The OpenJDK code base is huge! How do I know what each component does, and where to begin?
Hacking on the OpenJDK project can be daunting for those just starting out. Even the most experienced Sun engineers who’ve been working on this code base since the first line of code was written find it necessary to specialize and focus on specific modules. A solid grounding in the language and platform are a must for working on this project, but for the aspiring systems programmer or experienced Java developer there are many interesting opportunities in such a large body of code. Find the elements that interest you most, study the APIs and javadocs, then dive into the code to see how these APIs are implemented, search the bug database for interesting problems to solve, and get going! It might be tough going at first but you can join the community discussions and get some help and advice, and enjoy the satisfaction of working on one of the most widely used programs in all of computing.
