How to Help

This is an open source project, so you are invited to help us make JaxoDraw as perfect as possible. There are several ways for doing so:

  • Report bugs, feature requests and other issues.
  • Submit patches or new features that you have written yourself.
  • Write or translate documentation.
  • If you used JaxoDraw for one of your publications, you could cite the published version of the User Guide.
  • Tell your friends and colleagues about the program.

Check the Open Issues page for getting an idea of what we still intend to do, or see if you can help help us on a specific topic. Please contact us for submitting a contribution, it will be very much appreciated!

Submitting patches

Patches should always be created with respect to latest SVN source. Check the Source Repository page for instructions on how to checkout the JaxoDraw source code. Then edit your files and (after checking that the program still builds and executes and no tests were broken!) create the patch like: 

svn diff files_to_patch > descriptive_name.patch

This patch should then be attached to the SourceForge Patch Tracker or the Developer Mailing List.

Why Would I Want to Help?

There are several reasons why you would want to help:

  • By submitting your own fixes or features, they get incorporated faster.
  • By reporting issues, you ensure that bugs don't get missed or forgotten.
  • By publicizing the program you increase the chances that more people are using it, which is the main motivation for keeping it maintained and bug-free!
  • You are giving something back to the community that has given you software for free.