Gentoo Archives: gentoo-dev

From: Robert Welz <welz@×××××××××.de>
To: gentoo-dev@l.g.o
Subject: Re: [gentoo-dev] Re: how to become a package maintainer
Date: Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:46:27
Message-Id: 6A10EF10-DF2D-4985-A627-907F2711B9ED@fixe-post.de
In Reply to: [gentoo-dev] Re: how to become a package maintainer by Duncan <1i5t5.duncan@cox.net>
1 Am 24.10.2009 um 14:44 schrieb Duncan:
2
3 > Robert Welz posted on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 10:42:48 +0200 as excerpted:
4 >
5 >> I am a gentoo user and software developer for a quite a little
6 >> while. I
7 >> found out that I have some spare time and I like to prepare myself to
8 >> become a package maintainer.
9 >>
10 >> Are there any links that provide volunteers with the neccessary
11 >> know how
12 >> of how to maintain a project? I have some money to buy a dedicated
13 >> machine, preferrably an AMD 64. Projects could be something in C++
14 >> combined with networking or PHP/Perl stuff.
15 >>
16 >> Just in case I decide not to volunteer for private reasons these
17 >> papers
18 >> may be beneficial for others, too.
19 >
20 > http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/devrel/handbook/handbook.xml
21 >
22 > That's the Gentoo developer handbook, which is a good place to get a
23 > feel
24 > for what's involved at that level. Note that there's both the formal
25 > Gentoo dev political process documented and Gentoo technology
26 > (ebuilds,
27 > eclasses, metadata, common mistakes, etc) guides.
28 >
29 > Generally, the idea is to start on something small and work with the
30 > current devs. Once they know you, the rest more or less comes
31 > naturally
32 > over time. Know that there are many who ultimately don't make /
33 > that/ big
34 > a commitment, but who have time to help with the smaller stuff
35 > that's the
36 > first steps toward full developership anyway.
37 >
38 > The bug-day Saturdays are a great way to get started. Or choose an
39 > area
40 > (Gentoo project) you're interested in, hang out here and/or on the IRC
41 > dev channel and/or the the individual project lists and/or channels,
42 > follow the bugs for that project, help comeup with and test patches,
43 > etc.
44 >
45 > Many of the projects have testing overlays where stuff that's not
46 > ready
47 > for the main tree is worked on. Java has a big one, as does KDE, both
48 > with a lot of help from non-(gentoo-)dev project testers, many of
49 > which
50 > have commit rights to they project overlays. There's also the
51 > experimental projects, or projects that started that way, that are
52 > headed
53 > toward merging into the Gentoo mainstream now. Gentoo-prefix,
54 > devoted to
55 > making it possible to install Gentoo packages in a user's home dir
56 > or the
57 > like, on Linux or other platforms, is a big one that's headed toward
58 > merge at this point.
59 >
60 > Another way to start if you have specific applications you are
61 > interested
62 > in is with proxy maintainership if a package is in the tree, or the
63 > Sunrise overlay, for packages not yet in the tree. A proxy maintained
64 > package has a non-(gentoo-)dev doing much or all of the real work, bug
65 > fixing, etc, working closely with a full Gentoo dev (or project/herd
66 > if
67 > it's herd maintained) doing the final commits to the tree but often
68 > little else, at least once the relationship has been established. The
69 > Sunrise overlay is for packages not yet in the tree, but that have
70 > various Gentoo community users maintaining them. There's a few Gentoo
71 > devs that work with them, helping them get the packages into full
72 > Gentoo
73 > shape, so ultimately, if a dev finds the package useful, they can
74 > bring
75 > it into the main Gentoo tree where it may continue to be proxy
76 > maintained
77 > by the same community user. Of course, there's more packages than
78 > devs
79 > to maintain them, so not all packages ultimately make it into the
80 > tree,
81 > but Sunrise is there for them as long as there's someone in the
82 > community
83 > interested in doing the maintaining at that level.
84 >
85 > The various arch teams have arch-testers (ATs) as well. These guys
86 > help
87 > the devs on the arch teams test packages for keyword stabilization,
88 > etc.
89 >
90 > Don't forget the Gentoo Documentation Documentation project as well.
91 > They could certainly use some help from someone willing to learn the
92 > way
93 > Gentoo handles its docs and get their hands dirty helping to maintain
94 > them. There's always documentation updates that could be done! =:^)
95 >
96 > Many, probably most Gentoo devs come in thru one of these paths,
97 > starting
98 > out working with a project in an overlay or with a proxy maintained or
99 > sunrise package, or as an AT. Other quite active users at that
100 > level are
101 > content to stay active at that level without ever becoming full Gentoo
102 > devs for whatever reason (time, politics, whatever). Either way, they
103 > can rest well, knowing they're filling a vital role in the Gentoo
104 > community, and thru it, the larger free/libre and open source software
105 > community.
106 >
107 > --
108 > Duncan - List replies preferred. No HTML msgs.
109 > "Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
110 > and if you use the program, he is your master." Richard Stallman
111
112 Thank you very much for the explanation. It is a very very helpful
113 introduction. I will start work now and when winter is over, lets see if
114 I have found a project which fits to me and my work experience.
115
116 At the moment I work for a Company in Mannheim which does a Linux and C
117 ++
118 based server which is very intelligent and once configured quite slick.
119
120 My own preferences, which started as a hobby during studies to become a
121 Mathematc/Physics teacher is web server with a centralized email
122 system but
123 redundant accounting. LDAP was intergrated after a complete study,
124 Postgres
125 is my favourite database. I don't like MySQL (but I don't hate it).
126
127 I am medium expert in WxWidgets, becourse I started writing C++ software
128 after reading a lot about C++, STL. My favourite computersystems are
129 my MacPro
130 and my 2 Linux server, one hardend gentoo and one vhost. I think I get
131 a little
132 tux@home Mini ITX for development and I am looking forward too see you
133 again here
134 once I finished with my training.
135
136 regards,
137 Robert