Release 0.4

For Release 0.4, I achieved the goals I set in my planning post by successfully implementing and submitting an initial category filtering feature to the Open Web Calendar project. I built this by extending the event conversion logic in convert/events.py, learning how the icalendar library exposes event metadata, and correctly using calendar_event.categories instead of manually parsing raw ICS fields after receiving maintainer feedback.

I also improved code quality by moving inline HTML styles into the project’s CSS files to match existing conventions. Throughout the process, I relied on automated tests using tox, worked in a dedicated feature branch, and updated the same pull request in response to reviews rather than opening new ones. The most important thing I learned was how open-source development is iterative and collaborative, with review feedback playing a critical role in improving both correctness and maintainability.

By engaging directly with the project maintainer through GitHub reviews and documentation links, I was able to resolve issues efficiently and align my work with project standards.

This experience demonstrates a complete open source workflow from planning and implementation to review and refinement and the technical details documented here should help others understand how category metadata is handled in Open Web Calendar and similar ICS based projects.