Andy Armstrong wrote:
Where might a volunteer start?
I also promised Yuval that I'd refactor Test::TAP::Model to use
Test::Harness 3.00 - so to some extent I've answered my own question -
but I'd like to get my hands dirty with Parrot proper too.
There's a tricky spot at the very beginning where you need to learn just
enough about the internals to solve one problem/accomplish one task.
From there, it's just a matter of expanding your knowledge outward to
accomplish the next task. We don't have an exact science for getting new
contributors through that first bit. Even excellent documentation (which
we don't have yet), isn't quite enough to carry contributors from
"thinking" to "doing".
What seems to work the best is if you pick a task or problem that's
interesting to you, for whatever reason. The interest and curiosity
keeps you motivated through the first task. Everyone's different, so the
tasks that interest you won't be the same as the tasks that interest me
or the next new contributor. Sometimes at hackathons I've gone through
the ticket queue with new contributors until I see their eyes light up
at a particular task. I know that's where they should start.
Coding is just a little bit zen. "Programmer who can catch a fly with
chopsticks can accomplish anything."
Allison
