phinds said:There IS no "the" open source. There are tons of applications, developed by different people, that are open source. Start by Googling "gnu license".
Here's one hit that is a good place to start:
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html
Arti said:Yes! I got that. We can start our contribution from gnu licenses directly ?
Gotchaa.. thanks a lot !phinds said:WHAT contrbution? A contribution is not to the GNU license, it is to a specific software application developed by a specific individual or group and you have to figure out what application you want to contribute to an contact the authors or look at their web page to see what the contribution rules are.
I am familiar with C, C++, JAVA and python(basics). I am doing my bachelors, currently. Where should I start with ? Also please guide me with my first opensource contribution. Thanks.FactChecker said:Depending on which computer languages and tools you use, there are probably web sites for users. If you are interested in an open source tool or language, xxxyyy, then Google "xxxyyy users group" and see what pops up. Working with them should give you some orientation and ideas for your own work. I am familiar with a Perl website cpan.org. I am also aware of a git repository, github.com where people share code, but I have no experience with it.
Arti said:I am familiar with C, C++, JAVA and python(basics). I am doing my bachelors, currently. Where should I start with ? Also please guide me with my first opensource contribution. Thanks.
Yes, this sounds good. Thanks a lot, this was a great help !jim mcnamara said:Go to http://sourceforge.net/ People start projects there all the time. Many projects are only partially complete. Email the project owner and find out what you can do.
This is amazing ! I loved it. Thanks a lot !fluidistic said:There are many ways one can contribute to an open source project.
For example Stockfish's project (a chess engine), became the number 1 in terms of strength due to a testing platform. Programmers can modify the code and they test on thousands of games to check whether the change was good or bad in terms of elo. This requires a lot of computing power, and anyone can share their cpu's to the task; no need to be a programmer for that.
Here are the current patches being tested: http://tests.stockfishchess.org/tests.
thanks a lot, this link is really helpful.Doug Huffman said:Wiki on FOSS history, organizations, licenses, people, software. http://freeopensourcesoftware.org/
Open source refers to software or projects that are developed collaboratively by a community of developers and made available for anyone to use and modify. Contributing to open source allows you to gain valuable experience, build your skills, and make a positive impact on the technology community.
There are several ways to find open source projects to contribute to. You can search online for projects related to your interests or skills, explore popular open source platforms such as GitHub, or join open source communities and forums to discover new projects.
The skills needed to contribute to open source will vary depending on the project. However, some common skills that are useful include programming languages, version control systems, and communication and collaboration skills. It's also important to have a willingness to learn and contribute to the community.
The first step is to find a project that interests you and read through their contribution guidelines. Then, you can start by fixing bugs, adding new features, or improving documentation. It's important to communicate with the project maintainers and follow their guidelines to ensure your contribution is accepted.
There are many ways to contribute to open source besides coding. You can help with documentation, testing, design, translation, and more. Many open source projects also have non-technical tasks, such as community management, marketing, or event organization, that you can get involved in.