{excerpt:hidden=true}Information on getting involved with the OpenJPA project{excerpt}

h2. Join the Apache OpenJPA Community

The Apache OpenJPA project is being built by the open source community for the open source community - we welcome your input and contributions!

h3. What we are looking for

 * Source code and fixes contributions
 * Test cases for issues encountered during application development 
 * Documentation assistance
 * Product and feature suggestions
 * Detailed and constructive feedback
 * Articles and whitepapers

h3. How do I Contribute?

 * To discuss Apache OpenJPA topics check out the [mailing lists].
 * Bugs and other issues can be posted on the project [JIRA|http://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/OPENJPA].

h3. I have encountered an issue with OpenJPA. What do I do now?

  * Post a message to OpenJPA User's list to discuss the issue.
  * Search existing [issues|http://issues.apache.org/jira/secure/IssueNavigator.jspa?reset=true&mode=hide&pid=12310351] to see whether someone had already encountered the same issue.
  * If this issue is never encountered before, create a [JIRA issue|http://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/OPENJPA].
  * Develop a test case to demonstrate the issue.  Here are some [useful tips and guidelines|Writing Test Cases For OpenJPA] on how to develop a test case to contribute to OpenJPA repository. 
  * Attach the new test to JIRA issue. 
  * Check out the [Found a Bug] page for more details on creating and submitting patches.

h3. I have encountered an issue with OpenJPA and have fixed it in the OpenJPA source code. How do I get the changes into OpenJPA?
 * Create a [JIRA issue|http://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/OPENJPA] that describes the changes you've made (you'll need an Apache JIRA account to do this).
 * Check out the OpenJPA source code and make your changes. 
 * Create test cases to validate your changes. Here are some [useful tips and guidelines|Writing Test Cases For OpenJPA] on how to develop a test case to contribute to OpenJPA repository. 
 * {{'svn add'}} any new files.
 * Run {{'mvn test -Dtest=<MyTestCase>'}} to validate your change. You need to specify the test to run by its simple name without package name.
 * Run the checkin tests by running {{'mvn test'}} for any possible regression. This should take 20-50 minutes or so depending on the release branch.
 * Check out the [Found a Bug] page for more details on creating and submitting patches.
 * Wait for a committer to review and check in your changes.