Why I Started Contributing to Open Source (and What Happened in the First Few Months)

A few months ago, I made a decision. I wanted to start contributing to open source.

I work as a Java backend developer at Wipro, building REST APIs with Spring Boot. I like my work, but there is one problem with it: the code is private. Nobody outside my team can see what I build. I wanted a place where I could write real code, get it reviewed by strangers, and prove to myself that I could work on a codebase I did not write.

So I picked a few Java projects and started.

It was not easy at the start

I thought I would find an issue, fix it, send a PR, and done. It did not go like that.

• Finding an issue that nobody was already working on took time. Many good issues already had someone on them.
• Reading a big codebase for the first time is confusing. You open one file and it leads to ten more.
• Maintainers are busy. Some reply in a day, some take weeks.

The most useful thing I learned early: talk to the maintainer before writing any code. It saves time for both sides, and it tells you quickly if the issue is worth your effort.

How I work now

I keep it simple.

1. One issue at a time.
2. Small, focused changes. A small diff is easy to review.
3. I write the code myself and I understand every line I send.
4. I take review comments seriously, even when they are strict. Those reviews taught me more than many tutorials.

What came out of it

Till now I have had PRs merged in:

• Zalando Logbook: I worked on the status-code based sink and log writer.
• Adyen Java API Library: my change shipped in SDK v42.0.0.
• Picnic error-prone-support: my PR got merged after review.

I will write about each of these in separate posts, because each one taught me something different.

What I am building on the side

Along with open source, I am building Sionna Visualizer, a visual dashboard on top of NVIDIA Sionna (6G + AI). It is a different area from my day job, and I wanted to see if I can bring my backend skills into it. You can try it here: https://sionna-visualizer.vercel.app

What you can expect from me here

I am going to write about my work step by step:

• the PRs I made and what happened in the reviews
• the mistakes I made and what I learned
• my daily work and small lessons from Java and Spring Boot
• progress on Sionna Visualizer

If you are a Java developer who wants to start open source, I hope my posts help you start sooner than I did.

And if you are a maintainer or a team looking for someone who learns in public and likes to collaborate, my DMs are open. You can also find me on GitHub: https://github.com/Vinu2111

Next post: my Zalando Logbook PR, what the issue was, and what the review taught me.