Getting started in open source at Wookie (was Re: Hello World!)

[Ross Gardler <ro...@googlemail.com>]

2009/12/6 Gunith Devasurendra <gu...@gmail.com>:
> Hi,
>
> I'm an absolute n00b for Opensource, but has been getting my hands dirty
> with Java for last 2 years or so...
>
> I wanna help out! Where can I begin? :)

Welcome.

The usual response to such a request is to find something you want to
work on and get working. However, you come at a good time. The ASF is
just starting up a new mentoring programme which makes this much
easier for you. Assuming you have arrived here at Wookie because you
think the project sounds interesting and/or useful then I'd be willing
to act as a mentor for you.

The first task is to understand what the mentoring programme is, which
itself is pretty hard as it is brand new and not fully defined yet.
You can help us figure out how to run it by being one of our early
mentees. Details about the mentoring programme can be found at
http://community.apache.org/mentoringprogramme.html

The first lesson is to always use informative subject lines in your
emails, i very nearly deleted your mail as spam, but something made me
open it at the last moment. Lucky really. I've changed the subject
line for you in this reply.

In order to get a feel for the kinds of projects you could do here I
suggest you look over the Wookie issue tracker
https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/WOOKIE to see if there is
anything you think you would like to tackle. In particular, I'd
encourage you to look at the issues relating to passing the W3C tests,
but don';t feel you have to pick one of those.

Another route is to install wookie and have a play. Is there anything
you think is lacking in Wookie as it stands?

What about building a widget do do something to demonstrate the
features of Wookie?

Once you have a feel for what you want to do you can choose to either
just get cracking, in which case go as far as you can with the
documentation we have and the code in SVN. Once you hit a wall post a
mail to this list describing the problem you face, what you have tried
and what you want to happen and we'll do our best to help you.

I'm looking forward to helping you find your way in open source here at Wookie.

Ross

Re: Getting started in open source at Wookie (was Re: Hello World!)

[Ross Gardler <ro...@googlemail.com>]

2009/12/6 Gunith Devasurendra <gu...@gmail.com>:
> Let me start off by saying WOW! Never thought I would get the opportunity to
> work, better yet Mentored by, a VP of ASF... I am truly flattered and
> grateful!

All the VP title means is that I get stuff done. It doesn't mean I'm
important in any other way. That's one of the great things about the
ASF - we really are all equals. Without folk like you to help get
things done, folk like me would not be here.

> Let me just tell a bit about myself, I'm Gunith from Sri Lanka and I work
> full time as a Java programmer. I participated in Apache Asia Roadshow held
> in Colombo, just yesterday and got the chance to meet and talk to Justin and
> Greg! That's one of the main reasons why I'm here!

Excellent, we love it when hard work, such as the roadshows, generates
real interest.

> I went through the page about mentoring program and I'm excited in
> joining... I guess its still a blur some of the details, such as, what's
> meant by a 'project' (I'm assuming the project has a granular meaning than a
> software project such as Wookie) and the location of the wiki.

Yes, "project" in this context is confusing. Your assumption is
correct. The "project" in the sense of mentoring is the project the
mentee undertakes to complete.

We'll be happy to help you identify your project here on this list
once you have a feel for the place.

Ross

Re: Getting started in open source at Wookie (was Re: Hello World!)

[Gunith Devasurendra <gu...@gmail.com>]

Hi Ross and the team,

Let me start off by saying WOW! Never thought I would get the opportunity to
work, better yet Mentored by, a VP of ASF... I am truly flattered and
grateful!

Let me just tell a bit about myself, I'm Gunith from Sri Lanka and I work
full time as a Java programmer. I participated in Apache Asia Roadshow held
in Colombo, just yesterday and got the chance to meet and talk to Justin and
Greg! That's one of the main reasons why I'm here!

I went through the page about mentoring program and I'm excited in
joining... I guess its still a blur some of the details, such as, what's
meant by a 'project' (I'm assuming the project has a granular meaning than a
software project such as Wookie) and the location of the wiki.

Thanks a lot for the initial heads up... And yes! Will definitely use better
titles for my emails in the future!!

Cheers,
Gunith

On Sun, Dec 6, 2009 at 10:12 PM, Ross Gardler
<ro...@googlemail.com>wrote:

> 2009/12/6 Gunith Devasurendra <gu...@gmail.com>:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I'm an absolute n00b for Opensource, but has been getting my hands dirty
> > with Java for last 2 years or so...
> >
> > I wanna help out! Where can I begin? :)
>
> Welcome.
>
> The usual response to such a request is to find something you want to
> work on and get working. However, you come at a good time. The ASF is
> just starting up a new mentoring programme which makes this much
> easier for you. Assuming you have arrived here at Wookie because you
> think the project sounds interesting and/or useful then I'd be willing
> to act as a mentor for you.
>
> The first task is to understand what the mentoring programme is, which
> itself is pretty hard as it is brand new and not fully defined yet.
> You can help us figure out how to run it by being one of our early
> mentees. Details about the mentoring programme can be found at
> http://community.apache.org/mentoringprogramme.html
>
> The first lesson is to always use informative subject lines in your
> emails, i very nearly deleted your mail as spam, but something made me
> open it at the last moment. Lucky really. I've changed the subject
> line for you in this reply.
>
> In order to get a feel for the kinds of projects you could do here I
> suggest you look over the Wookie issue tracker
> https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/WOOKIE to see if there is
> anything you think you would like to tackle. In particular, I'd
> encourage you to look at the issues relating to passing the W3C tests,
> but don';t feel you have to pick one of those.
>
> Another route is to install wookie and have a play. Is there anything
> you think is lacking in Wookie as it stands?
>
> What about building a widget do do something to demonstrate the
> features of Wookie?
>
> Once you have a feel for what you want to do you can choose to either
> just get cracking, in which case go as far as you can with the
> documentation we have and the code in SVN. Once you hit a wall post a
> mail to this list describing the problem you face, what you have tried
> and what you want to happen and we'll do our best to help you.
>
> I'm looking forward to helping you find your way in open source here at
> Wookie.
>
> Ross
>



-- 
Regards,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gunith Devasurendra  - ගුණිත් දේවසුරේන්ද්‍ර

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