Entering ispcp Development: Where to start

[kilburn]

Quote:I'd like to invest some of my spare time helping with development of ispcp.

Great and welcome!

Quote:I haven't yet worked on any opensource project at all, but read here that you'd appreciate it if interested people send in patches for certain bugs/problems/features. That means one could start working on standalone problems and don't need to know how one bug fits into the project as a whole.

Yes, this is the usual way to get involved in an opensource project because of two main reasons: (1) You start getting in touch with the architecture, style, etc.. of the project while accomplishing specific things, so it's not just "lost study time". Additionally, (2) we get to see how you work and make sure that you are a responsible developer, taking care of your contributions not breaking other things, etc.. before having to give you commit access to the public repository.

Quote:So now I'm here willing to help where I can but don't know where to start.
Would someone be so kind and shoot me a hint on where to start or just a rough outline how to find out myself.

What kind of bugs are good to get into the project (more the frontend things or should I better start off getting deep into the backend, the daemon or things like that)?

You've already started by writting this post! Now, the specific area from where to start is dependant on your skills. Are you mostly a web developer? If so, you could help me getting the new theme ready for the next major version. Are you mainly a php guy? Then gui-related stuff is your natural spot to start. Are you a perl gurú? Get ready for some backend work! Do you prefer the system administration area? Revise the current service configurations and search for possible improvements there...

Quote:Does every main developer have a certain part of the project they specialized on and work themselves through or do you all do everything?
How do free developers like myself fit in there?

We don't have a clear rule about it. In general, each dev works on whatever he/she wants to, but as we are not that much and know each other skills, the usual procedure is to discuss with the other relevant devs before implementing/modifying something. The forum is a great place to ask for questions or make proposals when you don't know whom to address them yet

Quote:These Questions are thought to give you an idea of what I'd like to know and the answers will help me getting started. You don't need to answer them if you think you can give me better advice otherwise.

All your questions are relevant ones if we want to attract developers, so IMHO there should be a full document answering them (among other things) in the documentation. Let's see if someone takes the lead... hehe

Quote:Thank you in advance for devoting your precious time for my silly questions

Welcome aboard, and above all try to have fun while contributing!