[dev] newbie developer

[Etienne Goyer]

Since nobody answered you yet, I'll chime in and give my $0.02.

Well, if you want to contribute, I would :

1. Either install a snapshot or do a CVS checkout.

2. Find a bug to solve or a feature to implement

2a. If you decide too implement a new feature, it might be worth it to
discuss it in the list first, to test water, get feedback from lead dev
and see if anybody is already working on it.

3. There is two way to do a patch.  You could make a copy of file you 
edit beforehand, and create a patch with "diff -uN file.php.orig 
file.php", or do it with CVS (this will have to be explained by someone
else).

4. Submit your patch to the dev list.  I like to prefix mail subject
with [PATCH], but this is not required.  Be prepared to be met with a
refusal or apathy.  In the case your patch is refused, ask why and
either correct your patch or argue your point.  In the case you receive
no feedback, try bumping the issue once after a day or three.  If you
still do not receive answer, maybe your patch is not worthwhile.  Keep
it in case somebody raise the issue in the list sometime in the future,
but otherwise sleep on it.

Remember to :

- Respect the project coding standard (otherwise, your patches won't be
  commited).

- Work within the framework, that is use the available classes and
  mechanism (ie : preferences).

- Monitor the dev list, and those of the app you work on.

Lastly, remember that, although you work on the project on your own
goodwill, this does not grant you any specific privileges.  The lead
devs (here, that is pretty much Jan and Chuck) make the final call.
Sometime, they may make decision that don't agree with.  I think you 
are entitled to voice your opinion and argue your point, but stay civil, 
don't drag it and respect their decisions.

That's pretty much it.  One last thing : don't do it for an ego boost,
do it for the love of coding.  The unfortunate thruth is that 
contributing to an OSS project will most likely never get you the kind 
of fame Linus Torvalds or RMS enjoy.  (however, someone who list
participation in an OSS project in his resume would go to the top of my 
list if I where an employer)

Welcome aboard !



On Tue, Jan 27, 2004 at 01:38:12PM -0600, Ben Davis wrote:
> Hi all.  I've been writing PHP apps for quite some time now,  and I'd 
> like to get involved with horde.  I'd really like to start learning the 
> framework and the coding styles.   There are a few things I'd like to 
> try and do,  -- maybe even some bounty items :-) .  The first thing I'd 
> like to do is create an authentication module for users of a smb-ldap 
> PDC, so that users and groups can be managed correctly. 
> 
> Although I'm somewhat experienced in php (about 4 years now),  I've 
> never been part of an open source project and I have no clue how things 
> work, and how CVS is used, etc..  Can anyone point me to some 
> information that will help me become more familiar with the open source 
> development model?  Or if someone's willing to just tell me in a 
> nutshell what I need to know that would be great also.
> 
> Thanks!
> -- 
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-- 
Etienne Goyer                    Linux Québec Technologies Inc.
http://www.LinuxQuebec.com       etienne.goyer at linuxquebec.com

Kernel Preemption is a bad idea. Who are the users to think their 
trivial tasks are more important than the kernel's ?