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List:       kde-devel
Subject:    Re: Developing at ten?
From:       Frans Englich <englich () kde ! org>
Date:       2006-04-30 17:13:46
Message-ID: 200604301713.46430.englich () kde ! org
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On Sunday 30 April 2006 16:20, Allan Sadun wrote:
> I would like to start developing for KDE, and I can't figure out if I can,
> and if so, how I can. I've read the "How to Help" page, and it hasn't
> really helped me. This dilemna has lead to a lot of questions; can anyone
> answer them?

Will, Heiner and Kevin have given great answers. What I would recommend is to 
simply get an development setup up and running, and find your way around that 
-- it can be daunting enough. KDE consists of so many files, directories and 
complex build systems that gettings this done is a huge effort in itself.

Also, you don't necessarily need to program in order to help, there are tons 
of other ways. For example, help with keeping the bug database clean is 
always appreciated(bugs.kde.org). This means reading a report, try to 
reproduce the reported behavior, close/confirm reports, etc. Learning C++ can 
be tough, so getting customized with KDE, its customs, getting to know 
people(etc), with things like the bugzilla could be a good start.

Documentation is also needed, in several ways. For example, application 
documentation(the one found in KHelpCenter, or menu Help->Application 
Handbook), or code documentation, the Doxygen comments found in *.h files. 
Your English is just fine, better than mine, so you would be excellent at 
that.

> 0. Is this the right place to ask these questions?
> 1. What do I need to know?
> 2. What applications/languages should I use?
> 3. What part of KDE should I work on?
> 4. Am I too young to start developing? (I'm only 10)
> 5. How much experience do I need?
> 6. Do I write .diff files, .cpp files, both, or others?

In your svn checkout, edit the C++ files, and enter `svn diff` which will 
produce a diff, containing your changes. For example `svn diff > 
myChanges.diff` will put your changes in the file myChanges.diff, which you 
can attach to a mail.

> 7. When I'm done, how do I get it into KDE?

As described by Will you'll probably start off by sending your changes to this 
list and others will commit it for you. Later on you'll get an SVN account 
yourself. This means you can write `svn commit` in your svn checkout, and 
your changes(the diff) will be sent to the repository directly.

> There was another question, but I can't remember it.

Just keep them coming :)


Cheers,

		Frans
 
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