-2-1 and there is a new upstream version 3 of foo available, you will need to produce a foo-3-1 package. It would be worthwhile practicing this task in advance.
• The practical quiz will be in T3076 (which not our normal room) so that lab computers will be available.
• Make sure that you have access to your Fedora system, either on your laptop, on a removable disk pack, or through an SSH connection to one of your computers at home. Verify your arrangements! You may want to bring a Fedora Live system on USB or DVD as a backup.
• You may use your notes and online resources during the quiz. However, you may not share information with other people during the quiz.

Solution to the practical quiz:

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9SK3rWAGsMQ?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed>

DPI908 Only: Discussion about the DPI908 Research Paper

• Meet in the usual room

Week 13 - Wrap-up

• The 0.3 Presentations are CANCELLED. Your 0.3 release is still due on December 8 at 11:59 pm.

Monday

• Guest lecture/interview with Rob Bishop, Raspberry Pi Foundation tech evangelist.
• Evening event: Raspberry Pi Hackspace Tour Toronto

Wednesday

• Wrap-up - final opportunity to get help and feedback on your 0.3 release

Guest Lecture Notes

• DPI908/SBR600 Guest Lecture-Paul Whalen-20121119