How to Help with Programming on Ubuntu Mate

[lpmorgan1]

I am a former programmer. I would like to assist with Ubuntu Mate. What is a good language for programming here?

[lpmorgan1]

I will be learning the language, of course.

[vkareh]

Hi @lpmorgan1, we'd love to have you help out!

• Ubuntu MATE repos are here: https://github.com/ubuntu-mate (mostly Python, some Vala)
• MATE Desktop repos are here: https://github.com/mate-desktop (mostly C, some Python)

Feel free to ask any more specifics

[lpmorgan1]

So I gather Python and C are the two languages most in use.

I will select one and get started.

Any more advice on which language or where to start is most appreciated.

Larry

[vkareh]

@lpmorgan1, I did a bit of digging and found some issues that could be good to get started:

Python

• https://github.com/ubuntu-mate/mate-menu/issues/44
• https://github.com/ubuntu-mate/mate-tweak/issues/29
• https://github.com/ubuntu-mate/mate-menu/issues/11
• https://github.com/ubuntu-mate/mate-dock-applet/issues/175

C

• https://github.com/mate-desktop/caja/issues/1109
• https://github.com/mate-desktop/pluma/issues/407
• https://github.com/mate-desktop/mate-terminal/issues/286

Also, I wrote a post a while ago on how to get started on forking our projects, building, testing, etc:

What languages are programs in Ubuntu MATE written in?

Depends what you mean by “novice”. If you’re novice at programming, I would suggest starting with Python, write a few simple scripts to get comfortable, then go and dig into a project. The Ubuntu MATE repository has plenty of simple applets written in Python. The best approach I’ve found is to scratch your own itch: find a project that has bugs that you can reproduce, or a feature that you really want added to it. Don’t be afraid to break code, you can always undo/revert it. When it comes to c…

Take a look there and feel free to post more questions here.