path: root/contributing.mdwn

[[!meta copyright="Copyright © 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Free Software
Foundation, Inc."]]

[[!meta license="""[[!toggle id="license" text="GFDL 1.2+"]][[!toggleable
id="license" text="Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this
document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or
any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant
Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.  A copy of the license
is included in the section entitled [[GNU Free Documentation
License|/fdl]]."]]"""]]

So, you are interested in contributing to the GNU Hurd project?  Welcome!
Every single contribution is very much encouraged.

There are various ways to contribute; read on about contributing to...

[[!toc levels=3]]

If someone of you is lurking around here and would like to contribute, but
feels she / he could do so better under formal mentoring: please speak up at
one of the [[regular_IRC_meetings|IRC#regular_meetings]]!

Generally we also have a list of [[open_issues]] and one for
[[project_ideas|community/gsoc/project_ideas]] - the latter written for the
Google Summer of Code.  Even just investigating open issues, without being able
to fix them, can be useful, because a tracked down issue often becomes obvious
to people who know the stuff (but those people don't have the time to spend to
do the tracking down).


# Documentation

## These Web Pages

Please read about [[how_to_contribute_to_these_web_pages|web_pages]].


# The System Itself

There are essential two kinds of Hurd system designs.

<a name="hurd_on_mach"> </a>
## Hurd on Mach

For one there's the implementation of the *[[Hurd]] running on the
[[GNU_Mach_microkernel|microkernel/mach/gnumach]]*.  This is what is commonly
meant when people are talking about GNU/Hurd systems.

This system has mostly been designed and implemented
[[in the '90s|history]].  It works and is usable.
For example, these web pages have been rendered on a GNU/Hurd system.

You can try it out for yourself: for getting access, installing
[[Debian_GNU/Hurd|hurd/running/debian]] will probably be the easiest and most
feature-complete solution.  If you don't have spare hardware to use for doing
so, you can also get a
[[shell_account_on_a_public_Hurd_machine|public_hurd_boxen]].  Depending on the
things you're going to work on (and on your internet connection), this may be
an easy way of getting used to Hurd systems.  Installing in a virtual machine
is another possibility, see the page about
[[running_a_Hurd_system|hurd/running]] for the full story.

Then you can either play around and eventually strive to do something
useful or -- if you want -- [[ask_us|contact_us]] to assign something to you, depending
on the skills you have and the resources you intend to invest.

Please spend some time with thinking about the items in this [[questionnaire]].

Before you can significantly contribute to the operating system itself, you'll
need to take some time to learn about the system, for example:
[[microkernels for beginners|microkernel/for_beginners]], [[Mach's
concepts|microkernel/mach/concepts]], [[Hurd's concepts|hurd/concepts]], the
*[[hurd/critique]]*.  Until you can understand and do the basic exercises
listed there, you won't be able to significantly contribute to the Hurd.

For more reading resources, please see these web pages, for example,
[[Hurd_documentation|hurd/documentation]] and
[[Mach_documentation|microkernel/mach/documentation]] for links to a bunch of
documents.

### Porting Packages

Debian is currently the Hurd distribution of choice among Hurd users and
developers.

Here is a
[[list_of_Debian_packages_that_need_porting|hurd/running/debian/porting]].

You can also just [[install_Debian_GNU/Hurd|hurd/running/debian]] and find what
doesn't work or suit you and try to improve that.

You can also have a look at the [List of failing packages](http://people.debian.org/~sthibault/failed_packages.txt).

### Open Issues

Here is a list of [[open_issues]].


<a name="hurd_on_modern_microkernel"> </a>
## Hurd on a modern microkernel

Developers [[have_identified|hurd/critique]] a number of problem with the *Hurd on
Mach* system.  Problems, that can not easily be fixed by bug-fixing the
existing code base, but which require design changes -- deep going ones
actually.

As such systems (as the desired one) are not in common use, but are -- if at
all -- research projects, this new *Hurd on a modern microkernel* project
itself is more a research project than a *sit down and implement/code/hack*
project.

If you're interested in contributing in this area, knowing the *Hurd on Mach*
system (see [[above|contributing#hurd_on_mach]]) nevertheless is a
prerequisite.  At least have a deep look at the documentation pointers.  Also
read through the [[HurdNG|hurd/ng]] section.

Please send email to the [[mailing lists/l4-hurd]] mailing list for discussing
this post-Mach system design.


# Final Words -- Difficulties

Please note that doing substantial contributions to a project as big and as
encompassing as the GNU Hurd is not a trivial task.  For working on the GNU
Hurd's inner guts and getting useful work done, you have to plan for a
many-months learning experience which will need sufficient self-motivation.
Working on an advanced operating system kernel isn't something you can do in a
few free minutes -- even less so without any previous [[kernel]] hacking
experience.

Likewise, the Linux kernel maintainers are stating the exactly same
difficulties, which is well presented by Jonathan Corbet in his 2010 Linux
Kernel Summit report for the opening sessions about [*welcoming of
newcomers*](http://lwn.net/Articles/412639/).

But of course, none of this is meant to be dismissive, or to scare you away --
on the contrary: just [[start
using|hurd/running]] the GNU Hurd, and either notice yourself what's not
working as expected, or have a look at one of the [[Open Issues]], and we shall
see if you'll evolve to be the next core Hurd hacker!
You'll *just* have to get excited about it!