| Title: Get Involved! | |
| Getting involved with the Apache Flex® Community is easy! | |
| We are an open-source community governed by the Apache Software Foundation. Everything we do is out in the open with | |
| the entire community involved. All decisions are made on our mailing lists, and all source code is developed | |
| within our source control system. | |
| <div class="headline"><h4>Find out what is going on</h4></div> | |
| If you are interested in what is going on with the project, subscribe to our mailing lists. Our [dev@flex.apache.org][1] mailing | |
| list is where additions and changes to the SDK are discussed. The list is open to everybody and everybody is encouraged | |
| to give their opinions on anything discussed on the list. This is a great place to introduce yourself and let us know | |
| how you can help. | |
| If you are interested in helping end-users of the SDK, we also host the [users@flex.apache.org][1] mailing list. This list | |
| is designed for end-users to talk about how to use the SDK and how to build applications that utilize the SDK. | |
| <div class="headline"><h4>Contributing Documentation</h4></div> | |
| If you are ready to help us document code, provide tips and tricks, or anything else that is not straight-up code, we | |
| have a [WIKI][2] that allows for community contribution. Simply let us know on the dev@flex.apache.org mailing list | |
| that you wish to get write access to the WIKI. If you would like to let us know about any blog entries, videos, | |
| screencasts, etc. that you have created, we would love to help publicize them! | |
| <div class="headline"><h4>Reporting Bugs</h4></div> | |
| All of the bugs that we are aware of are housed in the Apache Foundation's JIRA system. You can take a look at everything | |
| we have in the system on [Flex JIRA][3]. To let us know about a bug, create an issue in the JIRA system. The JIRA | |
| system automatically emails the dev mailing list and hopefully somebody will take a look at it. It is really important | |
| that you give us as much information on the bug as possible. Even better, if you have a way to reproduce the bug, submit | |
| a code sample that can help us reproduce it. Feel free to contribute to the comments as the bug gets worked on. | |
| <div class="headline"><h4>Squashing Bugs</h4></div> | |
| Bugs happen, and you might know how to fix one! Because we don't allow everybody write access to the official code repository | |
| (everybody has access to read, though!), there is an additional process that has to occur to get fixes in. To help us | |
| squash bugs, do the following : | |
| 1. Find a bug you want to work on, or submit one into [JIRA][3]. We have some marked as "easy" if you play with the JIRA filters if you want to start with an easy one. Make a comment on the ticket that you plan on working on it so others don't duplicate your work. | |
| 2. Check out the source code from GIT. More information is available on the [Source][4] page. | |
| 3. Setup your build environment. Check out the README included in the source code on how to do this. You will want to make sure that you can perform a compile before you go much further. | |
| 4. Fix the bug. If you need help, ask the dev@flex.apache.org mailing list. I'm sure we have pointers to help you out. | |
| 5. (optional) Run the functional test suite called [Mustella][5] on your code. The [Mustella tests][5] are available from the ANT script, but make sure you set it up first. | |
| 6. Create a .patch file. If you are using an IDE, check your application menus for this option. [SourceTree][6] has it under the Actions menu. If you are using git from the command line, use `git format-patch <BRANCH> --stdout > <FLEX-007>.patch` where <BRANCH> is the branch you want your patch be merged into from whether the branch you're working on, you can omit it if the origin and destination branch are the same and <FLEX-007>, the Jira Issue Id relative to your patch. | |
| 7. Attach the .patch file to the JIRA ticket you noted earlier. A committer will review the patch and make sure it dosen't break anything else. | |
| 8. Sit back and bask in the glory that you helped make Flex better! | |
| <div class="headline"><h4>Contributing Code</h4></div> | |
| Due to legal reasons, only people who have been elected as committers have access to update or contribute code directly to the project. | |
| We at Apache take the legality of code seriously, and nothing would be worse than somebody contributing code that | |
| they don't own and a 3rd party having a legal claim to our framework. | |
| That being said, if you are interested in contributing code, you can submit patches to the project via [JIRA][3]. | |
| To do this, create a new issue that describes what the code you are contributing, and submit a .patch file with your | |
| code changes, just like from the bug squashing directions above. If you submit a few patches that meet the Apache | |
| standards, you will probably be contacted by the PMC to get you direct access to the GIT and for you to be recognized | |
| for your work as a committer. | |
| [1]: community-mailinglists.html | |
| [2]: https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/FLEX/Apache+Flex+Wiki | |
| [3]: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLEX | |
| [4]: dev-sourcecode.html | |
| [5]: https://cwiki.apache.org/FLEX/mustella-overview.html | |
| [6]: http://www.sourcetreeapp.com/ |