NRC-FOSS

Please note that candidates are strongly advised to come to our centre before taking the exam for a mock exam. We would then be able to advise whether the candidate should prepare more before taking the exam.

Basics:

The best preparation of all is to actually lead or contribute to an active open source project.

All our certifications are hands on examinations on computers running linux distributions. Although the choice of distribution is yours, you must be familiar with linux - both on the command line and with the gui interface. If you are not familiar with using linux, you should not even attempt any of our certifications. We do not insist that you install linux and the basic software you need. However you need to practise navigating the operating system and the basic commands on the shell. You also need to be familiar with downloading and installing software. The best way of familiarising yourself with a linux distribution is to use it. Just learning commands by heart from books will not help. Select the distribution you are going to use and practice using it in daily life every day. If you do not have several months experience in daily use of the operating system, you will not be able to proceed very far. Although we offer the distribution of your choice as a platform, it is advisable to stick to mainstream distributions - RPM based like Fedora, Suse, Mandriva or CentOS or deb style distributions like Debian or Ubuntu. Nothing prevents you from using distributions like slackware or Gentoo, but please do not choose them unless you really know what you are doing.

Environment:

All our certifications attempt to replicate the Open Source Development Environment. What is this? It simply means that in the real world of computer programming, you are not expected to know things 'by heart'. The whole world is at your fingertips to help you solve problems. The secret of success in FOSS programming is to know how to tap this freely available expertise. In short, you must be able to search for solutions in the shortest possible time. The best tools for this is the various search engines and IRC.

Search engines:

Just using a search engine is not enough. You must know how to give key words for an effective search. Again this is not something that you can mug up. You need to have daily practice to be able to search quickly and effectively. Further, in the short time you have available to write the exam, a randomn search will not help much. Please compile a list of sites and archives connected to the subject of your certification so that you can go directly to them and quickly search for help.

IRC - Internet Relay Chat:

IRC is another resource for quick help. But if you jump into an IRC channel for the first time and demand answers ASAP, you are unlikely to get help. Find out before hand which IRC channels are relevant to your area of interest, log on to them and get familiar with the culture of the channel and the people there. You can do this by frequenting these channels on a daily basis. Since you get to know the people there and are familiar with the environement, you will be able to obtain help easily during your certification examination.

Mailing lists:

Mailing lists are an essential resource for FOSS/OSS programming/development. Be sure that you are a member of the mailing lists in your areas of interest. Although due to time constraints you are unlikely to get help from a mailing list during your exam, regular interaction on relevant lists will enhance your preparation. Also be aware of how to search the archives of the lists in question - archives are a valuable resource. Google lists and Gmane archived lists are easy to search. But there are many lists which are archived by date or thread which are more difficult to search. If you are familiar with the various formats search will be easy.