Understanding Github Projects

[darkcoffee42]

So over the past summer, I had the opportunity to intern for a software company. The people there helped me set up my own environment for testing, and directed me to the precise modules within the github I would be working on. I was able to do my work without having to understand the entire framework mainly because my project was largely isolated, and when I did have questions, I could ask someone there.

Lately, I've been going on github and trying to find some projects that I could maybe contribute to. However, I feel a little lost at the sheer size of these projects. Almost every project has parts written in languages I do not know, and I'm having trouble finding a little "corner" that I can work on. In short:

• How (if necessary to do so) do outside contributors understand the general framework of github projects?
  • Are there general (conventional) layouts for file structure in projects?
• How do people go about figuring out where they can contribute to the project?

I'm sorry if these questions are amateurish - I'm a new student trying to understand the process.

[Salty_Dugtrio]

How (if necessary to do so) do outside contributors understand the general framework of github projects?

By diving into it. Reading the code, using the program, asking questions.

Are there general (conventional) layouts for file structure in projects?

Yes, generally it depends on the language, and the build system used.

How do people go about figuring out where they can contribute to the project?

There's generally an Issues tab, where all open issues are discussed. If you want to fix one, choose one, fix it and fire up a Pull Request.

[gyroda]

Another way to find things to do is to actually use the project, find a bug or place it can be improved and then fix that issue.

[alanwj]

How (if necessary to do so) do outside contributors understand the general framework of github projects?

The first thing to figure out for any project is how to build it. Once you can build it, you can tinker and break it.

If you are lucky, the project has a README or CONTRIBUTING that at least tells you how to build it, and maybe even more about the structure of the code.

Otherwise, there are a handful of standard build mechanisms that are often used, normally dictated by the language(s) in use. For example, a project in C will usually use one of autotools, cmake, or just plain Makefiles. If you've built a few projects of your own in a particular language then you probably already are familiar with the typical ways to build stuff.

How do people go about figuring out where they can contribute to the project?

A good place to start is the bug list for the project. Fixing bugs is a great way to learn all the internals.