Getting involved in linux

stevet

I have been using linux for quite a few years now but have never really gotten involved beyond the basic home user level. I would like to get involved in linux now. how do i go about this? i have no programming skills or knowledge... yet. so how i get involved in this and be of help in making linux better? also where can i start in learning programming? i dont really need to get to crazy with the programming i mostly want to be able to read code and find bugs and the such. and also eventually get into building some programs eventually.

any help and advice with this would be greatly appreciated.

thank you.

mfillpot

If you want to get involved with the kernel and get some experience with their code there are plenty of books that can help get you started you can also volunteer to help with the Kernel Janitors project https://code.google.com/p/kernel-janitors/

However, if you are referring to different elements such as a distribution or a specific software then you would be best off joining their mailing-lists and asking where they may need help outside of coding, some projects have a need for graphic designers, ui designers and various other roles. The best think you can do to help without coding is recommending or refining features to make an application easier or more useful to you and others.

dannydamsky

In my opinion you should first go into programming a bit before getting into Linux, it could give you an idea of how most things work with computers. I would recommend starting with "Web Fundamentals" which is HTML and CSS, and after that, learn a bit of Javascript, you could learn it at http://www.codecademy.com/ it is a great site, I learned a lot from there.

After you're done there, you could learn to get around in the terminal, like doing your basic tasks in the terminal.
For instance:
1. Update your system.
2. View your open tasks / kill a task
3. Edit a text file
4. Install an application
5. Open an application via a command
6. Use X-Based apps, like file managers, games, etc... For file manager I'd recommend MC
After that you could start getting into some tougher steps like logging into ROOT or compiling a kernel.

After trying all that out, when you feel like you understand more or less how all the basics are done, you could start learning kernel development. If you feel like you still need some more practice you could learn how to install Arch linux, that could be a great tutorial for you.
Cheers!
-danny

nickmh

Why not get a channel up and running on yout ube and start putting some tutorials or guides together for new uesrs. You've experienced this? Now help others?