On Tue, Dec 11, 2007 at 11:20:39AM +0200, Allison Randal wrote: > 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.
Perhaps new contributors could make notes about stumblings blocks encountered along the way, so we know where to put signposts for others who follow. Tim.
