Contributing to open source
- 2. • What is open source? • How to contribute • My experiences
- 3. About me
- 4. What is open source?
- 5. Literally means: The source code is published with a license potentially allowing modification and distribution of the code Usually means: The code is written collaboratively on GitHub
- 6. Free as in beer? Free as in speech? "Open" means free
- 7. A few examples Linux Firefox Free Code Camp React JS FontAwesome
- 8. For the author/maintainer: • Lots of testers and people reporting bugs • Anyone can fix bugs and add features • More people will use and know how to use the project • Interact with users/developers through GitHub • Great for recruiting Pros of open source
- 9. For the developer/user: • You can fork and modify the code however you need • You can rely on this code even if the company creating it goes out of business • Development progress is transparent on GitHub • Improve your reputation by contributing Pros of open source
- 10. Cons of open source For the author/maintainer: • It’s hard to build a business around open source • Very time-consuming if it isn’t your full-time job • People expect a lot from you (e.g. free support)
- 11. Cons of open source For the developer/user: • You can’t necessarily expect support from the authors • If the project isn’t backed by a company, it can stop suddenly
- 14. Choosing a project • Contribute to something you use • Fix a bug or add a feature • Merge a fork "upstream" • Start your own • Look at a list of open source projects• Look at a list of open source projects
- 15. Contributing to something you use Why something you use? • You’ll understand what the project is supposed to do and why • You’ll be familiar with the API (which parts are good vs. bad) • You’ll have concrete test cases in your existing work • You’ll be meticulous in your contributions, since you’ll use them • You can have well-informed conversations with contributors
- 16. Contributing to something you use How to get started • Just jump in and start reading the codebase • Fix a small bug or add a small option to a feature • Try something more challenging (e.g. big feature) • Inform the authors on GitHub • Discuss the task in detail
- 17. My experiences
- 18. A few projects I’ve contributed to React Native CodeMirror FramerJS A few projects I’ve created Deco IDE React Native Express React Native Web Player
- 19. Let’s take a look…
- 20. That’s all, good luck! @devinaabbott Questions, comments, etc