== Dev Week - First Steps On Contributing -- Nicolas Valcárcel -- Wed, Feb 20 ==
{{{
(01:01:06 PM) dholbach: next up is MOTU Contributor nxvl, also known as Nicolas Valcárcel :-)
(01:01:19 PM) nxvl: dholbach: thnx
(01:01:21 PM) dholbach: He will talk about First Steps On Contributing (MOTU/TODO & MOTU/TODO/Bugs)
(01:01:26 PM) dholbach: enjoy the session :-)
(01:01:34 PM) ***nxvl waves
(01:01:39 PM) nxvl: Ok, so you want to become a MOTU and start developing for ubuntu?
(01:01:45 PM) nxvl: There are many ways to start and many things to do
(01:01:50 PM) nxvl: sometimes it's hard to find bugs to work and also the places where they are
(01:01:55 PM) nxvl: i will try to show you the places where you can find them and how to work with them
(01:01:59 PM) nxvl: this will not be a technical talk, so i will not cover packaging aspects
(01:02:02 PM) nxvl: but if you have questions about packaging feel free to ask them
(01:02:15 PM) nxvl: So, let's start
(01:02:24 PM) nxvl: You want to become a MOTU?
(01:02:38 PM) InsClusoe: Yes.
(01:02:38 PM) nxvl: raise your hans if answer is yes
(01:02:38 PM) eddyMul: yes
(01:02:44 PM) Iulian: Yes
(01:02:46 PM) Solarion: surewhynot
(01:02:47 PM) dholbach: party on! :-)
(01:02:48 PM) nxvl: ok
(01:02:49 PM) nxvl: The first place you need to read is https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU/GettingStarted
(01:02:54 PM) nxvl: which has links to the most needed documents you need to read
(01:02:55 PM) ***dustinlange raises hands
(01:03:00 PM) jsauer: yeah
(01:03:00 PM) nxvl: and other usefull places to learn how to packages, the MOTU process and so on
(01:03:06 PM) nxvl: Daniel have gave a talk about the MOTU process earlier today
(01:03:13 PM) nxvl: if you missed it you can find the log here -> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MeetingLogs/devweek0802/Process2
(01:03:20 PM) nxvl: the most important of those documents is the Packaging Guide
(01:03:25 PM) nxvl: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PackagingGuide
(01:03:29 PM) Mirrado: Yes
(01:03:32 PM) nxvl: in this document you can find how the deb packages are done
(01:03:38 PM) nxvl: how you can debianize a package which isn't included on debian/ubuntu already
(01:03:46 PM) nxvl: how to patch the package to include bug fixes and new features
(01:03:52 PM) nxvl: and all what you need to become a packager
(01:03:54 PM) R1CHARD is now known as R1CHARD_jam1ng
(01:04:03 PM) nxvl: If you are interested on packaging new stuff to fully understand the packaging process
(01:04:06 PM) nxvl: you can take a look here -> https://edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bugs?field.tag=needs-packaging
(01:04:19 PM) nxvl: where you can find all the request of others to package new stuff so it can be included in ubuntu
(01:04:27 PM) nxvl: many of the reporters are the upstream developers
(01:04:52 PM) nxvl: but, what is an upstream developer?
(01:04:59 PM) nxvl: They are the developers of a project which package has been included in ubuntu
(01:05:07 PM) nxvl: for example take gnome
(01:05:23 PM) nxvl: the developers of the gnome software are the members of the Desktop Team
(01:05:37 PM) nxvl: BUT the upstream developers are the members of Gnome project
(01:06:44 PM) nxvl: So, if the reporter is the (one of the) upstream developer he/she can help you a lot as he/she knows the package well and can tell you how it builds, the dependencies and such things
(01:07:11 PM) nxvl: those are really important things because they are needed by the .deb package to work, build and install
(01:07:14 PM) nxvl: <eddyMul> QUESTION: if upstream already has a debian/ sub-directory in their code, how do we package it (can you talk more aboute "native" packages?)
(01:07:20 PM) nxvl: eddyMul: good question
(01:07:30 PM) nxvl: yes, it's called native packages
(01:07:38 PM) nxvl: but you need to be carefull with them
(01:07:59 PM) nxvl: somethimes they are packaged with the project policies, and not Ubuntu ones
(01:08:11 PM) queke: o/
(01:08:13 PM) nxvl: or packages for debian or another debian-derivate project
(01:08:24 PM) nxvl: so it maybe don't work on ubuntu
(01:08:43 PM) nxvl: if you test it and it works fine you have not much work to do
(01:09:02 PM) nxvl: just package, test it and ask for someone to upload it
(01:09:23 PM) nxvl: but as i said, be very carefull with that because they not always work on ubuntu
(01:09:57 PM) nxvl: eddyMul: does it is clear now?
(01:10:39 PM) nxvl: ok, let move on
(01:11:29 PM) nxvl: <eddyMul> QUESTION: are the packaging tools smart enough to know that some parts of the debian/ is from orig.tar.gz, and some are from .diff.tar.gz...?
(01:11:52 PM) nxvl: eddyMul: build tools doesn't work this way
(01:12:09 PM) nxvl: when you first package something there is no diff.tar.gz
(01:12:41 PM) nxvl: you only have a orig.tar.gz and then they create the diff.tar.gz
(01:13:36 PM) nxvl: the diff.gz is not anything but a patch
(01:14:16 PM) nxvl: which is applied to the source (extracted from orig.tar.gz) so in practical way yes, they are smarter enought
(01:14:22 PM) nxvl:  QUESTION: what about versioning for these native debs?
(01:14:33 PM) nxvl: it doesn change anythink
(01:14:58 PM) eddyMul: nxvl: got it. thanx.
(01:15:14 PM) nxvl: sorry
(01:15:24 PM) nxvl: i?'m wrong it actually changes it
(01:15:37 PM) nxvl: you don't need to use -XubuntuY part anymomre
(01:15:42 PM) nxvl: just the upstream version number
(01:15:53 PM) nxvl: so if it is 0.8
(01:16:10 PM) nxvl: your ubuntu version is still 0.8 not 0.8-0ubuntu1
(01:16:26 PM) nxvl: BUT if you made ubuntu changes to it, you need to version it on this way
(01:16:41 PM) nxvl: ok now move on
(01:16:53 PM) nxvl: One of the hardest part i found when i start
(01:17:03 PM) nxvl: was to find the right bugs to start working with
(01:17:40 PM) nxvl: you can look at are the bitesize bugs
(01:17:44 PM) nxvl: you can fin them here -> https://edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bugs?field.tag=bitesize
(01:17:54 PM) nxvl: But what are those bitesize things?
(01:18:02 PM) nxvl: They are bugs that you can fix easy
(01:18:14 PM) nxvl: don't worry if it's not easy for you, take on count that you aren't familiar with packaging
(01:18:25 PM) nxvl: but they are bugs of easy fixing where you can practice your packaging more that focusing on the fix
(01:18:32 PM) nxvl: so they are a really good point to start with
(01:18:47 PM) nxvl: on this packages the fixes are most of them simple ones
(01:19:01 PM) nxvl: add somthing to the man pages, add some man pages and such easy things
(01:19:16 PM) nxvl: so you can only break your head with the packaging part if the fix
(01:19:26 PM) nxvl: Ok, you are having trouble and want someone to help you?
(01:19:54 PM) nxvl: there is an option on LP called "Mentoring available" (yes, the light green button)
(01:20:15 PM) nxvl: on this button (which on ubuntu LP page will take you to https://edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+mentoring)
(01:20:43 PM) nxvl: you will find a list of bug reports which someone has offered to help new contributors with
(01:20:58 PM) nxvl: so for example take Bug #174252
(01:21:02 PM) nxvl: (https://bugs.edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/libungif4/+bug/174252)
(01:21:36 PM) nxvl: you can see that in this bug sais "Mentors: Jonathan Riddell" near the white cross on the red background
(01:21:51 PM) nxvl: that means that Jonathan is offering his help on this bug, so you can work on it and ping him for help
(01:22:07 PM) Riddell: moi?
(01:22:09 PM) nxvl: <jsauer> QUESTION: Does this bitesize fixing mean to make a new package or to fix a bug inside the software/project?
(01:22:25 PM) nxvl: jsauer: fix/edit an existing one
(01:22:54 PM) nxvl: jsauer: those are real bug reports that some developers mark as bitesize as they are easy to fix ones
(01:23:48 PM) nxvl: that means that some user report it and ask us to change something but the developers realize it was easy to fix, so they mark them for the new ones :D
(01:23:56 PM) nxvl: <eddyMul> QUESTION: man pages: where can I find a guide to writing man pages?
(01:24:43 PM) jsauer: nxvl: ok now I understand, thanks
(01:25:53 PM) nxvl: sorry i had connection problems
(01:26:09 PM) nxvl: eddyMul: i not sure, but there is a graphical tool for it
(01:26:20 PM) nxvl: it?'s called manedit IIRC
(01:26:25 PM) nxvl: <InsClusoe> QUESTION: If I understood correctly, unless there is a mentoring available sign in the bug, we are pretty much on our own?
(01:26:42 PM) nxvl: InsClusoe: not that drastic
(01:26:55 PM) nxvl: you can always as on #ubuntu-motu or on the Mailing list
(01:27:14 PM) Solarion: looks good for manpages  ---->  http://www.schweikhardt.net/man_page_howto.html
(01:27:23 PM) nxvl: BUT the mentoring available means that you will have someone taking care of the fix with you as a plus
(01:27:52 PM) InsClusoe: nxvl: hmm..  thanks.
(01:28:00 PM) nxvl: but you can always ask in the IRC or the ML or in the LP bug report also
(01:28:11 PM) nxvl: <eddyMul> QUESTION: manpages: is there a "documentation" guide to it, where it talks about what should be in a man page (how detailed should the man page be, etc)
(01:28:18 PM) nxvl: eddyMul: i really don't know
(01:28:34 PM) nxvl: eddyMul: i'm not a man pages expert, but they should be something like that
(01:28:39 PM) nxvl: ok
(01:28:47 PM) nxvl: let's move on
(01:28:51 PM) nxvl: There is also a Big TODO list for MOTU
(01:29:04 PM) nxvl: you can find it here -> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU/TODO
(01:29:34 PM) nxvl: you can find there a lot of task to do, most of them bitesize ones
(01:29:43 PM) nxvl: also there is a problem i don't know why ubuntuwire is down
(01:29:49 PM) nxvl: but i hope it to be up soon
(01:30:13 PM) nxvl: you can find a lot of easy to resolve bug reports in there
(01:30:36 PM) nxvl: there are debian bugs that maybe are also present in ubuntu
(01:30:51 PM) nxvl: and we need people to check if they are also present
(01:31:23 PM) nxvl: and if it is so try to fix them or include/adapt the debian patch which may be on BTS
(01:31:45 PM) nxvl: also you can see on the bottom of the TODO wiki page a table with some bugs
(01:32:01 PM) nxvl: there are some unchecked bugs to work with
(01:32:15 PM) nxvl: the first table are bitesize ones
(01:32:27 PM) nxvl: so you can alwas take a look and work with them
(01:32:51 PM) nxvl: the table is updated every week (monday ?) so there is always something new
(01:33:01 PM) nxvl: also most of them only need a triager
(01:33:47 PM) nxvl: so don't be scared by hard bugs, you will help a lot changing their status and/or asking for more information from the reporter
(01:34:01 PM) nxvl: so that the developers can fix them easy
(01:34:11 PM) nxvl: any questions so far?
(01:35:20 PM) nxvl: ok
(01:35:28 PM) nxvl: it seems there is no questions
(01:35:30 PM) nxvl: so
(01:35:39 PM) nxvl: let's move to TODO/BUGS
(01:36:10 PM) nxvl: So, you want to contribute but you don't feel you are ready for edit code and develop bug fixings?
(01:36:35 PM) nxvl: you can find som other ways to contribute with bug reports
(01:36:51 PM) nxvl: here -> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU/TODO/Bugs
(01:37:02 PM) nxvl: (yes, if you want you can also fix those bugs)
(01:37:35 PM) nxvl: in those bug "categories"
(01:37:50 PM) nxvl: there are some that only need to check if the status if correct
(01:37:56 PM) nxvl: if it is still present
(01:38:22 PM) nxvl: or if the work in progress is actually in progress and has not been losed on his way
(01:38:28 PM) nxvl: it's called triage, you only need to take a look at bug reports and ask for information
(01:38:38 PM) nxvl: find the package to which a bug report belongs
(01:38:53 PM) nxvl: tag it or mark it with the correct Status
(01:39:04 PM) nxvl: and some other which are already fixed but the fix isn't included yet
(01:39:28 PM) nxvl: that means that someone has included a patch, but hasn't package it
(01:39:57 PM) nxvl: (yes this happends, my first contribution was a patch of the source which i didn't package)
(01:40:05 PM) nxvl: so you only need to deal with packaging
(01:40:20 PM) nxvl: other way to contribute is to ping upstream
(01:40:39 PM) nxvl: you need to keep in mind that upstream knows theirs packages well
(01:40:52 PM) nxvl: so they will maybe find the best solutions for bugs
(01:41:07 PM) nxvl: so you can not fix the bug but report back to upstream
(01:41:23 PM) nxvl: or to the debian maintainer by filling a bug on BTS
(01:41:56 PM) nxvl: and this way you help to resolve a bug without coding nothing
(01:42:31 PM) nxvl: also you need to coordinate always with upstream because maybe they have already fix this bug or they are working on some patches for it
(01:43:02 PM) nxvl: so try to avoid the duplicity of efforts and ping them
(01:43:21 PM) nxvl: LP has also an option to link upstream bug reports to the LP one
(01:43:48 PM) nxvl: please use it as much as you can so it's easier to find if upstream has something to say about the report
(01:44:26 PM) nxvl: but be carefull, don't report everything, there are some reports of ubuntu and nothing else that ubuntu
(01:44:52 PM) nxvl: so be carefull and check if it's also present on upstream, it may not be
(01:45:00 PM) nxvl: ok
(01:45:06 PM) nxvl: is there any questions?
(01:45:17 PM) nxvl: or something you want to know i haven't talk about?
(01:46:04 PM) nxvl: are you alive?
(01:46:19 PM) ***eddyMul thinks he's alive
(01:46:32 PM) nxvl: heh now i feel less lonely :D
(01:46:57 PM) Iulian: I think this one is pretty easy to understand.
(01:47:05 PM) Iulian: So, no questions from me.
(01:47:27 PM) InsClusoe: am here as well.... Picked up a bite sized bug.  :-)
(01:47:40 PM) Iulian: Heh, already?
(01:47:43 PM) Iulian: That's great!
(01:47:44 PM) nxvl: ok
(01:47:47 PM) nxvl: sorry i was having conection problems again
(01:48:04 PM) nxvl: mi ISP is not as good as it should be
(01:48:13 PM) Iulian: nxvl: Change it then.
(01:48:15 PM) nxvl: InsClusoe: Great!
(01:48:31 PM) nxvl: Iulian: i at work, so i can't
(01:48:39 PM) nxvl: ok
(01:48:45 PM) nxvl: so let's move to the mentoring program
(01:48:54 PM) nxvl: i thing i have already give you a lot of resource to work with
(01:49:16 PM) nxvl: when you feel you are a little more involved you can ask for a mentor
(01:49:20 PM) nxvl: (see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU/Mentoring)
(01:49:35 PM) nxvl: who will help you on your way to become a MOTU
(01:49:45 PM) nxvl: learn more about packaging
(01:49:52 PM) nxvl: and introduce you to the community
(01:50:03 PM) nxvl: BUT they won't think for you
(01:50:12 PM) nxvl: the will point you to documentation
(01:50:23 PM) nxvl: ask you to reach a goals and/or make some task
(01:50:28 PM) nxvl: and guide your way
(01:50:58 PM) nxvl: also he/she will not be your only resource of help
(01:51:34 PM) nxvl: you can always attend to the Q&A sessions, or packaging 101 that dholbach always do
(01:51:47 PM) nxvl: or ask on the #ubuntu-motu IRC channel
(01:52:03 PM) nxvl: there is always someone awake that wants to help
(01:52:14 PM) nxvl: don't feel scare of asking
(01:52:31 PM) nxvl: also you can always use the Mailling lists
(01:52:47 PM) nxvl: or put your questions on the comments of the LP bug reports
(01:52:57 PM) nxvl: there is always someone checking them
(01:53:21 PM) nxvl: well, now i have made my patch, how do i get it uploaded?
(01:53:34 PM) nxvl: there is a sponsoring process and team
(01:54:06 PM) nxvl: you only need to suscribe the ubuntu-universe-sponsors or ubuntu-main-sponsors and wait for them to check it and upload them
(01:54:43 PM) nxvl: but be patient, keep in mind that all (most?) of us are voluntaries
(01:54:51 PM) nxvl: and have other works and things to do
(01:55:02 PM) nxvl: not only ubuntu developing
(01:55:12 PM) nxvl: So i think this is it, thanks for comming and have a nice hack
(01:55:23 PM) nxvl: any one has some last questions?
(01:55:32 PM) nxvl: or comments?
(01:55:46 PM) dustinlange: how much time do you spend on being a MOTU?
(01:56:08 PM) nxvl: spend is hours in a day or as in time i'm involved?
(01:56:13 PM) Pricey is now known as PriceChild
(01:56:18 PM) nxvl: as in*
(01:56:35 PM) dustinlange: in hours a week or so - or whatever makes sense to you ;-)
(01:56:40 PM) nxvl: heh
(01:56:42 PM) nxvl: mm
(01:56:47 PM) nxvl: depend on the week
(01:56:51 PM) nxvl: i have a full time work
(01:57:04 PM) nxvl: and MOTU is just a free time hobbie if want to call it so
(01:57:25 PM) nxvl: there have been entirely weeks i haven't even check my mail
(01:57:35 PM) nxvl: and some other i spend long time
(01:57:43 PM) nxvl: but is up to you
(01:57:46 PM) dustinlange: so you can decide how much time you want to spend... ok, thank you
(01:58:15 PM) nxvl: yep, this is a free time job
(01:58:28 PM) nxvl: no ones tell you how much time you need to spend
(01:58:49 PM) InsClusoe: This might interest some ppl.. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/5-A-Day
(01:58:56 PM) nxvl: but if you say you will do something you need to do it (or try to), as you gave your word
(01:59:01 PM) nxvl: ok
(01:59:08 PM) nxvl: we have 2 minutres left
(01:59:15 PM) nxvl: and seb128 has already come to talk
(01:59:19 PM) nxvl: any last question?
(01:59:34 PM) seb128: nxvl: feel free to finish, I'm not in a hurry ;-)
(01:59:46 PM) nxvl: seb128: i have not much more to say :D
(01:59:54 PM) nxvl: seb128: just asking questions
(02:00:19 PM) nxvl: ok, so no one has more cuestions
(02:00:24 PM) nxvl: i think this is it
(02:00:33 PM) ***nxvl HUGS everyone
(02:00:35 PM) ***nxvl HUGS everyone
(02:00:46 PM) nxvl: thanks for comming! i hope it helps you
(02:00:58 PM) nxvl: oh! i was forgoting
(02:01:14 PM) dustinlange: nxvl, thank you!
(02:01:14 PM) nxvl: the MOST important thing to become a MOTU and be involved in Ubuntu is to HUG everyone
(02:01:19 PM) nxvl: we are HUGGY Developers :D
}}}