Richard's approach is to find something that you can turn in to a doctoral thesis, and work on your Ph.D. The article then covers how Richard did this himself. Richard's passion is a project called Metawidget. This is a really cool technology. In fact it was so cool, that as part of the JavaOne paper selection committee I strongly recommended it. The committee agreed, and Richard gave a talk about it at JavaOne a couple of years ago.
I like Richard's passion about putting in the extra mile to get something accomplished for you, and the community. I just want to make sure that people don't get lost in the idea of a Ph.D. as a minimum level of commitment.
I have an email from Ed Burns the specification lead for JSF. He is asking for assistance with Javadoc updates. This is for JSR-344 JSF 2.2. This is an example of something where you can make a difference without a lot of personal time expense, and may provide the push to continue into bigger and better things.
I sure could use some help in bringing the new Javadoc 7 style to the generated portion of the JSF spec [1]. Can anyone from the Adopt-a-JSR program help me out here? The task would be very hands-on, as the generated portion of the spec uses several different kinds of documents as its source inputs.It can be something simple like this that would make the difference for a lot of people.
Ed
[1]https://javaee.github.io/javaserverfaces-spec/
Obviously, I like to blog which does not require a lot of time. Here is my secret about blogging... I forget things. My blog is a reminder of how to do things that I figure out, and need every so often. I know it may sound funny, but I often Google for something and get my own blog. Other times, I blog about articles which I find interesting. Like this article.
If you want to participate in any project, or technology just ask. The smart project owners/leads will find a place in their project for you. Eventually, you may lead your own project.
Hi John,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the write-up, and thanks for recommending my JavaOne talk in 2011!
I'm sorry if my article was misleading. I was definitely *not* saying a Ph.D. is the 'minimum level of commitment'. My point was more: starting an Open Source project is a huge undertaking (Kirill Grouchnikov did a wonderful article on this here http://javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-06-2008/jw-06-oneman.html). Indeed, it's such a huge undertaking that many people (rightly) get turned off. But it may help to realise that all the work they put in can *also* get them, say, 80% of the way towards having a Ph.D., being a speaker, writing a book etc.
Of course, I'd strongly agree that getting involved at a simpler level, in someone else's project, is a good start. As Kirill points out, some 85% of new Open Source projects are abandoned - possibly because of lack of experience.
Regards,
Richard.
I liked the article. I just wanted to make sure that people who read it did not feel overwhelmed. I wish that I could get a Ph.D., but time is not available right now.
ReplyDeleteThe question comes up regularly at JUG meetings about how to be more involved in F/OSS. I understand that in many cases, people don't have much time to dedicate. I tell them to ask a project lead, or specification lead if they need assistance. The smart ones will find time to help those who want to help them. They will also accomodate the time restrictions. A little give-and-take now will only build great rapport with the volunteer and supporting community. You reap what you sow.
I applaud your work, and hope others get involved with your work on Metawidget. It is a great project. Keep up the good work, and writing.