Open Source Development

Posted by Liam Molloy on November 26, 2013 in ASP.NET, C#, CSS/HTML/JavaScript

At Ancestry.com, we have many developers whom contribute to open source projects. Today I want to talk about an open source project I have been involved in, along with one of my team members Shane Burke. As contributing to open source projects is not directly related to the day to day development work at Ancestry, it provides an opportunity to give back to the community and allows developers to think outside the box, as well as contribute to something they are passionate about. Both Shane and I work on this project in our spare time.

FooBar football is an opensource collectable card game (CCG) based upon football. It is inspired by Magic The Gathering, Football Manager, FIFA Ultimate team, Match Atax and a host of other games.

Over the next few months, I plan to write a series on what the game is and how it is being implemented. Here is a quick overview:

  • GitHub used for version control
  • AppHarbor used for hosting
  • C# used for match engine development
  • Angular JS used for client development

GitHub

For version control, we use GitHub. GitHub is a web-based hosting service for software development projects that use the Git revision control system. GitHub offers free accounts for open source projects. In our day-to-day environment Shane and I use Microsoft’s team foundation server for version control so contributing to this project has allowed us to learn something new.

You can check out the current state of the project on our GitHub page:

FooBar football project on GitHub.
FooBar football project on GitHub.
Player card screen
Player card screen
Move simulator screen
Move simulator screen

 

Liam Molloy

Liam Molloy has served as director of international development at Ancestry.com since November 2013, having joined in 2010 as Senior software engineer. During his time with the company, Liam has engaged in a variety of projects, including international home pages, new user wizards, third party web records, a Facebook canvas application, agile coaching, and enabling continuous delivery and agile development practices. Prior to joining Ancestry.com, Liam was a consultant for six years at California based Vertigo, where he gained valuable experience working with companies such as Microsoft, Hard Rock, NBC and NFL. Raised in London, England, Liam has spent the past 10 years in the bay area of California, and has recently relocated to the company’s international headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. Outside of work, Liam enjoys spending time with his wife Kristi and eight-year-old boy, Palmer. He likes Mini Coopers, traveling, games (both computer and board), has made his own MAME cabinet, and has a home sports bar which he decorates with sports and music memorabilia.

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