OpenSolaris is an open source project created by Sun Microsystems to build a developer community around the Solaris Operating System technology. It is aimed at developers, system administrators and users who want to develop and improve operating systems. It also has features like Dtrace and ZFS.
The OpenSolaris User Group community is now growing worldwide, and numerous OpenSolaris technology communities and projects are being opened on opensolaris.org. As of July 2007, the OpenSolaris community has more than 60,000 registered members with hundreds of active user groups worldwide.
How to Participate
To be eligible for a prize in the Code For Freedom Contest in the OpenSolaris category, you need to do a putback to the OpenSolaris code base (specifically to the ON gate). The instructions to help you to do that are given below.
- Obtain a copy of the Solaris Express Developer Edition (SXDE).
The DVD can be downloaded from http://opensolaris.org/os/downloads/sol_ex_dvd/.
You can also order a free copy on http://get.opensolaris.org/.
- Install SXDE on your machine.
Installation instructions are available at http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/820-0462
- Go to http://opensolaris.org/,
register and create a userID for yourself.
- Select a bug or a RFE to work on. A list of simple "bite-sized" defects and RFEs is available at http://opensolaris.org/os/bug_reports/oss_bite_size/.
It is possible that someone (either from the Code For Freedom contest or outside of it) might work on the same bug and complete the putback before you do. Duplication is unavoidable in open source communities. But you can minimize your chances of duplication by joining and monitoring the opensolaris
communities
relevant to your bug, and by announcing the bugs you plan to work on. You can periodically report your status to the community and solicit feedback.
- Once you have chosen a bug to work on, check if you can reproduce the bug on SXDE. Note that all bugs might not be reproducible.
- Regardless of whether you are working on a bug or a RFE, and whether or not you can reproduce the problem, you will ultimately need access to the OpenSolaris source code. Instructions to check out the source code are available at http://opensolaris.org/os/downloads/on/
- It is relatively easy to build OpenSolaris from source compared to other operating systems. But there may be advanced steps and caveats you might want to know, for which the ON
Developer's Reference is an excellent resource.
- Once you have read the code, found the solution for your bug and written the code for it, test it to ensure it solves the problem completely and does not introduce new bugs! Do not copy code without understanding license issues.
- Now you are all set to putback the code to the OpenSolaris code base. Send an email request to request-sponsor@opensolaris.org.
Mention the bug category in the subject line. You are required to sign a Sun Contributor Agreement after which a sponsor will start working with you and do the final putback on your behalf.
- Once the putback is done, your sponsor will notify you. You can then send a mail to codeforfreedom@sun.com
with the Subject: '[OpenSolaris] Bug-ID: Putback Complete' to intimate us that you have completed a bug fix.
If you have any doubts, questions or concerns, send email to codeforfreedom@sun.com.
You can either wait for the contest results or work on another bug to improve your chances of winning.
Where to get Help
All the Best and Have Fun
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