It can be hard to comprehend for those not in the IT sector that they could contribute to a project and never get paid or recognized.

Contributing to open-source software can offer many benefits to software developers and engineers.

These advantages go beyond commercial goals.

Open-source contributions are a great way to improve coding abilities. Still, they also help software engineers learn new languages, SDKs, and libraries.

Participation in open-source projects can help developers develop their technical skills. Still, it also helps them expand their network, which could lead to career growth.

You may be reading this because you're interested in joining the open-source movement but need help figuring out where to start.

You are at the right place.

Open Source Software: What Is It?

Open Source Software: What Is It?

Open source projects are simply source codes made publicly available for the public to use, view, modify, and distribute under permissive licensing.

Let's take a look at a scenario in a class to illustrate this. Teachers can upload a document to a service like Google Docs.

Students can make copies and edit documents on this platform.

The teacher must approve any changes students make before they can reflect on the document.

Open source software works this way: Once it has been published, the code owner must approve and publish the changes if you want to make a change or add something.

The most successful open-source projects have been made possible by the contributions of people from all levels.

This includes not just coding but other skills such as writing and languages.

Whenever someone adds a detailed document to a project or fixes a mistake, an alert is added about possible compiler warnings, fixes a problem, etc., and they are making progress.

Brussels, February 1, 2024 - The 2024 State of Open Source Report includes the results of OpenLogic by Perforce's yearly Open Source survey, which was performed in partnership with the OSI and the Eclipse Foundation.

Combining all the small contributions of different people with different abilities can lead to great results.

Open Source: Why You Should Contribute?

Open Source: Why You Should Contribute?

Open-source projects are a great way to gain experience, learn and teach. You can contribute to open-source projects for many reasons, including:

  • Improve the software that you use every day.
  • Find a mentor if needed.
  • Learn new skills, or enhance existing skills.
  • To share your skills.
  • You can learn more about your software.
  • Build your reputation to help you grow in your career.
  • It's also fun, gives you satisfaction, and you'll never know if your future employer or partner is watching.

What You Can Do as an Open Source Developer:

  • You will be able to improve your coding skills and write clean code.
  • This helps your community, as well as peers, to get to know who you are.

    You can benefit from this recognition in many ways.

  • You can learn about the project management process and be inspired to create your own.

What Is The Importance Of Open Source Contributions To A Company?

What Is The Importance Of Open Source Contributions To A Company?

You're unlikely to find an organization that does not benefit from the open source contribution. Many large corporations even have a dedicated open-source program devoted solely to contributing to open-source communities.

While some companies are only interested in contributing to the community, a business has many reasons to contribute to open-source.

These are just a few:

  1. Access And Insight: Open source contributions give businesses direct access to those familiar with the project.

    They know where the project's heading and what the potential barriers are.

    It can be incredibly valuable to companies that rely on code, whether it's as part of their build process or commercial offerings.

    Open-source contributions are also a great way to recruit top talent, as they show that you can be paid for working on your favorite open-source project.

  2. Reducing Technical Debt: Organizations can reduce technical debt by contributing a bug fix or improving open-source projects.

    Companies that fix bugs add features or functionality to open-source projects without contributing to the upstream project rapidly accumulate technical debt.

    They also risk drifting away from their source.

    Companies that operate in an "upstream-first" manner can ensure they are replicating the source code and continue to be a major player in maintaining the health of a technology.

  3. Business Contributions: Companies can influence the direction of projects by contributing.

    Imagine that a business wants to have certain functionality in a project.

    Contributors who implement the changes can help steer the project positively.

There are many reasons why Coders.Dev is open-source, but it's not the only one. Our engineers gain knowledge and experience by engaging with the open-source community.

Collaboration and shared innovation with other companies in the industry can help solve problems faster and more efficiently than if they were to work alone.

Open source participation and contribution allow you to build more powerful platforms, which will allow you to tackle more complex issues faster.

Boost Your Business Revenue with Our Services!

Open Source Contribution Guide: Step-By-Step Instructions

Open Source Contribution Guide: Step-By-Step Instructions

Contributing to open source does not mean you have to be a coder. You can still contribute even though you're not a coder.

But having some basic coding knowledge will greatly help you and the project. You can make contributions by:

  • Add a detailed description of a particular point to the documentation for a project.
  • README files commonly refer to this.
  • Give guidance to a project or a method of using it.
  • Add sample outputs to demonstrate how code functions.
  • Write in-depth tutorials on the project.
  • Add translation to a project.
  • Answering questions on a particular project.
  • Mentoring is a great way to help another person.
  • Correct typos, and organize the work folder of your project.

Contributions can be made in many ways. What should you do before contributing to an OS?

Discover our Unique Services - A Game Changer for Your Business!

Learn Before You Contribute To An OS Project

Learn Before You Contribute To An OS Project

As we expect open-source software to differ, the same applies to communities. Every community will have its own set of rules, guidelines, and roles.

Some communities may even reward you for your contributions. We will discuss some of the common features in all OSs.

The Roles In An Os Project

We will typically have these people involved in a typical OS Project:

  • The author is the one who has created the project.

    The author has the authority to give new roles to members to maintain the project.

  • The project's owner is the person who has the administrative responsibility for the project.

    This can include the same individual as the author.

  • They are the ones who drive the goals and vision of the project.

    People who take responsibility for the project's future, and are dedicated to its improvement, tend to be the maintainers.

  • Contributors are people who contribute to the project.

    The same rules apply to code reviews, code styles, etc.

  • Users/Community Members.

    This valuable group of community members can give feedback on features and bug reports.

All OS Projects Must Include These Elements

All OS Projects Must Include These Elements

OS projects are classified in various ways, depending on their structure, the type of platform they use, what programming language is used, if it's sponsored, or if it's completely independent.

The guidelines and the information will help you to outline all this info:

License

A project that does not carry an Open-Source license is not considered open-source. This license protects both users and Contributors.

Most businesses and developers will only touch a project if it is protected. You may be wondering what to do and how to choose the right one for your project.

Readme File

It is an instruction manual on how to start a new project. The README file should include all the information a Contributor needs about the project.

You can write an effective README if you have already created a project.

Contribution Guidelines

This is a set of guidelines to help those who are contributing know what they can expect. Even though adding one is not required, it is always good to do so.

You can ask for help if you need to learn how to write one or what it involves.

Code Of Conduct

Codes of conduct outline your expectations regarding the behavior and contributions of your community members. When adopted and enforced by your community, a code of conduct can create an environment that is positive and inviting.

Creating a friendly environment where individuals and organizations can work together on Open-Source projects is important.

It would help to create a community where you can share your ideas and work together on problems. You can also use the following:

Problem Tracker

Here you can keep track of all your work and see how the development process works. If there is a problem, a developer can open an issue with a link to a Pull Request, and other developers can try to fix it.

After it is fixed, it will be closed.

You Can Also Request A Pull-Request

You can use them to let others know about the changes you have made in a repository branch. You can open a pull request to discuss the changes you'd like to make with a collaborator.

Then, add any follow-up commits that are needed before merging the branch.

Chat Channel

It's a good idea to join an OS Community Channel, even though it isn't mandatory. This channel is for sharing ideas and having conversations.

Slack, Discord, and other media are commonly used for this. Now that you know what OS projects are, you can begin to prepare for your contribution.

How do you choose which project to support?

Find An Open Source Project And Contribute

Find An Open Source Project And Contribute

There is no need for you to think too much about how you are going to do this. Think about the existing projects you use, and think of ways to improve or change them.

According to research, around 30 percent of all casual contributions consist of documentation, typo fixes, and even translations.

As we said at the beginning, we would share with you some of the open-source projects we used to help me when we first contributed.

If you're a new Contributor, which everyone is at one point in their career, here are some useful links to get you going:

  • First-timers Only
  • First contribution
  • Contributor
  • Open-source Friday
  • Pull Requests 24
  • Python project scripts
  • Hepatica
  • Code triage

You can use this quick hack in the open-source world. Issues are reported quickly and resolved. Take on a problem and work quickly on it.

What To Look For When Choosing An Open-Source Project?

What To Look For When Choosing An Open-Source Project?

Once you've found the project you want to work on, research it. You should check that the project meets these criteria to ensure it is worthwhile:

  1. Look to see if there is a file with the license.
  2. When was the last time a commit occurred? You will know whether the maintainers have been active, and you will also know how long they will need to reply to your contribution.
  3. Check the total number of contributors.
  4. How often do people commit?

It's good to see recent activity if you can. This means that the community and the maintainers are both active. If the "vetting process" passes, you can now check the other points:

  1. Are there any issues that are still open? This could be a sign of a positive outcome.

    You will know where to start.

  2. How quickly do maintainers respond to issues? How often issues are closed, and PRs combined will determine how long it takes for maintainers to respond.
  3. There is a discussion going on about a certain issue.
  4. Do you close issues regularly?
  5. What is the number of open pull requests?
  6. When was the last time you merged pull requests?
  7. Do the maintainers thank the contributors?

If this last vetting procedure passes, you can now start contributing to the project.

Boost Your Business Revenue with Our Services!

Open Source: What You Should Consider Before Going Open Source?

Open Source: What You Should Consider Before Going Open Source?

You are ready and excited to take on the OS world. But do you have a clear idea of what you should look for when choosing a project to work on? There are many ways to contribute.

Before you start contributing, it is important to know a couple of things about the particular project that you are choosing.

What Is The Programming Language Used By This Project?

JavaScript, Python, Ruby, and PHP are some of the most popular languages. but some more popular ones are JavaScript and Python.

Ruby and PHP are also very common. Find a project that suits your skills and interests.

Project Type

You will need to select the project type you want to do after choosing your language. Look around to find a project that you are interested in.

You'll be eager to contribute once you find a project. You can do this by sending pull requests. Now let's discuss that.

What Is A Pull Request?

What Is A Pull Request?

Remember that example with Google Docs? A pull request works similarly, but this time the code is involved. Pull requests are when someone submits code or documentation changes and asks the maintainer to review it, confirm that it is correct, then merge the change into the project.

How do we submit one?

How To Submit A Pull Request?

How To Submit A Pull Request?

You are in this phase if you've found a project you want to contribute to. Let's now talk about the actual submission of a pull request.

How To Submit A Press Release?

  • Fork the repository.
  • In the upper right-hand corner, you'll see "fork." Clicking on it will create a duplicate of that project.
  • Copy the project to your local machine.
  • You must install locally on your computer to complete this step.

    Refer to the documentation to learn how to start.

It will then create a local copy of your project. The first step is to commit to the changes. It's time to make changes, add new files, and push them remotely.

Let's first create a new branch. Change the print directory in your bash to your repository. Now it's time for us to make the changes.

You need to add all your changes:

  • Remote control push changes.
  • It's now time to tell our maintenance team what you have done.
  • Submit changes.

The project's maintainer will soon merge your changes in the main branch (unless you need to make changes). Once the merge is complete, you will receive an email notification.

A pull request can have some benefits, such as:

  • You can contribute to another repository without having administrative rights to change the repo.
  • This allows others to see your changes, make corrections and suggestions, etc.
  • This gives project managers control over the content added to their repo.

Your First contribution is now complete. You have completed the standard fork, clone, edit, and pull request workflow.

This is a tool you'll be using a lot as a developer! What's next?

After Your First Pull Request, What Next?

After Your First Pull Request, What Next?

This is not the end. Find more projects to contribute. Digital Ocean runs an annual open-source contribution month, where you can win amazing prizes.

Before we finish, let's talk about one more topic. It is because it rewards those who contribute.

Open Source Contribution: Benefits

Open Source Contribution: Benefits
  1. Web developers and software engineers actively participating in open-source projects can develop their problem-solving and coding skills.

    The opportunity is there to learn new technologies, languages, and frameworks.

    This will help them expand their knowledge and stay up-to-date with industry trends.

  2. Open-source projects are a great way to network with professionals around the globe who share similar interests.

    These projects allow individuals to build relationships with professionals that can result in new opportunities for employment, mentoring, and lasting friendships.

  3. A good portfolio will help you stand out in the job market.

    Contributing to open-source projects allows developers to showcase their expertise and skills, making their profiles more attractive to employers.

  4. Contributions to open source help establish developers as experts in the field.

    It increases not only their credibility but also their visibility within the industry.

Contributors to open-source projects get to understand the technology on a deeper level. They would have learned less by using it.

Your efforts can be focused on adding features and using them to benefit your business based on what has worked and not worked in the real world.

You will gain confidence and your reputation. Contributors to open-source projects gain access to the knowledge and expertise of other members.

Open-source projects provide a glimpse into the future. You can take advantage of this by doing your very best to communicate with other Contributors and contribute.

Open Source Software Contribution: The Challenges

Open Source Software Contribution: The Challenges

While open-source contributions are great, they can also be challenging for programmers. First, there is the concern about being judged by other developers.

New Contributors often fear being judged by other developers, which could reflect poorly on them or their contributions.

It's okay that your contribution was rejected. You can use the rejection to improve your next submission.

Newcomers to open-source need help understanding where, why, and how they can contribute. Find a project you are interested in, or that offers you something to learn.

This first step - choosing a project - may be the most difficult. This may be something related to your work, or it may just be something you want to do as a hobby.

Most developers do not have the time to participate in an open-source project. It is important to see software contributions as an essential task, not a side project.

It can also be difficult to convince your company or boss that the time you spend on open-source is worth it. You can make your case for open source by aligning it with your business's overall goals.

This will be easier to do if you can convince senior executives and managers who may have little time to devote to your project.

Many new Contributors are also worried that their contribution won't matter. They may learn new information but refrain from sharing it with others because they think other programmers know more than they do.

Open source relies on sharing knowledge, so developers at all levels must remember this to help their communities grow.

Get a Free Estimation or Talk to Our Business Manager!

Wrap Up

Open source, as we said earlier, is available to everyone. You can learn a great deal and take advantage of many opportunities.

You only need to start and decide. Open-source contributions can lead to many benefits, including new career opportunities.

Open-source contributions help software engineers improve their coding abilities and expose them to different programming languages and projects.

Open source development contributions help developers achieve their technical goals and allow non-coders to contribute other skills like planning events, documenting, and organizing, among others.

Open-source contributions encourage participation by people from every walk of life. It's the first step that is most difficult.

Still, you will soon appreciate how much open-source contributions can impact your career.

Paul
Full Stack Developer

Paul is a highly skilled Full Stack Developer with a solid educational background that includes a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and a Master's degree in Software Engineering, as well as a decade of hands-on experience. Certifications such as AWS Certified Solutions Architect, and Agile Scrum Master bolster his knowledge. Paul's excellent contributions to the software development industry have garnered him a slew of prizes and accolades, cementing his status as a top-tier professional. Aside from coding, he finds relief in her interests, which include hiking through beautiful landscapes, finding creative outlets through painting, and giving back to the community by participating in local tech education programmer.

Related articles