The open-source way!
Open-Source is a collaborative style of software development. It has evolved into a community of developers maintaining and contributing to projects. The buzz around open-source has only gotten wilder in the past few years. And as more people contribute to open-source, more perks come to light.
Why Open-Source
- Open-source software thrives on input from everyone; it is always up to date and evolving and, you get a chance to be a part of it.
- Because you practically implement everything, it is a great learning experience.
- Your open-source contributions are an excellent addition to your profile.
- You get to showcase your teamwork skills and be a part of this community.
- And it’s fun!¡
Where to begin
Feeling lost, especially when starting with something new, is inevitable. Here are a few things that can make finding your way into open-source smoother:
Finding a project:
GitHubs’ explore page is a great place to start looking for projects. You can also consider an open-source software you regularly use. The familiarity with its working may help you understand its current needs and give better direction to the contributions you make. Make sure the project is active by looking at recent activities. When you spot something you like-
ReadMe:
Understand the project by skimming through the documentation. Having a rough idea of the complete picture and knowing the community guidelines can help you figure out how you fit in.
Doing your part
There are multiple ways to add to these projects. If you are a beginner, look for an issue marked appropriate for your level. Although contributing to the code isn’t the only option. There are a lot of other aspects that require attention- like design, documentation. So start small if you have to.
General tips
These are some tips from seasoned contributors for open-source newbies:
Don’t break your head on something for hours- instead, ask someone in the community after a few initial tries.
Rather than understanding the entire codebase, only focus on the code concerned with the issue you choose.
Organizations appreciate pull-requests reviews and issue investigations. They prefer closing old issues over the addition of new features and such. This might not give you a green square but is appreciated by the community and relevant to your learning.
Every organization has a different workflow and contribution guidelines, depending on the ease of the maintainers. So, it’s best not to stick to generalized guidelines from other sources.
If you are intrigued and want to start contributing, we have an open-source festival running- Spooky Blinders. There are projects in a variety of domains for everyone- beginners and pros. Take a look at those projects here.
References:
by Ishwari Garge
