Please recommend me some rails/ruby open source code that needs documentation/tests written [closed]

Question

I've been using ruby on rails for the last 4 months or so and I've been really enjoying the whole concept of open source. I know it's not exclusive to ruby/rails but coming from windows programming this is my first real exposure to it.

I want to "give back" what I can but I don't feel like I can contribute any worthwhile open source projects or gems of my own. So I figured a good place to start is by documenting or writing tests for some existing projects.

Could you guys please point me to a few possible options? I'd prefer projects that are pretty active but at the same time not too complex (since I'm not very good with ruby right now).

This might be a subjective question but at this point I have no idea where to even start. So even subjective answers would be much appreciated.

Answer 1

Kudos! There are several ways to participate.

I think the question to ask yourself is, what are your areas of expertise? What subject area to you have a solid knowledge of? For example, if you had experience with Web Services, the Savon project is in dire need of documentation, examples, etc. If you have Java experience, there are many burgeoning JRuby projects that could use a hand.

You can check the Ruby Toolbox, which lists gems in categories by popularity. Look in the areas that appeal to you and check out the popular gems. The vast majority of gems have github repositories. If you haven't learned git, I highly recommend it. It's super easy to branch a project, update it. Look for projects which have a good test suite, which will not only help you figure out how it works, but will give you good examples for testing your additions/fixes.

Also, the Ruby and Rails documentation at APIdock allows for comments. If you come across something that's not entirely clear in the Rails documentation, for example, you can add a clarifying comment or examples.