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Aadhitya A
Aadhitya A

Posted on • Originally published at Medium on

Walking through the OSS Path

#blog #faq #opensource

Photo by Matt Duncan on Unsplash

NOTE: This blog post is all about my short experience in LFX program and FAQ about OSS. This post doesn’t guarantee 101% that you’d “crack” into the OSS programs. The OSS programs are made for a specific reason: To help the people working in OSS projects and become a long-time member of the project. I hope you understand this. Anyways :) Cheers ✌️

Some OSS Program links (for those who aren’t aware, there are many but I’m providing link of the two):

☀️ Google Summer of Code

🐧 LFX Mentorship

⚙️ Other programs

My Experience

I’d like to keep this short and quick. My journey was all started during 2020 and it’s quite useful as I got to know about some of things such as OSS during net surf. Of course, I was a newbie in OSS like you, so I had to explore a bit. I engaged in some of the projects such as Tensorflow, CNCF, Meshery and I got a hang of Meshery (a CNCF Sandbox project) a lot. Later on, I kept contributing and became an org member, finally after a year, I got a chance to become a LFX mentee during Spring 2022 for the project. It is bit late due to some commitments I had in middle due to which I was inactive, but it’s worth. Thus, the experience is so far great and I’m still doing it even today.

FAQ

Q: What skills do I need to get engaged into Open Source?

A: These tools might be enough to get you started:

  • GitHub account (or GitLab/BitBucket, depends on project you’re seeing on)
  • GitHub CLI (if working on GitHub repo, this would make things faster. It’s optional though)
  • Git Bash
  • Other than that, you might need to look into the programming languages (explained in subsequent Qs)

Q: What exactly I need to do to get engaged in OSS?

A: It’s simple TBH, though many people follow it in wrong way as they think it’s like a competitive exams. IT’S NOT! If you’re in that mindset, then Open Source is strictly not for you. It’s mainly present as a collaboration and community purpose and you’re expected to contribute your part there. (Sorry for strict point, but it’s reality though)

  1. Choose a project to engaged on, it can be of anything ranging from small project to a very large project. If you’re confused on this, you can have look on the GSoC, LFX portals to have a look on orgs that participated previously.
  2. Look at the codebase and try to understand. It’s ok if it’s very large to grasp on. It may take time. ✌️ You can also read the docs for this purpose
  3. Couldn’t grasp the project codebase? There’s also another option to contribute non-code based like docs. Remember, everyone is not a coder out there! 🙂
  4. Participate in the community and get engaged. Talk to the ones who made the project.
  5. Try taking on smaller issues if you’re new to the code base. Remember to speed up your learning curve and ask Q if you’re struck. But make sure to gradually increase your actions in the project too.
  6. Repeat step 3–5
  7. That’s it 🎉

Q: Are OSS programs meant for absolute cores who are already experienced?

A: Absolutely not! GSoC program is designed for those who are very new to the Open Source, although it’s true that certain folks who are already experienced with the project get selected. It varies from org to org, you need to talk with the org members if you’re confused with this.

Q: How to get selected in the OSS programs?

A: Read the answer of 2nd Q and 3rd Q

Q: Is OSS worth it?

A: ABSOLUTELY! Why not? After all, the world runs on 85–90% OSS projects. Never believe on this? Take Linux as example. No further explanation needed! 😂 (JK, no seriousness intended)

Yes, it is worth. It’ll help you to grow your skills as well. Some find it very useful to get jobs or even work in OSS full time. So, take your shot! ;)

Q: What kind of fields are there in OSS to take on?

A: Basically 2 kinds, Code and Non-Code (UI/UX, Docs, Release Notes)

Q: I find some OSS programs not providing stipend…

A: Read answer of 2nd Q. Plus, some OSS programs don’t provide stipend generally as there are non-funded ones as well. The main objective of these programs is to make you gain experience by working on real stuff. Sometimes, that might be also worth it. Though I’m not forcing you to apply these programs, you could give a try for gaining skills.

Q: I’m a newbie to the project. Could I make it?

A: Sure you can! Remember, every action does take time. I’m counting on you! ;)

I hope these Q would provide a gist of OSS now. If you’re feeling that some Q can be asked and added as well, feel free to contact me (Discord: kryox64 or via mail)!

Cheers! ✌️

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