Code Monkey Introduction
Introduction
The Developer's mailing list is where all the code monkeys hang out and discuss things from a developer perspective. I encourage the Java gurus to help educate the rest of us when they find some common problems in the code — we have some Java novices, so sharing expertise is good. Java novices can also ask questions, even basic ones, and they will receive a friendly, polite answer. No flames allowed — if you feel the urge to retort to someone, e-mail an administrator and let them handle it. Generally this hasn't been a problem, and we want to keep things that way. :)
What to Work On
We let everyone work on the areas that interest them since this is a volunteer project. However, the BoD guides development effort into various areas, see the Roadmap in particular.
The Tracker Monkeys set the criteria for prioritizing the bugs and features, so I appreciate it when the code monkeys help tackle the high priority ones. Just assign an item to yourself to indicate that you're working on it.
Make sure you check with the Silverbacks of particular areas if you're going to do some major work in there, the last thing we need is Tags changing on us without being told.
If you are unsure what to work on, particularly when you are just starting out, the Code Silverback will be happy to provide suggestions.
Making a Change
Please test your work thoroughly (write JUnit tests if possible, see Unit Testing) and if you're not sure how to test something thoroughly, ask on the mailing list and others will help bang on it.
When you check an item in, include some comments that summarize the fix - refer to a bug or feature number and the hopefully more detailed explanation there. Add a comment to the ticket with the SVN revision number and close the ticket so it will show up in the release notes (a generated list of all closed items since the previous release). If you add or fix something that doesn't have a tracker, submit one (or ask a Tracker Monkey to do it) and close it so it will show up on the list.
If you close off a bug or freq make sure the appropriate data, output sheet and documentation trackers are opened!!!
Any questions, comments etc are welcome!
