Contributing to Open Source Projects
One of the best ways to acquire expertise on a topic in Science in general is to try and solve a problem or build an apparatus. Within the context of computer science, software is one such apparatus as programming also involves modeling the problem domain.
The Open Source community world-wide has developed software that impacts various spheres of life. In the year 2008, the rate of contribution and adoption has both accelerated given increasing access to broadband internet and web application platforms.
Whether you are a student or a professional, working on an Open Source project is the easiest way to get your talent and point of view recognized. For the student, it also means standing out among the crowd of job seekers.
As you read the sections below, you will find practical information about Open Source projects, Project Ideas and also information about TWINCLING projects.
At any point in time, if you have any queries and want to discuss them, please consider joining the list http://groups.yahoo.com/group/twincling
Make a mark for yourself !
Contributing to a well managed, growing Open Source project is one of the best ways to learn Open Source technologies and improve one's technical skills.
Here you will see a list of select Open Source projects which we recommend.
You may want to look up their website, see what needs help and directly start interacting with the project community on the mailing list or the IRC channel.
If you need any help in discussing or scoping the project, please consider joining http://groups.yahoo.com/group/twincling and discuss with the community.
Many IT companies have created funds to sponsor student contribution to Open Source projects.
Novell Open Source program
Please see the details available at http://developer.novell.com/opensource/index.html
Google Summer of Code
This is an annual program in which Google awards stipends to students who successfully complete an Open Source project in a fixed period in time (typically 90 days).
Overview of the program
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Summer_of_Code
You can check out the list of the participating Open Source projects at http://code.google.com/soc/2007/
Google Summer of code Blog
http://googlesummerofcode.blogspot.com/
IBM Great Mind challenge
Please visit the link http://www.tgmc.in/
Details about the IBM Academic Initiative program
http://www-07.ibm.com/in/university/
Open Source Development Model (TWINCLING Publication)
http://www.twincling.org/slides/osdm.pdf
Producing Open Source software - Karl Fogel
http://producingoss.com/en/producingoss.pdf
List of Open Source software packages
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_open_source_software_packages