this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2023
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Free and Open Source Software

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How do I know when I'm good enough at coding to solve issues/ commit code related changes on open source projects? (lemm.ee)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by wtry@lemm.ee to c/foss@beehaw.org
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I program in C and python, and even good first issue problems seem like I have to be Dennis Ritchie himself to solve them. How do I know when I'm ready to solve and commit to projects?

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[–] Buttons@programming.dev 18 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

There are (roughly) two types of projects:

  1. Projects that have coding standards that are documented. If you want to contribute to one of these projects then read the coding documentation and follow it. People will help you write code that fits the standards.

  2. Projects that don't have coding standards. When you look at such a project you'll see endless layers of shitty hacks that mostly work, sometimes. Add your own shitty hack to the pile and as long as everything still mostly works, you're good.

[–] star_nova@beehaw.org 6 points 1 year ago

Seconding this and wanted to add:

It's more or less the repo owner's job to keep the codebase organized. So if they created a set of standards, follow them. If not, submit as clean a PR as you can.

[–] jarfil@beehaw.org 3 points 1 year ago

Even without clearly defined coding standards, always try to match the style of whatever code you're contributing to. It may make your code stand out less, but will make it easier for everyone, even your future self.