> From: RUSHABH PARMANI > I have been receiving mails which are circulating around > but I am kind of lost. It would be great of you if you could point > me in the some direction from where I can start as > I am very keenly interested in the development of this Project > and want to participate very actively in this.
There are lots of ways to get started, but here are a few tips: 1. Look at Ant's Problem Reports at http://nagoya.apache.org/bugzilla/reports.cgi?product=Ant&output=most_doomed &links=1&banner=1&quip=0 You may start off fixing bugs, etc. This, IMHO, is a nice way to get used to Ant's codebase because to fix bugs and provide features requested as enhancements, you would have to really 'look' into the code. 2. Contribute Testcases Ant currently lacks in having enough testcases for its tasks and other classes. Refactoring can be done with confidence if there are a good number of testcases present. If you can cook up testcases, it would be a real help. This is another way to get used to Ant's codebase because to write tests that fail or pass, you would have to again really 'look' into the code. 3. Share the vision I know it can be overwhelming to peruse the mail archives trying to find out what is needed for future versions of Ant. Peter has put together a list of action items at http://jakarta.apache.org/ant/ant2/actionlist.html This list summarizes some of the features that we would like to provide in future versions. You might try your hand at some of these. You may also read the other documents at http://jakarta.apache.org/ant/ant2/ These documents contain details of what will be in place for Ant2 - the next generation Ant. If you are curious to understand the reasons behind the votes (Accepted and rejected) start searching the archives for detailed discussions on those topics - this will help you travel the right path. 4. Develop new tasks A relatively easier way to contribute is to come up with new tasks, supported by acceptable use cases. Steve's guidelines must be adhered to - http://jakarta.apache.org/ant/ant_task_guidelines.html 5. Refactor existing code When you perform the above functions, you may notice code that needs refactoring. You may want to do that too. 6. Contribute your ideas/strategies to ant-dev You need not always be contributing code. Another way to contribute to ant-dev is to share your thoughts, ideas, etc., and promoting healthy discussions. 7. Solve ant-user issues posted in mailing list When you start suggesting workarounds, you will start to think how it can be solved in a straight forward manner, thus ending up with a contribution to Ant's codebase. 8. Contribute documentation, FAQs, etc. Bear in mind that these are just a few ways to contribute to Ant. This list is by no means complete. Please also read http://w4.metronet.com/~wjm/tomcat/2000/Nov/msg00073.html and http://jakarta.apache.org/site/getinvolved.html > So it would be nice of you if you head me towards some > documentations to read about this tool http://jakarta.apache.org/ant > and also some file > names that I can read the source code from to begin with. If you choose to look at any of the above tips, you will find out the files to look at yourself. > I have downloaded the source code from the web site. > Thanks a lot, > And sorry for the inconvenience as I am new to > this list so did not know the appropriate way to > address this problem. Shoot your questions to ant-dev. That way you will not only get my opinion, but also others'. And, welcome to ant-dev :-) > Rushabh Parmani. Cheers, Magesh PS: I have copied Ant-dev so that future new comers may find this useful. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For additional commands, e-mail: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
