Development/Simplifying entry for new developers

Purpose of this initiative

This is an initiative started to make it easier for new developers to start to contribute to the project.

It identifies several issues which together might make contributing harder for interested developers.

The solutions will be applied to the contributing and development websites.

Workplaces

http://development.openoffice.org/tryouts/
http://contributing.openoffice.org/tryouts/

Possible issues

These are the possible problems identified:

Contributing - Programming

• The page has a strange introduction, that begins with a to do list. Maybe the user already has an idea of what he would like to do.
• The page tells the user to start building the code. The programmer should learn what it is like to develop in the community first.

Developer Types

• New users
• Existing users

New developers

• Will start at contributing.openoffice.org
• Want to know what is required of him/her
• Want to learn the basics
• Want to learn only the things that is required to do the work

Existing developers

• Will start directly at development.openoffice.org
• Want to get reference documentation
• Want to have this information close at hand

Contributing related pages

These pages may be related or interesting to new developers.

• http://contributing.openoffice.org/programming.html
• http://development.openoffice.org/
• http://tools.openoffice.org/
• http://qa.openoffice.org/issue_handling/project_issues.html
• http://qa.openoffice.org/issue_handling/project_issues.html
• http://projects.openoffice.org/accepted.html
• http://api.openoffice.org/docs/DevelopersGuide/DevelopersGuide.pdf
• http://www.openoffice.org/licenses/sca.pdf
• http://www.openoffice.org/FAQs/faq-licensing.html#usinglicenses
• http://www.openoffice.org/copyright/copyrightapproved.html
• http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/guidelines.html
• http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Getting_It
• http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Building_OpenOffice.org
• http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/To-Dos
• http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Contributing_Patches
• http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/I_want_to_be_an_OpenOffice.org_developer
• http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Building
• http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Hacking
• http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Summer_of_Code_2008/proposals
• http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Cpp_Coding_Standards
• http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Extensions_development

Pages for deletion

This initiative suggests to delete the following pages:

• http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/I_want_to_be_an_OpenOffice.org_developer

Contributing Members

Per Eriksson
Martin Hollmichel
Mathias Bauer