Blog

ASF Contributors Help ASF Software Remain Functional and Reliable for Users

Bug fixes are crucial to open source projects because they enhance the stability, and overall performance of the software. Timely bug fixes also help prevent security vulnerabilities from being exploited, while improving user trust and encouraging further contributions to the project. 

This #FirstASFContribution blog post showcases ASF contributors who have helped ensure that ASF software remains functional and reliable for users.  

Evan Rusakas – Apache Superset

Evan is a developer that works with coding, DevRel, and design. His first contribution to Apache Superset was fixing a bug with a scrollbar. Since then Evan has continued his work with the Superset community by contributing to frontend capabilities, managing projects, writing devrel content, and helping migrations and cleanup across the board with code, reviews, and advice on issues.

Samir Ahmic – Apache HBase

Samir’s previous employer relied upon HBase scripts for automatic deployment and environment setup. While using HBase, Samir noticed there were some issues with one of the scripts and decided to report a bug. After being encouraged by the HBase community, Samir decided to submit a patch. 

Emerson Castaneda – Apache Cayenne 

Emerson discovered a bug in the modeler project for Apache Cayenne. After several attempts, he was able to set up a local environment and submit a pull request to fix the bug. Since then, Emerson has contributed to other ASF projects including Apache TomEE, where he has helped translate documents and contribute code. 

Muna Bedan – Apache Iceberg 

During one of his jobs as a freelance web developer, Muna ran into an issue maintaining the theme of a website he was working on while using Apache Iceberg. Muna decided to make his first contribution to open source by addressing minor bug fixes and helping enhance Iceberg user experiences. 

Ashutosh Gupta – Apache Hadoop

Ashutosh’s first contribution to Apache Hadoop included refining the `parseResourcesString` method, ensuring it accurately ignores enclosing square brackets in resource strings. His bug fix helped enhance YARN’s robustness and user experience, ensuring that configurations are interpreted as intended, without unexpected errors from minor syntactical oversights. 

Ashutosh says that, “tackling this problem offered a fascinating glimpse into the intricacies of YARN’s resource management system, highlighting the delicate balance between flexibility in user input and the strictness of parsing logic. It was a reminder of the collaborative spirit of open-source communities, where even small contributions can lead to significant improvements in software reliability and usability.” 

The Community Over Code Ethos
The stories of these first-time contributors showcase the “community over code” ethos that’s deeply embedded in ASF’s open source communities. These experiences demonstrate how contributions can come from a diverse range of individuals, and how even simple bug fixes ensure the long-term stability of ASF projects. We applaud the collective efforts of these contributors and recognize that the open-source community’s strength lies in collaboration and support.

Connect with ASF

The post ASF Contributors Help ASF Software Remain Functional and Reliable for Users appeared first on The Apache Software Foundation Blog.