Github - Contribution Special

 

 

 

Open source contribution is one of the most useful part of the GitHub platform.
GitHub - A must Platform for the developers/programmers.

What is Open source contribution ?

The open source means to provide a great opportunity for aspiring programmers and many unknown people on the globe who contribute to build various projects/software's.

Events of contribution:

There are many events going every year, for the open source contribution.
Even many projects/software's are always open to contribute on GitHub.
Well one cool event is :
=>Hacktoberfest event- A awesome contribution event.

Something cool:

• Well, in many open source events, yes probably there is always some swags and goodies for the contributors.
•  Sometimes its just for showing and developing your own skills.

 

Where to contribute:

Open GitHub and start searching for your desired skills, like JavaScript, Python, React and many more.
You will find a lot of repositories in front of you.
Find the one suitable to you, and most important is understandable to you.

How to understand a Repository:

• First see if its a small repository, that means it will not cost more than some dozens of minutes to understand it.
•  Must start with the file named "README.md".
•  But if a repository is really large, and already many contribution is added to it so far, then it would probably take some couple of hours to figure out things.
  

What to contribute:

Now, after finding a repository, still figuring what to do : well, this part is what your work is, you have to figure out this one --you can think with these hints:

• is there something more can be added to the project.
• is there a requirement of any modification.
• is there any change needed in the project. (Bug's Finding)
  

Start contributing:

• First fork the desired repository, you want to contribute to:

• You can clone the repository to your local system, for exploring inside things.

• On the command line: git clone "Link of repository"
  

• Complete your work into the repository and commit it

• For now this change will only reflect in your forked repository.

• To merge your work to the original repository:

•  First create a issue (if not already created)
  

• Give a name to your issue, like you have updated a file or added some file or change any documentation, etc.     

• Remember the "#number"(eg: #1023) of your issue or any other existing issue.

• This number is capable to excess the issue by a pull request.

• After successfully creating a issue, now move to create a pull request:
   

• You will find a form there, fill it and add the number of the issue to your pull request box.

Now simply click create pull request.
And its done !!!

Note: Always attach a issue to your pull request.

When not to contribute:

• When You don't understand the repository, leave and better find a another one(because, a random contribution, which dosen't belongs to the project's topic, will never be appreciated).
• You don't have the basic knowledge and skill to understand the work, which is already covered in public repository.

 Why to contribute:

• Expand your skill area as well as improve those skills.
• Show others you can do something more. More in the respect to do things which you already familiar and have skills.
• Get inspiration and support from like-minded people.
  

How I started:

I have started contributing to open source projects, in the same month, I am writing this blog-post.
I have started with a public repository, which is basically a chat bot project named JARVIS on Messenger, I tried to understand what's going on already, its a python based project, and in the beginning not to make things blur, While exploring the repository, I have find a file, which is full of jokes, and yes this is where I done my first contribution, I added 5 more jokes to it.

 

Note: Things are not always too difficult, and its not that you always needs a lot of efforts to complete a real-world working task.
Nothing on this entire universe, is build fully in once, Everything builds with some chunks and chunks added further to build something cool.

I have also participated in Hacktoberfest event and successfully done my first four pull request:
Let me mention, what I contributed in those pull request :

• Machine learning model
• Tic-Tac-Toe Game
• Jumbled words Game
• Rock, Paper And Scissor Game 
  

Things to Remember:

Many try to contribute some unwanted changes to the repositories or some useless pull requests in open source events for some swags and goodies.

ATTENTION: Each time you give a contribution, must remember do at least enough authentic work, which you can explain later, if needed.

If you are not familiar to GitHub platform, go and take a look on my previous blog post "Git and Github World".