Perl wants you

Intro / Preface
● Augustina Ragwitz
– Perl Developer since 2007
– First YAPC in 2012 (Madison)
● Currently at MediaMath in NYC
(we're hiring)
● auggy@cpan.org
irc.perl.org: auggy
freenode irc: mmmpork
twitter: @mmmpork

Why Am I Giving This Talk?
● I just made my first contributions
● Share what I've learned
● Encourage y'all to contribute!

Open Source Software is Free!
● But there is a cost...

Open Source Software is like
Public Radio
● Ok, more like Public Access TV...

Pay your dues!
Contribute!
● Or just do it cuz it's fun

Start Small
● GOAL: Get familiar with the patching
process first!
● Small code patches
● Documentation
● Unit Tests

Remember...
● Working in a new code base requires
context!
● Don't be intimidated!

Talk to the Community!
● A lot of communication happens on IRC
● If you're not familiar with IRC →
● Server is irc.perl.org
● Check documentation for irc channel info
● Or ask in #perl-help or #p5p

Where can I contribute to Perl?
● Any module on CPAN is fair game –
http://www.metacpan.org
● Perl core is managed through P5P (Perl 5
Porters)

Perl Core (Perl 5 Porters)
● http://dev.perl.org
● p5p mailing list
– perl5-porters-subscribe@perl.org
● irc channel: #p5p on irc.perl.org

Get your name in it!
● Pumpkings – a rotating group of individuals
responsible for cobbling together changes
nd releasing new Perl versions
● Patches go into new versions of Perl
● Submit a patch and get immortalized!
– Your name goes into the release doc

Wow that sounds cool!
Sooo, now what?
● Look for things that are easy to contribute!
● Easy = small fixes for learning the patching
process

Easy Contributions
● Perl Core != C programming
● Documentation
● Patch supporting scripts
● Improve unit test coverage
● Some bugs are tagged in RT
https://rt.perl.org/rt3/Public/Bug/Display.html?id=116469
● Check the todo list:
http://perl5.git.perl.org/perl.git/blob/HEAD:/Porting/todo.pod

How to contribute to Perl Core
● Pretty well documented here -
– http://perldoc.perl.org/perlhack.html
● Perlbug + tips
– http://perldoc.perl.org/perlbug.html
● And here's a short walkthrough

CPAN
● The Comprehensive Perl Archive Network
● AKA the place where modules live
● Basically, an index that maps a module
name to a file archive location
● http://www.metacpan.org - provides
additional metadata not found in cpan.org

PAUSE
● Perl Authors Upload Server
● Where the file archives live (that CPAN
points to)
● Anyone can get an account
– Only really need one to upload an archive
● http://pause.perl.org

CPAN Testers
● Goal: Test CPAN modules with as many
versions and configurations of Perl as
possible on as many platforms as possible
● http://www.cpantesters.org
● http://stats.cpantesters.org

What should I contribute to CPAN?
● File a bug
● Improve documentation on a module you
struggled to use
– Especially if you got help from the author!
● If you had to make local changes to make it
work, submit the patch!

Alright, that sounds good!
How do I get started?

Disclaimer
● All processes demonstrated here are my
preference
– TIMTOWTDI FTW!
● Module maintainers will have their own
preferences.
● Check with the maintainer before following
these steps to submit a patch.

Submit a Patch to CPAN
● You need the following:
– The location of the source code repository
– Where the author wants patches submitted

Find the Repo
● Some modules on Metacpan have
repository info
● Check Module documentation
● Git::CPAN::Patch
● Download the source tarball (last resort)

Where to Submit the Patch
● GitHub, BitBucket, SourceForge... if the
author has specified the bugtracker
● Otherwise, use RT

RT
● http://rt.cpan.org
● Send email to bug-acme-
auggy@rt.cpan.org
● Use RT if:
– The author says to, or
– You can't find any bugtracker info in the
module
● You can attach your patch to the RT!

GitHub
● http://github.com
● Pull request is probably sufficient for
submitting your patch
● Optional: Create an RT ticket

How do I write a patch that's likely
to get merged?
● Don't submit a large complex patch
● Each issue should be its own commit
● Each commit should have a clear commit
message
● Be consistent, stick to the author's style
● Update documentation when appropriate
● Write tests to support your changes
● Include a changelog entry

OK so how do I submit my patch!?
● Download the source code
● Make your changes
● Submit the code

What happens when I submit a
patch?
● If the author accepts your change, they
merge it into their repository and release
the code!
● If your change is rejected, the author will
comment on the pull request or the RT
ticket
– Don't give up!!
– Talk it out with the author
– Use the feedback to fix your patch

How do I know my patch was
submitted?
● RT responds with an email
– If you don't get an email, wait a couple of
days and resubmit
● GitHub shows your pull request
– If you don't hear anything, submit an RT
ticket

What if the author doesn't respond,
at all?
● Send email to modules@perl.org
– Use this resource after several attempts to
contact the author
– State a log of your attempts to contact the
author
– If the author is unresponsive, you could
end up being the maintainer
● Fork!
– This is Open Source after all...

Collaboration is fun!
● Fun to work on interesting things!
● Get others excited about your ideas... or
get excited about someone else's!
● Good feeling to help out others
● Learn new things about programming!
● Even people who aren't using Perl at work
contribute because it's FUN!

Perl wants you

More Related Content

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked (18)

Similar to Perl wants you (20)

Recently uploaded (20)

Perl wants you