How to Contribute
You’ve used the RubyInstaller to get Ruby up and running on your Windows-based system (http://rubyforge.org/ site is down!!!), you love it, and you really want to help keep the RubyInstaller project moving forward.
But you’re not quite sure where to start, or maybe you think the only things to help with are writing boring (au contraire, mon ami) installer code.
Or maybe you only have a teeny bit of time to contribute (aka “Drive-By Contributions”). Or maybe you’d like to contribute some tasty non-code goodies. Or maybe you’d like to help out with a monetary or other donation.
Fantastic! And thanks for your interest in the RubyInstaller and wanting to dive right in.
A good place to start is to browse over the RubyInstaller TODO List which contains issues that the core developers believe need to be addressed in a timely manner. You’ll find a mix of easy, medium, and challenging things to sink your teeth into depending upon how much time you have to contribute.
If nothing on the TODO list excites you, below are a few other ideas that can really help out.
We accept all contributions covered under the MIT License.
Thanks, and we appreciate your help!
The RubyInstaller Team
You love a challenge. You love to roll up your sleeves, jump in, and see if the code really does what it thinks it can do. You love to try to make the code fall down and then figure out how to get it standing again. You love some of the cool Ruby test tools like Cucumber and RSpec
Where have you been all our life!?
Even though we’re continually trying to improve our testing, we know we can’t think of every situation in which you’d like to use RubyInstaller. That’s where you come in. Put it through its paces in your unique environment and let us know over at the RubyInstaller Google Group if something doesn’t look quite right.
Maybe you discovered a bug in the RubyInstaller distribution. Maybe you discovered a bug in the very core of MRI Ruby. Or maybe you’ve discovered a configuration issue with your specific setup. Either way, we’d like to help you figure it out and we appreciate that you’ve taken the time to test out the RubyInstaller.
Your testing is very important for not only the health of the RubyInstaller project, but also the health and vibrancy of MRI Ruby on Windows.
All projects have bugs. Period.
Part of keeping a project vibrant is to ensure that bugs are made visible, that bugs are prioritized, that bugs are continually reviewed and fixed, and that the fixes are peer reviewed before being committed to stable, released code. In addition to fixes done by the core developers, it’s crucial that other community members with a desire to keep the project healthy be enabled to help in the ongoing Bug Crush Festival.
We use the RubyInstaller GitHub Issues to track and prioritize confirmed RubyInstaller bugs and feature requests.
To continue baking up our tasty installers and 7-Zip treats for Ruby on Windows users, we’re always looking for better build recipes.
If you like coding in Ruby, Rake, C, are comfortable with the MinGW tools, and have a cool idea for a new (or updated) recipe, we want to hear from you! Drop us a note over at the RubyInstaller Google Group and share your great idea. Better yet, fork our GitHub repo and whip up a prototype so we can all check it out.
Oh yeh, our friendly Legal Staff says We accept contributions under the MIT license.
Admit it. Looks matter.
Gone are the days where you could slap up a lame looking web site and blame it on the fact that you were just a code jockey. Nowadays many developer-focused web sites have taken the time to create a really cool and distinctive look.
They get it.
They realize that the combination of a great look, great code, and a great community are powerful mojo for attracting awesome contributors that keep a project vibrant and growing.
If you’ve got an talent for creating tasty eye candy and see an area that could use a little help, we’d love to hear from you! Whip up a rough draft and let us know at the RubyInstaller Google Group
If none of these ideas seems to grab your interest or you have other ideas for contributing, join our mailing list over at the RubyInstaller Google Group and drop us a line as to what you’re thinking. If you would like to first share your idea off list, please sign in to the group, click on the Members link, and send an email to any one of the group’s Managers or Owner.