

Ask HN: Which open source project should I contribute to? - digamber_kamat

I am an ordinary programmer with deep interest in PHP, Python and JavaScript. Whenever I get bored I like to write code. I realized that if I spend my free time helping some open source project in above three technologies I will be helping the world be a little better place.<p>But then where should I look? I am not sure if I can contribute something big but I am sure capable of fixing a bug here and there, writing a jQuery plugin useful to someone and so on.<p>Problem is not lack of skill or time but lack of ideas. How exactly should I go abotu contributing to an open-source project?
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jcr
Wanting to reciprocate in some way to the open source projects you benefit
from is natural, but the reality of the matter is far from obvious. Unless you
are truly interested and fascinated by the code, you won't keep at it. The
time and effort invested by the other project developers in your education
will eventually be wasted when you lose interest. It might not be a complete
waste since you might actually make some useful contributions, but all healthy
projects are looking for long term contributors.

I hate to say it, but if you knew of a project with code that fascinates you,
then you would not be asking this question, instead, you'd be working on it
right now because it's fun.

With that said, the easiest way to get started in any project is just start
fixing bugs and submitting your patches. Everyone loves bug fixes, even if you
do them wrong the first time and need to redo them. In other words, it's your
effort and dedication that shows through and is important. You don't need to
be the world's greatest programmer or the resident expert of a codebase, but
you do need to keep trying, and you need to be able to listen to feedback and
learn from it (even if harsh).

Lastly, there's always more things to do to help a project than people to do
them. Though a project _IS_ code, you can always find other ways to contribute
if you use your imagination and put in some effort.

~~~
angryasian
@jcr agree. If you have to ask, then you probably won't stick with anything
that anyone suggests. Doing development on an open source project is like
another job, and if its not something you enjoy doing or is a hobby for you
then you will end up not sticking with it.

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plunchete
Here you have a list of PHP + Python + JavaScript Open Source projects
<https://www.masterbranch.com/javascript-php-python-projects> (Disclaimer: I'm
the co-founder of the site).

As others said, one way to start contributing is ask on the mailing list.
Maybe you can start askin / answering some questions, being active and
offering you to do some minor bugs or documentation (this is a good start). if
you feel confortable and you have been doing a good job you will be able to
continue with your contributions.

Also, the most important part is: have fun, try to pick a cool project,
something that you enjoy and start from there.

Last but not less, good luck with that

~~~
digamber_kamat
This is really cool. I really wanted something like that.

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sathishmanohar
Most Open Source Project use version control systems/Source code management
system to track the code base. Do you have experience in using them. I found a
bug in miro few months back, and wanted to patch it. They managed their source
code with Git, So, I ended up learning some important things in Git.

So, Also make sure you have knowledge about VCS like Git, Subversion under
your belt.

~~~
digamber_kamat
yes, I am proficient with GIT.

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lrvick
I have several I need help with. I am a part of a team building an open source
social search engine framework in python/javascript to compete with the likes
of radian6 and socialmention.

Contact me at lance@lrvick.net if interested :-)

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arkitaip
Check each project's bug tracker and see what you can fix.

