Last updated · 29 October 2024

Open source

At Significa, we actively embrace open source — not only do we use it, but we also contribute to it. We believe that open source drives innovation and collaboration, helping to push the industry forward. Supporting these projects is part of our commitment to giving back to the tech community and fostering a culture of sharing and collaboration.

We use open source

At Significa, a significant portion of our tech stack is built on open-source software. We believe in the robustness of open source and its role as the industry standard for application development. This model fosters community involvement, allowing tools and frameworks to evolve organically based on user needs.

While the open-source community can sometimes fragment or abandon projects, the tools consistently improve, and there’s often a suitable solution for any challenge we face. We remain cautious of shifting trends, focusing on quality software over mere popularity.

Despite typically being maintained by non-profits, the dedication of open-source maintainers is impressive, ensuring that security patches and bug fixes are distributed promptly. We've found that critical bug fixes can often be delivered faster through open-source projects than through commercial tools.

Contributing

We encourage you to get involved with open-source projects! Whenever you use a tool or framework and encounter a bug or odd behaviour, don't just submit issues — patch or implement the necessary fixes.

When you create a library or tool, share it openly with the community. Making your code publicly accessible encourages you to invest time in clear documentation, resulting in a better developer experience. This collaborative effort leads to higher-quality tools we can use across various projects, and everyone wins!

So, who owns the public code we produce? Since we allocate time for you to work on open-source projects, we expect you to do this under the Significa name. You'll always be credited using your own handle, but any libraries or tools developed during company time should be published as Significa projects.

To reinforce this, feel free to request time to contribute to open-source projects; it’s not just a side gig. We’ll ensure it’s factored into your workweek. Supporting open source is a value we hold dear at Significa.

While at it, check out our Github to see some projects we’ve shared! If there’s something on your mind that you would like to share with the team for a new project, feel free to share it with the team in one of the upcoming Developer meetings.