[LUNI] Linux Dev

[Larry Garfield]

It really depends on what it is you want to do.  

Personally, I'm a PHP developer professionally and use Drupal (GPLed PHP CMS), 
and have been working on it since before my company used it.  I'm a web guy, 
so that's where I gravitated.

Your interest may lie in that direction, or may be in desktop stuff like KDE, 
or hard-core math stuff like what goes on inside a graphics program.  

The important thing when getting involved in open source development is that 
you should work on something that you *want* to work on.  You need to want to 
make the software better for its own sake.  I'd be bored to tears trying to 
work on the Linux kernel, and so would do a horribly lousy job of it. :-)

As others have said, find a project that looks interesting, and more 
importantly has an open and welcoming community.  That makes as much 
difference if not more than the software itself.  Then start hanging around a 
bit, use the program ("thou art not thy user" is important for usability, but 
in open source if you're not using the program you won't have your own itch 
to scratch), and find some small way you can improve it.  Then do so.  Then 
when it gets rejected try again. :-)  

It's a matter of finding a niche where you feel comfortable and competent, and 
working outward from there.

Wherever you end up, welcome to the team!

On Monday 08 October 2007, Mark Stuart Burge wrote:
> I am wondering how easy/difficult it is to start developing and thus
> contributing to linux applications.
>
> Having coded z80 assembler decades ago and then Visual Basic 6, writing
> some mediocre, yet useful applications, I am wondering where to start.
>
> I bought one of those "learn to program in C++ for linux" books a few
> years ago and have been reluctant to devote any quality time to it since
> noticing that many people are now using stuff like 'ruby on rails'
> 'ajax' 'java' and C++ although standing the test of time, seems like
> machine code in comparison, since the book concentrates on building from
> scratch as opposed to working with all the libraries that are out there
> now.
>
> So, does anyone have any suggestions where I should devote my time.
>
> I would love to be able to open up the source code to some of my apps
> and find fixes, make patches, add functionality etc and finally have
> something to give back to the community.
>
> Do I start by looking into the libraries, to see what functions are
> already available to me ? or is there a standard approach to this that
> others have followed ?
>
>
> Any comments would be appreciated.
>
> Mark


-- 
Larry Garfield			AIM: LOLG42
larry at garfieldtech.com		ICQ: 6817012

"If nature has made any one thing less susceptible than all others of 
exclusive property, it is the action of the thinking power called an idea, 
which an individual may exclusively possess as long as he keeps it to 
himself; but the moment it is divulged, it forces itself into the possession 
of every one, and the receiver cannot dispossess himself of it."  -- Thomas 
Jefferson