Software Carpentry Foundation is a volunteer non-profit organisation dedicated to teaching researchers basic computing skills since early. It teaches researchers to create purpose-built tools, whether it be a Unix shell script to automate repetitive tasks or software code in programming languages such as Python, R, or MATLAB. These enable researchers to build programs that can be read, re-used and validated, greatly enhancing the sharing and reproducibility of their research. Software Carpentry workshops started in the US in 1998 in their earliest format and have been rebooted in 2011. They have since gained international recognition being hosted by various institutions worldwide.
All Carpentry workshops are hands-on two-day training events during which the attendees gain practical skills and understanding how particular software development tools and methodologies can benefit their own work. The core curriculum taught at Software Carpentry workshops typically includes:
- automating tasks using the Unix shell
- structured programming in Python or R
- version control using Git or Mercurial.
The list is not exhaustive - all training materials are freely available under the Creative Commons - Attribution License from the Software Carpentry's lesson repository. Materials can be reused in any way you wish, without asking for special permission, provided that the original source is cited.
For more information about Software Carpentry or organising a Software Carpentry workshop in the UK, email us at info@software.ac.uk.