DEV Community: Al-Amin Firdows

Open Source Is More Than Code, What Every WordPress Contributor Should Know

Al-Amin Firdows — Sat, 25 Jul 2026 01:17:38 +0000

Over the last few days, I spent some time going through the WordPress Contributor Learning materials. Most of the ideas weren't new to me, but they reminded me why WordPress has become one of the largest and most successful open source projects.

Many people think open source simply means making the source code public.

It's much more than that. It's about building software, building communities, and building trust.

Here are the biggest lessons I took away.

1️⃣ Many eyes make software better

Eric Raymond said: "Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow."

More users mean more bugs found, faster fixes, better ideas, and features built around real problems. One person reports a bug, another fixes it, someone reviews it, and the community tests it.

2️⃣ Great projects start with a personal problem

Many successful products began because someone wanted to solve their own problem. WordPress, WooCommerce, and countless plugins all started this way.

3️⃣ Leave your ego behind

One idea I really like is Egoless Participation. Open source isn't about proving you're the smartest developer. It's about accepting feedback, welcoming better ideas, and focusing on solving problems together.

4️⃣ Your work matters more than your title

Open source communities don't care much about job titles. You earn respect by contributing. This is often called a do-ocracy. The people who do the work naturally become leaders.

5️⃣ A project is never really finished

Open source projects keep improving. Every release fixes problems and creates room for new ideas. There's always another opportunity to contribute.

6️⃣ GPL doesn't stop you from building a business

Plugins and themes inherit the GPL, but you can still build a successful business through premium features, support, hosting, SaaS, training, or consulting.

GPL protects software freedom, not business models.

7️⃣ Community comes first

Every contribution should benefit the community, not just one company or one person. Trust is one of the most valuable assets in open source.

8️⃣ Everyone can contribute ❤️

Whether it's code, design, documentation, testing, support, translation, marketing, or community work, everyone has something valuable to offer.

My biggest takeaway is this:
Open source isn't just about sharing code.
It's about sharing ownership.
It's about building something together.
It's about helping people you'll probably never meet.

If you work with WordPress, I highly recommend spending some time learning how its community works. Understanding the philosophy behind the project will make you a better contributor, a better engineer, and a better teammate.

💬 What's the biggest lesson you've learned from open source?

Connecting EC2 Instances to AWS Block Storage Made Easy

Al-Amin Firdows — Tue, 04 Jul 2023 13:54:27 +0000

In the world of cloud computing, Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides a robust ecosystem of services to power your applications and infrastructure. Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) offers virtual servers in the cloud, while AWS Block Storage, specifically Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS), provides scalable and reliable storage solutions. In this blog post, we'll guide you through the process of connecting EC2 Linux instances to AWS Block Storage, simplifying the setup for both operating systems.

Prerequisites

Before we dive into the steps, ensure you have the following prerequisites in place:

An AWS account: Sign up for an AWS account if you haven't already and log in to the AWS Management Console.
EC2 Linux instance: Launch an EC2 Linux instance based on your requirements. You can choose the appropriate instance type, storage, and configuration that aligns with your workload.
AWS Block Storage (EBS): Provision an EBS volume with the desired size and performance characteristics, ensuring it is in the same AWS region as your EC2 instance.

Step 1: Identify the EBS Volume

Go to the AWS Management Console and navigate to the EC2 Dashboard.
Select the Linux-based EC2 instance you want to connect with the EBS volume.
From the "Actions" dropdown menu, choose "Attach Volume."
In the "Attach Volume" dialog box, select the desired EBS volume from the list and click "Attach."

Step 2: Identify the Attached Volume

Once you are connected to the EC2 instance, run the command lsblk to list the available block devices.

lsblk

Look for a device with a name similar to "/dev/xvdf" or "/dev/nvme1n1," indicating the attached EBS volume.

Step 3: Check for Existing File System

Run the command sudo file -s /dev/xvdf (replace "/dev/xvdf" with the appropriate device name) to check if there is a file system on the volume.

sudo file -s /dev/xvdf

If the output shows "data" or "no file system found," it indicates that there is no file system on the volume, and you need to create one.
If the output shows information about the file system type (e.g., "SGI XFS filesystem data," "ext4 filesystem," etc.), it means that a file system already exists on the volume.

Step 4: Create a File System (If not already created)

Run the command sudo mkfs -t xfs /dev/xvdf (replace "/dev/xvdf" with the appropriate device name) to create a new XFS file system on the EBS volume. Confirm the operation by typing "y" when prompted.

sudo mkfs -t xfs /dev/xvdf

or sudo mkfs -t ext4 /dev/xvdf to create a new ext4 file system.

Step 5: Mount the EBS Volume

Create a directory where you want to mount the EBS volume using the command sudo mkdir /mnt/myvolume (replace "/mnt/myvolume" with the desired directory path).

sudo mkdir /mnt/myvolume

Mount the EBS volume to the specified directory using the command sudo mount /dev/xvdf /mnt/myvolume (replace "/dev/xvdf" with the appropriate device name and "/mnt/myvolume" with the mount point).

sudo mount /dev/xvdf /mnt/myvolume

Change to the /mnt/myvolume directory and check the disk space to validate the volume mount.

cd /mnt/myvolume
df -h .

The above command should show the free space in the /mnt/myvolume directory.

Step 6: Enable Automatic Mounting (Optional)

To automatically mount the EBS volume on instance reboot, you have to add a command to the /etc/fstab file. Before making changes, back up the /etc/fstab file for safekeeping.

sudo cp /etc/fstab /etc/fstab.bak

Open the /etc/fstab file with the command sudo nano /etc/fstab.

sudo nano /etc/fstab

Add the following line at the end of the file:

/dev/xvdf /mnt/myvolume ext4 defaults,nofail 0 0

(replace "/dev/xvdf" and "/mnt/myvolume" with the appropriate device name and mount point).

Congratulations! You've successfully connected your EC2 Linux instance to AWS Block Storage (EBS) by following these straightforward steps. With this setup, you can now leverage the scalability, durability, and performance of AWS Block Storage for your applications and data storage needs. Remember, as your requirements evolve, AWS provides a range of options to optimize and manage your block storage, including features like snapshots, encryption, and volume resizing. Explore the AWS documentation to unleash the full potential of your EC2 instances and EBS volumes.

Harness the power of AWS and unlock new possibilities with seamless connectivity between your EC2 Linux instances and AWS Block Storage. Happy cloud computing!

Note: It's essential to refer to the official AWS documentation for the latest updates and detailed instructions related to EC2 instances and EBS volumes.

Best Practices for PHP Developers: A Collection of Tips and Techniques

Al-Amin Firdows — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 16:26:39 +0000

Here are some key best practices that PHP developers can follow to write clean, efficient, and maintainable code:

Use descriptive, clear, and meaningful variable, function, and class names to make your code self-documenting.
Avoid using global variables, as they can lead to unexpected side effects and make your code harder to maintain.
Use indentation and whitespace consistently to improve the readability and organization of your code.
Follow a consistent coding style and use coding standards and guidelines, such as PSR-2, to ensure that your code is easy to understand and maintain.
Use object-oriented programming (OOP) concepts and design patterns, such as SOLID principles, to write modular, reusable, and maintainable code.
Use built-in PHP functions and libraries, as well as third-party libraries and frameworks, to avoid reinventing the wheel and to improve the performance and reliability of your code.
Use error handling and exception handling techniques to gracefully handle and recover from errors and exceptions in your code.
Use version control systems, such as Git, to manage and track changes to your code and to collaborate with other developers.
Test your code thoroughly to ensure it is working correctly and to catch any bugs or issues before deploying it to production.
Keep your code up to date by regularly reviewing and refactoring it, and by staying current with the latest PHP versions and best practices.

By following these best practices, PHP developers can write high-quality, scalable, and maintainable code that is easy to understand and work with.

Find me on Twitter @alaminfirdows