[Interest] Contributing to Qt : when you're a spare contributor

[Koehne Kai]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: interest-bounces+kai.koehne=digia.com at qt-project.org
> Subject: Re: [Interest] Contributing to Qt : when you're a spare contributor
>
> I have similar unpleasant impression. Recently I've reported a bug
> (https://bugreports.qt-project.org/browse/QTBUG-29217) which I find
> severe. If my observations are correct then QSqlTableModel is now in not so
> usable state. But there is still no attention to it.

Hi,

I'm sorry that you both had bad experiences with contributing. I can understand it can be quite depressing to get no or little feedback. As it happens you both have been trying to contribute to the Sql module, which unfortunately very few people have enough knowledge about to review stuff. According to

http://qt-project.org/wiki/Maintainers

Mark Brand has stepped up as the maintainer of the Qt SQL module, so it's not a bad idea to also contact him directly. I can't tell you though how responsive he is (I don't know him personally).

> While the issue is fixable quite easily (in fact, I've downloaded Qts sources
> and fixed it), but it is not an easy task to make it submitted to the master
> branch, considering all the specifics of contribution procedure of Qt, when
> you have no such experience. Soon, I will try to make it on my own, but in
> case of my failure, I think I will have to attach a patch and leave it off...

I understand that the effort needed to contribute your first patch - while nothing compared to the loops you had to hop through before open governance started - can be frustrating. Not everyone starts loving git from the start. Anyhow, there are legal strings attached, so we just can't accept patches coming in via e-mail or JIRA. Apart from this it's also just easier to discuss things in a standard manner on codereview. Most patches will require iterations, especially if they're coming from new people. What I hope though is that we as a  community are helpful and responsive if you've questions regarding the setup, or just want someone to 'walk you through' the steps necessary. I certainly appreciate anyone trying to contribute, be it only minor details, and will also help him if he's asking for help e.g. on IRC.

Regards

Kai