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Our community welcomes contributions to the TestLink project. Anyway, you find out later that you will profit from.
Easy Ways You Can Get Involved
For the More Technically-Oriented
Should I modify code?
You are suppose to do it! That is great benefit against commercial software.
On modifying the TestLink are we required to publish the source code back even if we use it internally?
As GPL license states you must make changes available to world. Please, let us know, more about your improvement of product. We recommend to create a short documentation or use case. Log it into our tracker (or forum).
What will happen:
- You make interesting changes, that we can offer as patch on our pages for other users. There could be a reason, that it will not be integrate into future version. A reason could be for example, that your changes mostly doesn't follow our coding standard or the current development version differs from the contribution base.
- You make a great and wanted job and we will integrate your changes to the next development release (not bug fixing release).
We are not going to press you to publish everything. But clever people things about future. We are going to release new and new versions. One day you will make a decision to stay with your patched one or avoid your changes to use a newer one. You will have dilemma to stay with old one (without new features, fixes and potential of future) or spend an additional time to solve own changes in each new version. You pass the problem if you contribute your changes.
That's the good reason for you. Anyway, It's ethic to help us if you share our work.
How should I deliver my contribution?
Please create a request feature to our tracker . You should set severity to 'feature request' and title could start 'Contribution'. You should describe the functionality and configuration changes.
Note, that we will not add your contribution to bug fixing branch but to HEAD. I.e. your contribution patch should be preferably against CVS code (not released version like is 1.8.3). We also have plans for near versions, it could mean, that we do not proceed your job immediately.
We are busy people too. Feel free to gently remind us if nothing happens for longer time.
Could I become a member of development team?
You are welcome. Contribute and communicate with our team. We would like to be sure, that we all understand direction of project and people are willing to be unselfish. We will provide you a review and help.
How find information?
There as four basic sources:
Stay in Touch with other users
You can keep in touch with other developers through forum and the developer mail. All users are welcome to ask and share knowledge via forum. The main technical communication channel of development community is developers mailing list. Any contributor or TestLink hacker could be a member.
How make contribution useful?
We recommend to create a short documentation/requirements and create a request to tracker at first. It helps you and us to find the best way. We have certain plans for future. So it's important to not waste time by implementing the same thing by different way, make coding too specific (so it's not useful to implement), etc. We should not accept any wild coding with hard-coded names of servers, etc. All the current team developed the product in spare time and/or as a hobby. So we have not time to rewrite your code. The first point is Developer Guide ( here ).
Please check basic rules for useful contribution:
- All your changes in code must be marked by your name or acronym.
- Strings must be localized.
- No hard-coded configuration
- Comment code functions
- Deliver text for update of User Guide (and Installation manual)
How create own localization?
- Translate strings of /locale/en_GB/strings.txt, description.php and texts.php to your language. Use UTF-8 character set!
- Create issue "New feature" in TestLink Tracker and attach here compressed files. Add also information about local time and date format: For example English has: "%d/%m/%Y" and "%d/%m/%Y %H:%M:%S".
How update an existing localization?
Download the latest langugage files from repository. You can use anonymous CVS access or browser . Rewrite English and unappropriate strings. Post it to development team.
Hint: Download the script that update missing declaration. Developer update en_GB files continously. So you language can miss some declaration. It parse english string file and update your localization files with missing definition. Please download the php script (use "Save link as").
Usage:
- Open the script for editting.
- Correct the first line to point php binary for your OS.
- Modify a path to master file (en_GB) - check parameter $file_eng in top of file. Point it to en_GB/string.txt file.
- Save the script.
- Linux only: Allow execute script: # chmod u+x tl_lang_parser.php
- Run the file with to-be-updated file as argument. For example:
# tl_lang_parser.php /home/havlatm/www/tl_head/locale/cs_CZ/strings.txt
Note: to have report about parsing redirect script to file; for example
# tl_lang_parser.php strings.txt > report.txt
Add a new Bug tracking interface into TestLink
The current supported systems are Bugzilla, Mantis, Jira and more. However there is general class which could be easily modified to add other systems. Please find a description in Dev. Guide.
Of course there is still a lot white places, your questions via forum or mail help us to create TL documentation better. Please be patient. We are not machines but busy people. However we try to do the best.
Download of unreleased code
You can use anonymous CVS access on sourceforge.net to get the current code. Simple guide is here . Note, that each main release has own bug fixing branch and latest development is without any branch. For example release TestLink 1.7 has branch branch_testlink_1_7. You can checkout also module 'documents' to see user and developers documentation.
Note: The downloaded code from CVS HEAD could be in some cases unusable because of active development.
Another way is download nightly prepared packages from Asiel site .
Testing of TestLink
We looking for regular testers of our project. Japan team created group Test Task Force . This group approves each new release. Please contact Toshiyuki Kawanishi.
Issue Tracker
Report a bug or fix someone else’s by logging to our issue tracker.
Important notice for creating issues:
- please describe the problem as detailed as possible. Give detailed steps to reproduce and point out very clearly what you expect to be the correct behaviour.
- do only submit issues for official Testlink versions - no issues based on cvs code.
- after submitting an issue please track this issue and try to answer questions (from e.g. developers) as soon as possible
Provide Technical Documentation
TestLink is always looking for clear and concise technical documentation. If you’ve written documentation on TestLink architecture, API’s, security, integration, or anything else for the developer community, register and login to submit it .
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