Hey dev.to community!
I'm a Java backend developer with 2-3 years of experience, and I want to improve my development skills. I'm currently working on a client project in the retail sector, but I've realised that I'm not learning much there and that I have little room to experiment. That's why I've decided to learn more in my private time.
I learn best "on project" and don't want to waste my time on tutorials where I understand everything and can just copy code. However, when I have my own idea that I want to program, I don't know where to start and can't write a single line of code.
This is why I have decided to look for an open-source project where I can work on a real codebase and learn from other developers. The most important thing for me is being able to read and understand other people's code. In my opinion, the ability to understand other developers' code is the most valuable skill a developer can have.
After a few hours of research, I found a project that meets most of my expectations, with an active community and software that's actually used in the real world and serves a purpose. The tech stack was also important to me, but luckily Java projects are easy to find. :D
I found OpenMRS and thought it was interesting. I mean, sure, healthcare systems are complex, both technically and in terms of domain knowledge, and they aren't particularly fun, but the software is used in many countries. What I find impressive is that the software was originally developed for a hospital in Kenya in 2004 and has since grown into a large project.
From what I've read, it's a very complex project, especially because of the technologies used, for exmple, legacy Spring MVC + JSP mixed with modern approaches, and it has a huge codebase.
Honestly, I have no idea what I'm getting myself into!
What I Know:
- It's a medical system
- Spring Boot backend (I know that)
- It is used in real hospitals
What I DONT'T know:
- What are "Encounters" and "Observations" are?
- How big is the codebase really?
- Whether my English is good enough for the international community :D
My plan:
- Week 1: Set up development environment
- Next posts: Document what goes wrong
If anyone has worked with OpenMRS before, any tips?
I'll be blogging weekly about my prgress/struggles. If you've had similar experiences or have tips, I'd love to hear from you in the comments!
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