# Looking to contribute **URL:** \ **Category:** Development\ **Created:** [November 26, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/t/looking-to-contribute/1679 "2009-11-26T19:05:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Reeves](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/958977/32.png) [@Darryl\_Reeves](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/u/Darryl_Reeves)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/t/looking-to-contribute/1679/1 "2009-11-26T19:05:05Z")
Hello, I am currently taking organic chemistry while applying to master’s programs in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics. In preparation for graduate school, I have been looking for open source projects which I can contribute to in order to get experience programming within the life sciences. Avogadro seems like a good fit because it includes concepts and functionality that overlap with what I am learning in organic chemistry. I have not been employed as a software engineer for a few years and I am hoping that I can also regain some of my programming abilities as a contributor to this project. Having a said all of that, I have compiled and installed Avogadro on Ubuntu 8.04 at home. I have played around with the application by following the instructions in the documentation on the project website. I have not spent a lot of time digging through the code, however. My question at this point is where should I start? I know that in most open source projects contributors can start being useful by submitting bug fixes. Does anyone have any suggestions on a bug or other help that I can provide to get started? Looking forward to getting involved. Best, Darryl ---
**Author:** ![ghutchis](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/user_avatar/discuss.avogadro.cc/ghutchis/32/456_2.png) [@ghutchis](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/u/ghutchis)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 8:44pm UTC](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/t/looking-to-contribute/1679/2 "2009-11-26T20:44:41Z")
Hi Darryl, Welcome! Yes, it seems like your expertise and interests are a great match. > My question at this point is where should I start? I know that in most open source projects contributors can start being useful by submitting bug fixes. Does anyone have any suggestions on a bug or other help that I can provide to get started? Well, we have an open bug tracker – there are several which look like “low-hanging fruit.” [http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group\_id=165310&atid=835077](http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=165310&atid=835077) There’s also a feature tracker: [http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group\_id=165310&atid=835080](http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=165310&atid=835080) And a general “to do” list as well: [http://avogadro.openmolecules.net/wiki/To\_Do](http://avogadro.openmolecules.net/wiki/To_Do) Of course, please contact us on the list and we’d be happy to give pointers and suggestions. Cheers, -Geoff ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Reeves](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/958977/32.png) [@Darryl\_Reeves](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/u/Darryl_Reeves)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 10:41pm UTC](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/t/looking-to-contribute/1679/3 "2009-11-27T22:41:11Z")
Thanks, Geoff. I’ll start with the bug list and contact the list if I run into any problems. Darryl On Thu, Nov 26, 2009 at 3:44 PM, Geoffrey Hutchison \< [geoff.hutchison@gmail.com](mailto:geoff.hutchison@gmail.com)\> wrote: > Hi Darryl, > > Welcome! Yes, it seems like your expertise and interests are a great match. > > > My question at this point is where should I start? I know that in most > > open source projects contributors can start being useful by submitting bug > > fixes. Does anyone have any suggestions on a bug or other help that I can > > provide to get started? > > Well, we have an open bug tracker – there are several which look like > “low-hanging fruit.” > [Avogadro / Old Bugs](http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=165310&atid=835077) > > There’s also a feature tracker: > [Avogadro / Old Feature Requests](http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=165310&atid=835080) > > And a general “to do” list as well: > [http://avogadro.openmolecules.net/wiki/To\_Do](http://avogadro.openmolecules.net/wiki/To_Do) > > Of course, please contact us on the list and we’d be happy to give pointers > and suggestions. > > Cheers, > -Geoff ---
**Author:** ![ghutchis](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/user_avatar/discuss.avogadro.cc/ghutchis/32/456_2.png) [@ghutchis](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/u/ghutchis)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 3:25am UTC](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/t/looking-to-contribute/1679/4 "2009-12-08T03:25:11Z")
> Thanks, Geoff. I’ll start with the bug list and contact the list if I run > into any problems. Hi Darryl, Did you find any mini-projects which hit your interests? I can make a few suggestions if you like. Cheers, -Geoff ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Reeves](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/958977/32.png) [@Darryl\_Reeves](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/u/Darryl_Reeves)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 8:27pm UTC](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/t/looking-to-contribute/1679/5 "2009-12-09T20:27:36Z")
Hi Geoff, Due to finals preparation and finishing up grad school applications, I haven’t been able to dig into the project to the extent that I want. I was able to identify a couple of bugs that I thought would be good to start with: #2894884 and #2894658. However, if there are mini-projects that would be more beneficial to the project for me to work on, I would definitely appreciate any suggestions. Best, Darryl On Mon, Dec 7, 2009 at 10:25 PM, [geoff.hutchison@gmail.com](mailto:geoff.hutchison@gmail.com) wrote: > > Thanks, Geoff. I’ll start with the bug list and contact the list if I > > run > > into any problems. > > Hi Darryl, > > Did you find any mini-projects which hit your interests? I can make a few > suggestions if you like. > > Cheers, > -Geoff