Re: Joining the team

I have added this to the developer's FAQ.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> On Friday 22 June 2001 11:55, P. Dwayne Miller wrote:
> > If someone was interested in joining the development team, where would
> > they...
> > - Find a description of the open source development process used by the
> > PostgreSQL team.
>
> Read HACKERS for six months (or a full release cycle, whichever is longer).
> Really. HACKERS _is_the process. The process is not well documented (AFAIK
> -- it may be somewhere that I am not aware of) -- and it changes continually.
>
> > - Find the development environment (OS, system, compilers, etc)
> > required to develop code.
>
> Developers Corner on the website has links to this information. The
> distribution tarball itself includes all the extra tools and documents that
> go beyond a good Unix-like development environment. In general, a modern
> unix with a modern gcc, GNU make or equivalent, autoconf (of a particular
> version), and good working knowledge of those tools are required.
>
> > - Find an area or two that needs some support.
>
> The TODO list.
>
> You've made the first step, by finding and subscribing to HACKERS. Once you
> find an area to look at in the TODO, and have read the documentation on the
> internals, etc, then you check out a current CVS,write what you are going to
> write (keeping your CVS checkout up to date in the process), and make up a
> patch (as a context diff only) and send to the PATCHES list, prefereably.
>
> Discussion on the patch typically happens here. If the patch adds a major
> feature, it would be a good idea to talk about it first on the HACKERS list,
> in order to increase the chances of it being accepted, as well as toavoid
> duplication of effort. Note that experienced developers with a proven track
> record usually get the big jobs -- for more than one reason. Also note that
> PostgreSQL is highly portable -- nonportable code will likely be dismissed
> out of hand.
>
> Once your contributions get accepted, things move from there. Typically, you
> would be added as a developer on the list on the website when one of the
> other developers recommends it. Membership on the steering committee is by
> invitation only, by the other steering committee members, from what I have
> gathered watching froma distance.
>
> I make these statements from having watched the process for over two years.
>
> To see a good example of how one goes about this, search the archives for the
> name 'Tom Lane' and see what his first post consisted of, and where he took
> things. In particular, note that this hasn't been _that_ long ago -- and his
> bugfixing and general deep knowledge with this codebase is legendary. Take a
> few days to read after him. And pay special attention to both the sheer
> quantity as well as the painstaking quality of his work. Both are in high
> demand.
>
> Hope that helps!
> --
> Lamar Owen
> WGCR Internet Radio
> 1 Peter 4:11
>
> ---------------------------(end of broadcast)---------------------------
> TIP 1: subscribe and unsubscribe commands go to majordomo(at)postgresql(dot)org
>

--
Bruce Momjian | http://candle.pha.pa.us
pgman(at)candle(dot)pha(dot)pa(dot)us | (610) 853-3000
+ If your life is a hard drive, | 830 Blythe Avenue
+ Christ can be your backup. | Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania 19026