Welcome!
Thank you for your interest in RAIV! In this document is various information about how to get started contributing to the project. Some are things to help you find your way around, others maybe links to technologies we use, and some of it will be just suggestions.
This document is broken into sections based on the task to be done.
General Information
For anyone and everyone wanting to get involved, this is for you!
IRC
If you're interested in the project a great place to hang out is in #raiv and #raiv-dev on irc.freenode.net. The #raiv channel is for anything related to RAIV while #raiv-dev is centered more around the development of the project. That way non-programmers don't need to listen to the developer chatter.
For those who are not familiar with IRC, read the basics
.
Use the Bug Tracker
It's very important that everything be logged in to Bugzilla http://bugs.osuosl.org. If it's not in there people might forget about it, or it may never get done. I know sitting in the IRC channel you might mention it and a dev may respond, but PLEASE file the bug anyway. That way it will not be overlooked later!
The bug tracker has many uses beyond just filing bugs. Curious about the status of a project? Have a feature idea? Looking for ways to help out? The bug tracker holds the answers.
Sign Up for the Mailing Lists
Mailing lists are an excellent way to keep up with the RAIV community. A lot of community discussion takes place on project mailing lists. Important community updates will be posted to the mailing lists. Also, its not something you have to watch constantly, you can sit down with your hot cocoa and fireplace and catch up on things. 
- raiv@lists.osuosl.org - general community list
- raiv-dev@lists.osuosl.org - development list
- raiv-rcs@lists.osuosl.org - repository commit messages
Development
This section is for anyone looking to contribute their effort to source code development. This includes bug fixing and new feature development.
Bug Fixing
If you're looking to do some bug fixing then you should make yourself an account on http://bugs.osuosl.org. RAIV's bug tracker, Bugzilla, is a very important tool. From here you can report bugs, communicate with maintainers, and submit potential patches (attach them to your bug report). Please read the "Working with Bugzilla" section
How it works:
- You select a bug to work on, and let the maintainer know you will be working on that issue.
- You submit your patch for the issue by attaching it to your bug report. Patches should be submitted in the form of a ruNt diff.
- Please be sure to check back to find out if your patch was accepted and for feedback.
New Features
If you're looking to add new features to RAIV and you feel the user community at large would be interested in your changes, you should follow much the same process as filing a bug. Please read the "Working with Bugzilla" section
- The "Ideas" forum is a great place to toss up preliminary ideas for discussion. You will get feedback, more ideas to improve your plan, and maybe even some help, before you jump in the water.
- From within Bugzilla, you can add a feature request and then attach your ruNt diff or your module's tarball.
- Once your module has been reviewed and accepted, it will be posted in the module repository on the RAIV website.
- The most important part is maintaining your module. Or having someone else maintain it. As mentioned before, nothing is worse than a stale project.
Working with Bugzilla - the bug tracker
Keep track of what's going on in RAIV with Bugzilla, RAIV's bug tracker. That way everyone else can see current issues, future plans , who's working on what, etc. Issue tracking for a community is no easy task. Here are some tips and guidelines that should keep things running smoothly. For a simple introduction to Bugzilla, check here Bugzilla Introduction. If you will be working with Bugzilla, please read these instructions thoroughly and follow them as best you can!
- If you're going to work on something in Bugzilla, start progress on it. When it's done, resolve the issue.
- Your patch will be reviewed for potential inclusion into RAIV. Please check back so you may get feedback and find out if your patch was accepted. Patches should be submitted in the form of a ruNt diff.
Working with GIT - the revision control system
Git is the revision control system used by the RAIV project. If you would like to see the newest changes in RAIV without waiting for a new release, checkout the git repository at git://maple.osuosl.org/raiv.git. If you will be working with Git, there is an excellent tutorial Here.
Checking out RAIV
The RAIV git repository can be checked out with the following command:
Updating your repository to the most current state is as simple as
Submitting Patches
If you would like your changes to be added to the RAIV main tree, create a patch with git and email it along with explanation of the patch to raiv-dev@lists.osuosl.org
Helping with documentation
Most, if not all, documentation should be kept on this wiki. Solid documenatation can be an enormous boost for an open source project. If you would like to help the documentation cause, will need to sign up for an account. Next, you will need to send a message to raiv@lists.osuosl.org stating your intentions and reasons and someone will get you the proper access to edit documents and help you get started.
Helping with the website
The website is RAIV's main portal to the outside world. Keeping the site clean and looking great and having updated content is important. If you would like to contribute to maintaining the RAIV website, sign up for an account, then send a message to raiv@lists.osuosl.org stating your intentions and reasons and someone will get you the proper access and help you get started.
