On Fri, 15 Jan 2010, William Hamilton wrote: < > < > Open Source can I think be more satisfying than simply editing a config < > file to run the work of someone else. < < One of the most satisfying things I've done was report a minor bug in Rockbox. < < Essentially, a malformed audio file would cause the iPod Mini hardware to lock < up entirely. Not a common problem as the file didn't conform to specification, < but not impossible for people to replicate without realising. < < I submitted a bug, we worked out what the problem is and someone wrote a patch < to handle this behaviour, making sure that this type of file would never crash < another iPod Mini ever again :) < < Such a small thing, but I have that satisfaction that I have Made Things < Better. I agree: the most effective way to support foss is through *good quality* bug reports. See: http://www.debian.org/intro/help Although I contribute in a minor way to an open-source computer algebra system, the most useful service I provide to foss is by filing bug reports. The truth is that coding is easy but coding well is *extremely* hard. If you really want to code for a foss project, I'd suggest you invest time in becoming a knowledgeable user, lurk on the mailing list/help forum to pick up info that only the developers and insiders know, play around with the code, and after all that, maybe think about trying to 'fix' a minor outstanding bug. And after you've submitted a patch, be prepared for your little baby to be shredded, ignored, ridiculed and/or rejected by the developers. (On re-reading that paragraph, it sounds discouraging, but I don't mean to be. When you finally get to contribute some code to a project, the feeling really is quite nice. That's because of all the effort that's gone into it.) Leo -- The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can find the EdLUG mailing list FAQ list at: http://www.edlug.org.uk/list_faq.html
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