Dear Arch Linux Trusted Users & Developers,
The intent of this mail is to apply for the role of Trusted User with the
confirmation/sponsorship of Sven-Hendrik Haase and Levente Polyak.
-BEGIN APPLICATION BLOCK-
INTRODUCTION
My name is Orhun Parmaksız and I use the name orhun/orhunp on most of
the platforms. I'm currently studying software engineering and working
as a backend developer at a social media startup. I like to work my
way through the software world by getting involved in open source
projects [0] and trying to create unique and interesting tools. It's
my hobby/job to work on Linux specific software so I can say that I'm
getting more familiar with Linux concepts in general as time goes. In
the meantime, I'm trying to get a grip on Arch Linux specific topics
like its build system since it's the main distribution that I
use/learn for years. Thus, I package & maintain the software that I
like/use in AUR [1] for experiencing different scenarios and learning
new techniques. It's also important for me to engage with the
community and get involved in events when I'm able to. One example
would be this year's Arch Conf which I recapped the things I learned
about packaging Rust applications [2]. So I'd like to keep learning
new things and be useful at the same time by becoming a Trusted User
for taking a role in AUR and maintaining community packages as every
Trusted User does. In the long term, I believe that I can contribute
to the Arch projects as I gain experience and knowledge by working in
the field.
EXPERIENCE
Although I mostly use Rust and Go recently, I have worked with languages
like C, Python, and Java in the past. I believe that the words about
"knowing" a programming language is cheap so it's strongly encouraged
to check the projects that I write with them. Since the general mantra
in software development is "learn by practice", it's likely for me to
learn a new technology by using it. Apart from those, I often write
shell scripts to manage various things in my system [3] such as the
semi-automation of releasing a new version of a package in AUR or
performing system-related trivial tasks. Briefly, I can say that I'm
fluent in Rust, Go, C, and still sharpening my shell scripting skills.
PROJECTS/CONTRIBUTIONS
I'd like to plug some of the open source projects that I wrote over
the years as a reference to the previous section:
- kmon: Linux kernel manager and activity monitor [4]
- menyoki: Screen{shot,cast} and perform ImageOps on the command line [5]
- pkgtop: Interactive package manager and resource monitor [6]
- zps: A small utility for listing and reaping zombie processes [7]
Contributing to the tools/libraries that I use is something that I do
from time to time for adding particular features or fixing specific
bugs [8]. But recently I have been contributing to the open source
projects based on my activities on AUR. Mostly I'm trying to share my
ideas and propose some fixes that I discovered while working on the
upstream [9].
HOW CAN I HELP?
I'm aiming to turn my motivation and enthusiasm in regards to the Arch
Linux project into professional and valuable contributions since I
learn fast and adapt to the changes quickly. My first step towards
that goal was to start maintaining packages in AUR and I still do due
to the fact that I feel like I should somehow give back to the
community. I think the packaging is an interesting topic and I'm
experiencing/learning new things by doing it. As for now, my
purpose is to adopt/maintain Rust, Go, C, and Python packages in the
community repository, move some of my favorite packages about
networking like gping [10] and ali [11] to there and help with the tooling
of reproducible builds.
My interactions with the packages and the Trusted Users also taught me
they are responsible for crucial tasks. And I believe that I'm at a
point in my life that I can take such responsibilities regardless of
how challenging the tasks are. I can also manage my priorities and time
well for taking a role as a Trusted User.
Although I want to help with the essential duties like keeping an eye
on AUR (reviewing requests, looking into security issues, etc.) and
maintaining packages in the community repository, I should also say
that one of my goals for the future is to develop Arch Linux specific
projects and contribute to the existing ones. I'm sure that I'll get
to the point where I have enough context and experience quickly with
the help of the rest of the team if the application succeeds. So
that's why I believe becoming a Trusted User and helping out on the
packaging issues is definitely a good place for me to start contributing
more concretely to the Arch Linux project.
SPONSORS
- Sven-Hendrik Haase (svenstaro)
- Levente Polyak (anthraxx)
[0] https://github.com/orhun
[1] https://aur.archlinux.org/account/orhun
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_g6xZ0DbJg
[3] https://github.com/orhun/dotfiles
[4] https://github.com/orhun/kmon
[5]
