+++
date = "2020-10-31T02:48:35+00:00"
publishdate = "2023-12-29T07:08:55+00:00"
title = "Keeping Up with Open Source"
slug = "keeping-up-with-open-source"
author = "Thedro"
tags = ["opensource"]
type = "posts"
summary =  "A good way to improve your programming skills is to read the code that other people write."
draft =  ""
syntax =  ""
toc =  ""
updated =  ""
+++

{{< image source="/images/keeping-up-with-open-source.png" title="RSS Feeds" >}}
RSS feeds of interest {{< /image >}}

A good way to improve your programming skills is to read the code that other
people write. Reading code for the sake of reading code isn't optimal --- it's
more beneficial to read the code of programs that you like or use often in
bite-sized chunks.

My favorite ways to track open source programs are `RSS` (Really Simple
Syndication) feeds, mailing lists, and forum discussions. If one is able to
sufficiently reason about a code base, then keeping on top of changes is easy,
and takes minutes a day.

The benefits are practical and time saving. You'll know the expected changes in
upcoming releases, issues that other people have, patches that contributors want
to integrate, and other useful information.

## RSS Feeds

`RSS` (Really Simple Syndication) is a great way to keep track of various open
source projects. [GitHub](https://github.com/) hosts most of the world's open
source projects and provides `RSS` feeds (`atom`) for commits and releases.

1. If a project is slow moving subscribe to the commits.
   https://github.com/Ralim/ts100/commits.atom
2. If it has good release notes subscribe to the releases.
   https://github.com/Ralim/ts100/releases.atom

Good change logs are a rarity these days, but an `RSS` feed will allow you to
know what has changed as soon as it happens. Countless `RSS` feed readers are
available. Use one that you {{< sidenote mark="prefer." set="right" >}}My
preferred setup is a web hosted reader ([Feedly](https://feedly.com/i/welcome))
and a native feed reader
([newsboat](https://github.com/newsboat/newsboat)).{{< /sidenote >}}

## Forum Discussions

Forum discussions are excellent for news on open source programs that you use
often. Subscribe to any forums either by registering or by using `RSS`. Here's a
subset of forums that I follow through `RSS`.

1. **Arch Linux**: [Arch Linux](https://www.archlinux.org/) is a bleeding edge
   Linux distribution. Subscribe to their large offering of
   [feeds](https://www.archlinux.org/feeds/) for updates, and information on
   numerous open source programs.
2. **Reddit**: [Reddit](https://old.reddit.com/) has a large offering of
   [forums](https://old.reddit.com/r/linux/) (subreddits). If you see that a
   subreddit exists for a program --- add `.rss` to the `URL` to get the `RSS`
   feed link. If the `RSS`
   {{< sidenote mark="feed" set="right" >}}[Feedly](https://feedly.com/i/welcome)
   limits the [amount](https://twitter.com/feedly/status/1290536525105635329) of
   Reddit `RSS` feeds. Use a self hosted `RSS` feed reader like
   [Miniflux](https://miniflux.app/) or [FreshRSS](https://freshrss.org/) for
   maximum freedom.{{< /sidenote >}} for a subreddit is broken use
   [inline reddit.](https://inline-reddit.com/) The discussions are usually
   niche enough to be useful.

## Mailing Lists

Mailing lists are considered old school, but contain lots of good information.
Subscribe to any mailing list available for software that you use. Subscribing
is as easy as having an email address and following the instructions for that
mailing list. Here's a subset of mailing lists that I follow from time to time.

1. https://lists.alpinelinux.org/lists/~alpine
2. http://vger.kernel.org/vger-lists.html
3. https://www.debian.org/MailingLists