Help existing code with patches
You don't have to be able to write a whole module to contribute code. You also don't need to be a genius to help with core and contributed code. (This section will explain how to help by finding issues to work on, creating and submitting patches.)
Finding issues to work on
Helpful links:
http://drupal.org/bug-bingo
http://drupal.org/contrib-bug-bingo
http://drupal.org/patch/spotlight
http://drupal.org/patch-bingo
http://drupal.org/contrib-patch-bingo
Patches
Patches are a way to distribute changes to files. In the context of Drupal, it means that patches usually describe changes to code. In fact, patches describe the changes between a before and after state. That means that if you have Drupal in the before state you can arrive at the after state by simply applying the patch.
We use patches for content control even though Drupal is distributed via CVS. This is because patches provide a great deal of control and convenience; they are small, plain-text and can be sent via e-mail; they are focused on a change and therefore easily read and judged.
This also means that a CVS account is not required to supply patches; anyone with a Drupal account can go to the issues queue to upload a patch. The tips for contributing apply to core as well as contributed modules.
SVN equivalents
If diffing against your own SVN repository, the follow tcsh alias comes in quite handy. (Tip I learned from Kitt Hodsden.)
alias svndiff 'svn diff --diff-cmd=`which diff` -x -u -x -p \!*'Then you can do:
svndiff -r1 path/to/changed/fileand get the unified diff with function information.
Alias on MacOS X
Here is the alias I set on MacOS X, in file
~/.profile:alias svndiff='svn diff --diff-cmd=`which diff` -x "-up"'Type
source ~/.profileto take into account this new alias in current terminal.Then you can use it that way:
svndiff path/to/changed/fileFor the Windows Users...
This is a nice short doc on how to patch Drupal from Windows:
http://community.contractwebdevelopment.com/patching-drupal-modules-in-w...
Cheers,
- Berto
-- Founder, Discount Supplements - http://www.PricePlow.com
- Berto
-- Founder, http://www.PricePlow.com - Beta Alanine & Scivation Xtend