So, welcome to the Linux Foundation's introduction to "Open Source Software Development, Linux and Git" Specialization. My name is Jerry Cooperstein, and I am the Training Program Director at The Linux Foundation. I won't say much about myself, other than to say that I am, by training, a theoretical nuclear physicist. I've worked with computers as far back as the 1960s, and I helped set up the training program at The Linux Foundation back in 2009. Today, we have grown to a rather large program, with a large catalog of courses, both of the instructor-led variety, virtual courses over the Internet as well, and as well as many e-learning courses. The Linux Foundation itself is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 2000, and it's the home of Linux creator Linus Torvalds. Ever since then, it has provided a neutral environment where Linux kernel development could be protected and accelerated. Linux's success catalyzed the growth of the open source community and demonstrated the commercial efficacy of open source. It has sparked countless new projects across all industries and levels of the world's technology infrastructure. Today, The Linux Foundation's work extends far beyond Linux, fostering innovation at every technology layer. We partner with the world's leading developers and companies to solve the most challenging technology problems and accelerate open technology development and commercial adoption. Our mission is to provide experience and expertise to any initiative working to solve complex problems through open source collaboration, supplying the tools to scale open source projects. This includes bolstering security, best practices, governance, operations and ecosystem development, and training such as this course. By doing so, The Linux Foundation has become the umbrella organization for many critical open source projects that power corporations across all industry sectors. The introduction to "Open Source Software Development, Linux and Git" Specialization was created to provide you with a strong foundation for working comfortably and productively in open source development communities, a better understanding of the Linux environment, as well as methods and tools required to successfully use it and supply training on using Git, the distributed version control system. This Specialization is aimed at computer users and developers already possessing experience with another operating system. But who have a more limited knowledge of working in a Linux environment, as well as at Linux users seeking to gain a good working grasp with Git. The Specialization has been divided into four courses. The first is "Open Source Software Development Methods". The second is "Linux for Developers". The third is "Linux Tools for Developers". And the fourth is "Using Git for Distributed Development". Each course uses several methods to present and solidify the learning material, including videos, readings, examples, external resources, lab exercises, graded and ungraded assessments and discussions, etc. To complete the Specialization and to earn your Specialization certificate, you will need to finish all four courses, obtain a course certificate for each course in the Specialization and pay for the Specialization. Please note there is no "capstone project". Instead, your newly acquired knowledge and skills will be assessed based on the graded assignments you submit in each course. It's required that you pass all of the graded assignments to successfully complete the individual courses, as well as the entire Specialization. To learn more about Coursera Specialization requirements, please click on the link provided below this video in the "Downloads" section. We're excited to have you in this class, and we look forward to your contributions to the learning community. Thank you.
