After a month of coding, debugging, learning, and contributing, Hacktoberfest has finally come to an end. Throughout the month, I made four pull requests across different repositories, each focusing on a different aspect of open-source contribution, from bug fixing to adding new features and writing tests. Looking back, this month has not only improved my technical skills, but also deepened my understanding of collaboration and project management in open source.
Exploring and Getting Started
In the beginning, the biggest challenge wasn’t the coding itself but finding the right repository to contribute to. With countless projects labeled #Hacktoberfest, I learned to filter by activity and relevance, by looking for well-maintained projects where my contribution would be meaningful. My first pull request was for a Notepad web app, where I improved the title case conversion function. This first experience gave me confidence and a sense of accomplishment, proving that even small improvements can make a difference.
Diving Deeper into Bug Fixing
In my second week, I shifted my focus to fixing a reported issue in the Open Web Calendar project. This time, the work required setting up a complex Python development environment and understanding the project’s structure. Although only a few lines of code were changed, the process taught me the importance of documentation and testing. I realized that debugging isn’t just about finding errors, it’s about understanding how all parts of the system interact.
Adding a New Feature
The third pull request was both challenging and rewarding. I contributed to a Math Worksheet Generator by adding a new front page with a date, name, and score section, plus an optional title feature. To do this, I had to learn how to use the fpdf library from scratch. This experience taught me that we don’t need to master every tool entirely, focusing on the relevant parts is often enough to create something valuable. It was also my first time proposing and implementing a feature that wasn’t previously assigned, showing me how initiative can lead to meaningful contributions.
Writing Tests
For my final pull request, I focused on writing a new test case for the same Math Worksheet Generator project. This involved identifying missing test coverage, ensuring random question generation worked properly, and learning to maintain consistent coding style. I also learned a valuable lesson about Git branching after mistakenly branching off the wrong branch, I had to redo part of the work. This experience shows the importance of version control awareness when working on multiple contributions.
Final Reflection
Hacktoberfest has been a month of growth, patience, and discovery. I learned that contributing to open source isn’t only about writing code, but also about communication, organization, and adaptation to each project's own tools and ways of thinking.
Although Hacktoberfest has ended, this experience has motivated me to continue contributing to open source in the future. Whether it’s fixing bugs, improving documentation, or writing tests, every contribution counts and brings me a step closer to becoming a better programmer.
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