Useful links for developing for, submitting patches to, and helping out with Drupal

Taken from Webchick's intro to Drupal contributions for GHOP
http://code.google.com/p/google-highly-open-participation-drupal/wiki/FurtherInformation

It's been slightly generalized in places (but not yet in others).

Links that were in the text, in order:

http://drupal.org/

http://drupal.org/user/register

http://drupal.org/download
http://drupal.org/handbooks
http://api.drupal.org/
http://drupal.org/mailing-lists
http://drupal.org/node/108355
http://drupal.org/node/10259

http://drupal.org/node/add/project-issue/documentation

http://groups.drupal.org/ghop-2007
http://drupal.org/node/24565

http://code.google.com/opensource/ghop/2007-8

Task Categories

Most tasks have been sorted into the following categories. You can find all tasks in a particular category by searching for a particular label:

* Code: tasks which involve patching existing code or writing new code
* Documentation: tasks which involve fixing errors in existing documentation or writing new documentation
* Outreach: tasks which involve helping the project spread the word about their offerings
* Translation: tasks which involve translating documentation, etc. into other languages
* QualityAssurance: tasks which involve testing software or writing tests for an existing code base
* UserInterface: tasks which involve UI design or user experience research
* Training: Tasks related to helping others learn more
* Research: Tasks related to studying a problem and recommending solutions


Resources

If you are interested in participating in the contest by working on the Drupal project, you should spend some time checking out the project website. It is also recommended that you get an account on Drupal.org.

Here are some of the first things to check out as a newly arrived contributor:

* Download: You can get a copy of the latest version of Drupal from this page.
* Documentation: Start here to get information About Drupal, Installation and read our existing documentation.
* API Documentation: This site has all of the developer API documentation.
* Mailing Lists: This page will explain all of the project mailing lists, including what each list is used for and how to subscribe.
* IRC Channels: There are a number of IRC channels, many for specific areas of Drupal.
* Working with the issue queue: Tips and tricks on how to work with the issue queue, submit great bug reports/reviews, and so on.


HowTos for Specific Tasks
Coding Resources

* Setting up a test environment: http://drupal.org/node/28245
* CVS handbook: http://drupal.org/handbook/cvs
* Patching guide: http://drupal.org/patch
* Coding standards: http://drupal.org/coding-standards
* Converting 5.x modules to 6.x: http://drupal.org/node/114774
* #drupal on irc.freenode.net


Video Resources

* How to contribute a video: http://drupal.org/node/62196
* Screencasts about screencasting: http://showmedo.com/videos/ScreenCasting


Theme Resources

* Drupal 6 Theme Developer's Guide: http://drupal.org/node/171179
* Example CSS theme: http://www.lullabot.com/blog/6-get-your-css-only-theme-right-here
* Theme Developer's group: http://groups.drupal.org/theme-development
* #drupal-themes on irc.freenode.net


Usability Resources

* Example feedback: http://factoryjoe.pbwiki.com/FeedbackForDrupal6


Documentation Resources

* Post an issue to the documentation issue queue that's titled "I would like to join the documentation team." This gives you access to edit handbook pages directly.


Getting Help

If you have signed up to complete a particular task and you have some questions about how best to complete it, first see if the task description has specific instructions about whom to contact for assistance. If there are no specific instructions in the task, these resources should be helpful to you:

* IRC Chat: #drupal on irc.freenode.net to answer any questions you may have. If they don't know the answer, they will be happy to point you in the right direction.
* Group Site: You can always ask questions in Drupal groups. Answer questions as well and use the site to communicate with one another!


If you've looked for the answer but could not find any documentation or it was unclear please create a documentation issue or contribute to the documentation yourself so the community can continue to improve the information for everyone.

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