Giving a hand with existing modules
A couple of months back, I moved a number of open source DNN modules from CodePlex to the
DNNCommunity area on GitHub. Moving the
projects to GitHub has some advantages:
- The source can be easily forked and cloned: So that everyone can have his or her
own copy of the source to play with
- Enhancements can be easily provided: The pull request principle of GitHub is a boost
in distributed development and working together in distributed (both in time and location) teams
- The documentation can be easily enhanced: The Wiki is open to everyone to produce
documentation. Any GitHub user can create and edit pages to use for documentation, examples, support,
or anything you wish.
I move the following modules to GitHub:
DNN.Links,
DNN.Forum,
DNN.ActiveDirectory,
DNN.FormAndList,
DNN.Reports,
DNN.Announcements,
DNN.NewsFeeds,
DNN.IFrame,
DNN.XML,
DNN.Wiki,
DNN.Feedback,
DNN.Events,
DNN.FAQ. You can find a list of
the projects if you go to the DNNCommunity
group account on GitHub.
Slowly, people seem to find the repositories with the open source modules on GitHub. There is no
download counter, so how many times a module has been downloaded remains unclear to me, but there are
some comments and some remarks entered in the issue tab of the various modules.
Time for some/your action!
It is nice that the modules are available, but it would be nicer if there was some additional action.
At the minimum a build of the modules in VS2013 or VS2015 against a recent version of DNNPlatform,
e.g. DNN 7.4.1. That seems to me to be a task that is not that complicated.
- Fork the repo (10 sec.)
- Duplicate the repo by creating a local clone (20 sec.)
- Load the project in Visual Studio and fix references (60 sec.)
- Update the version # of the module (10 sec.)
- Build the project (10 sec.)
- Solve the build errors (that may take a minute or two?)
- Once done, create a pull request with the results (60 sec.)
Yes, you can!
Yes, I know, I might be a bit optimistic about the effort involved, but in general, if you do some
DNN development, this should be a 1-2-3 for you. And since I like being an optimist and also want to contribute, I promise you: if you submit a pull
request that enables me to build a new release, I will build that release and put it as a release in
the release tab of the repo's on GitHub.
You are not a developer, you say?
Aha, you do not have access to Visual Studio, you cannot code, you cannot read or write VB.net of
C#? You
are "just" a user who downloads a module and tries to use it? Even better! You know how to experiment
with modules and manipulate settings, etc. So you would be an excellent tester! Just download an install
pack,
try it and document any problem you encounter. The issue tab of every repo is an excellent place to
share your findings.
Yes, you can!
You are just a content editor, you say?
Aha, you do not install modules, do not fiddle around with settings, you just write content. You
are "just" a content editor who uses a DNN based website? Even better! You know how to write text
and content. So you would be an excellent person to update some documentation? And fill the wiki in
the GitHub Repo's? Do you know that I have a Word document with user documentation of a number of
DNN modules? So, there is an excellent starting point and it is just a matter of applying your
content editor quality for the good of the community? And since there is almost nothing, you efforts
will be 100% appreciated?
Yes, you can!
Interested in a way to contribute?
Go to the repo on GitHub, fork, clone, correct, improve and enhance the module, publish the result
and, if possible, create pull requests for the original copy. And if you are interested to do a bit
more, become a project member and handle the enhancements directly on the GitHub module projects.
Yes, we can!