Re: Contributing to Derby, Tips and Tasks To Get You Started

This is great, Kathey, thanks!

David

Kathey Marsden wrote:

> A while a go I promised a list of tasks that might be appropriate for
> folks just starting out with Derby. Here is a shot at that.  
>    
> Could someone pick it up and format it for the website if it looks helpful? 
>
> It will have to be a living document so things get removed as they are 
> fixed and new ones get added.   It would also be nice to have a volunteer to keep it maintained and pester derby-dev from time to get suggestions for new items for the list.
>
> Does anyone know of a good, "How to Get Started in Open Source Development" 
> article.
> That might be nice to add too.
>
> Thanks
>
> Kathey
>
> --------------------------------------------------------
> Contributing to Derby, Tips and Tasks To Get You Started
>
> So you are new to Derby and want to contribute right away.  Here  are some ideas to get you started. 
>
>
> Ongoing Projects
>
> Below are some ongoing projects, which are great starting places and always 
> available.
>
> Test the Documentation
> 	      
> Pick a manual, review it carefully and test all the examples.  If you find something that looks wrong post a question to derby-user-1oDqGaOF3Lm4UlQgPVntAg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  If the community confirms it as a  documentation bug, file a Jira entry.
>
>
> Answer User Questions
>
> Answer user questions as they come in to 
> derby-user-1oDqGaOF3Lm4UlQgPVntAg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Make sure bugs get filed 
> properly when they come up. File bugs for documentation corrections and update 
> FAQ's.
>
>
> Add Functional Tests
>
> Until we have 100% code coverage we know there are still opportunities to enhance functional testing.   See https://svn.apache.org/viewcvs.cgi/*checkout*/incubator/derby/code/trunk/java/testing/README.htm for information on writing tests.  Write the tests and if you hit something that doesn't work, post a question to derby-user-1oDqGaOF3Lkdnm+yROfE0A@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx for confirmation.   If the community confirms it as a  bug, file a Jira entry.  
>
>
> Add More Existing Tests To the Network Server Suite.
>
> This is entered as Derby-209.   Choosing this as an initial task will help you 
> come up to speed on the test harness and network server.
>
> Add Stress and Scalability Tests
>
> Choose something that Derby does and push it to the limit. Some of these kinds 
> of tests can be incorporated into the functional test framework. For example 
> Derby 216 is a task to expand on the test case for Derby-176 related to cases 
> where large amounts of byte code are generated.
>
>
> Provide Benchmark / Performance Examples:
>
> Derby could use some contributions in the benchmark/performance example area.  
> This is a good area for someone who wants to learn any of java, jdbc, sql 
> and/or derby.  It would be nice to have some public examples applications/code 
> which runs well in the derby embedded server domain.
> Extra credit:
>       o compare/contrast performance of same application with other dbs.
>       o implement public domain standard benchmark.
>
>
> Write Tests for an Upcoming Feature
>
> You may ask how you can do this, but because Derby is standards based, you can 
> often install your second favorite relational database software, one that has 
> the feature already implemented and run your tests against that.  Then you can 
> post your test to the Jira entry. This will facilitate implementation and 
> improve quality.
>
> Apply, Test and Review  Patches 
>
> Apply, review and test patches that have been posted for review.  Really make a 
> careful detailed review, try to understand all the code and if you don't, ask 
> questions about it.  Look at the functional tests supplied and see if you can 
> think of additional cases that could be added.  This is a highly valuable task. 
> If the committers don't have community members doing this, they spend all their 
> time reviewing and committing and never contributing themselves.  This task 
> will  help preserve the quality of Derby.
>
> Cleanup and Expand Javadoc
>
> In addition to Derby-204, to cleanup the javadoc warnings.  Much of the javadoc 
> could be expanded and improved upon. package.html files can be created to give 
> a package overview.   Committers are always happy to assist, review and 
> expedite these kinds of contributions because they enhance  the overall 
> competency of the community.
>
>
> First Code Changes
>
> For your first code change choose something that looks really easy. Something you can do and do well. This will be something different for different people. The point of your first change should be to go through the whole process and be comfortable with it before taking on major coding projects.  
>
> A  "Do no harm" mantra is always important if you are considering changing 
> Derby. Your first priority in introducing any new functionality should be to not 
> introduce a regression in functionality or performance.
>
> Reference Materials
>
> For general process and guidelines see:
>     http://db.apache.org/guidelines.html
>     http://www.apache.org/foundation/how-it-works.html
>    
> For the mechanics of building Derby and submitting a patch see
>     http://incubator.apache.org/derby/derby_downloads.html
>     http://incubator.apache.org/derby/derby_comm.html
>
> For Derby Internals
>     http://incubator.apache.org/derby/papers/index.html
>     Read the javadoc.
>
>
> Below are some tasks that are may be good candidates for first changes.
>
> Derby-204
> Cleanup  Derby javadoc warnings.  Take a tour of the code and add great value. 
> Feel free to take a subset of the javadoc in an area that interests you.
>
> Derby-209 
> Add more tests to Network Server.
> Learn about Network Server, the test harness, and help improve network server 
> quality.
>
>
> Derby-205
> Rename org.apache.derby.impl.drda.DB2jServerImpl to NetworkServerControlImpl. A 
> useful cleanup project to take you through the change cycle.
>
> Derby-243
> connection toString() doesn't give enough information
>
> Derby-216
> Derby-176 test case. Try to identify cases where Derby generates byte code that 
> exceeds the JVM Specification limits. This is an interesting white box testing 
> task that can be a good entry point if you are interested in code generation or 
> code paths for different types of queries.
>  
>
> Derby-180
> XCL47 SQL State duplicated in messages_en.properties.  Go through the code 
> change process and learn about how Derby Handles SQLStates
>
>
> Derby-212
> Optimize some specific methods in Network Server. A targeted place to get 
> started in Network Server and improve Network Server performance.
>
>
> Derby-211
> Network Server returns no result sets for a procedure call that returns no 
> result. A protocol fix that will help us work toward network server/ embedded 
> compatibility
>
> Derby-51
>
> Need NetworkServerControl shutdown API method that does not shutdown derby 
> embedded.  This will allow applications that embed network server to shut down 
> the server and continue with embedded access.
>
> Derby-17
> Network Server Needs to generate CRRTKN on ACCRDB if client does not send it
>
>
> Derby 104
> Get rid of the Max length of 18 for constraint names.  Help Jira and other 
> applications migrate to Derby easily.
>
> Derby 223
> Change programs under demo directory to use consistent package names so IDEs do 
> not report errors
>
> Derby-197
>
> Add tip for Windows users in BUILDING.txt file regarding file paths in the 
> ant.properties file. Save new folks a lot of time.
>
> Derby-117
>
> Try out patch for Derby 117 and verify changes. Good introduction to the 
> Network Server Servlet
>
>
> Derby 213
> ResultSet.next() after last row of FORWARD_ONLY cursor throws an SQL Exception 
> with Network Server
>
>
> DERBY-229       
> Column names on ResultSet.updateXXX and getXXX methods are handled incorrectly 
>
> DERBY-203       
> setNull(x,JDBCType.DATE) does not work when batching is turned on
>
> DERBY-195       
> isSearchable() returns true for a calculated field 
>
> DERBY-194       
> getPrecision() on TIME and TIMESTAMP is zero 
>
> DERBY-163       
> Timestamp formatting 
>
> DERBY-39        
> Strange error in JOIN ON clause 
>
>
>
> Derby client Tasks
>
> There are some very time critical Derby client tasks that are fairly large but  
> great starters in terms of difficulty. There is no component for Derby client 
> in Jira yet.  So they don't have JIRA numbers.
>
> Match embedded SQL States wherever possible. 
> The client tends to throw errors with null SQLStates or SQLStates that don't match embedded.  It would be great to get them matched up before release.
>
> Document areas of embedded incompatibility and file  JIRA entries
> In addition to the SQLStates, there may be additional incompatibilities with the embedded driver. These could be indicated in the documentation as areas that may change, so we don't get locked into any incompatibilities.  This task could be done in conjunction with Derby-209.