[SciPy-Dev] Prerequisites for contributing?

[Jonathan Conroy]

Hi all,

I'm Jonathan, a rising sophomore studying math and computer science. I'm hoping to start contributing to open source software over the summer and SciPy seems like a really interesting library, but I'm worried I don't have the experience to make meaningful contributions. I'm looking for advice on whether or not I have the background to contribute.

In terms of coursework, I've taken Data Structures & Algorithms and Machine Architecture, and I've had calculus, linear algebra, and a bit of real analysis. I'll be taking a few machine learning courses next year (and will be using SciPy in them), but as of right now I haven't used SciPy in any large projects. That being said, I have a bunch of time on my hands and would be eager to spend it learning the codebase this summer.

Do you think contributing to SciPy would be doable/worthwhile for me, or would you recommend looking for other projects and returning to SciPy later on? Are there any specific SciPy modules that would be more accessable than others? Any advice is appreciated!

Thanks for your time,
Jonathan Conroy