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On 10/10/2012 12:30 PM, karan garg wrote: |
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> Thanks a lot for the feedback. But I am a bit scared as this is going to |
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> be my first such experience. I have a basic knowledge about these |
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> languages, and definitely even if I fall short of the required |
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> standards, I shall learn them on the way, but it sort of is making me |
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> nervous. |
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> |
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> Can you plz explain how the procedure works if i try to enhance a |
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> software or fix a bug? |
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> Like will i be provided with a particular task? |
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> Or if i dont know something then i will be guided through that problem |
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> by your advices? |
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> Or I'l just be on my own except for where i get stuck and just be |
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> provided with the resources? |
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> |
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> My apologies for trying your patience. |
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> |
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> |
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> -- |
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> Regards :) |
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> Karan |
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> |
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Well, I suppose first and foremost, do you have a particular project in |
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mind to which you would like to contribute? |
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|
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I understand being worried about potentially not knowing what you're |
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doing and becoming overwhelmed, but for a situation like this where you |
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*want* to volunteer to do something, at some point the "want" will |
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override the fear. You just need to find the correct project and task |
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that most appeals to you! :) |
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|
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As for any guidance you may receive, it really depends on how you go |
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about getting involved. Many of the larger projects have guidelines that |
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you can follow to become comfortable with their specific coding style |
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and the way patches are accepted, etc, etc [1][2] and as long as you |
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read the pages carefully and try to adhere to their customs the main |
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devs will probably be more than happy to assist you along the way if you |
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need some clarification here and there. |
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|
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If you're more interested in helping a smaller project, then their |
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process is generally less documented[3][4] and you'll find that you can |
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form a more close, one-on-one relationship with the devs (as long as |
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their not too overwhelmed with other things) and they'll also probably |
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be happy to help you, as needed. |
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|
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Just be aware, if you want to help with the programming, then that's |
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awesome! However, just keep in mind that most devs would prefer not to |
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teach you the language the project is written in, so you most likely |
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will have a tough time at first while you're trying to understand the |
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codebase AND learn potentially foreign syntax and such. But if you're |
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determined to help out and contribute then the community will welcome |
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you with open arms. :) |
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|
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And as a side note, some devs can be grumpy and difficult to work with, |
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but they are few and far between. On the vast majority of projects, the |
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devs have a TODO that will take them years to get through so any help is |
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usually appreciated and any additional features that will make their |
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project more useful/worthwhile are appreciated, too. |
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|
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Summary/tl;dr Look for a Getting Started or Get Involved page on the |
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projects website. If you can't find one, see if there's a HACKING doc in |
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the project repository. If the project looks like something you want to |
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work on but you need help, contact the dev and let him/her/them know |
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your interested but need some help. |
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|
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HTH |
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|
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[1] http://www.libreoffice.org/get-involved/ |
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[2] http://www.gnome.org/get-involved/ |
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[3] https://github.com/ioerror/tlsdate/blob/master/HACKING |
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[4] https://github.com/memcached/memcached/blob/master/HACKING |
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