Auto-tools/New Contributor

Welcome! First things first, you should meet the Ateam.

This will look like a lot, but the good news is that you don't need to understand or even use all this to be effective. So, "Don't Panic".

Just bookmark this page and refer back to it as needed. I've structured it like a task list, so when you see someone say something like "Flag that patch on the orange for review" you can come here and figure out what people are talking about (or just ask them).

IRC

• We use irc.mozilla.org. We are in the #ateam channel
• We have many irc channels at Mozilla
• Never used IRC? Here's some getting started tips.

Conference Call

• Join our weekly (every Monday) status conference call.
• Be sure to announce yourself so we know you're there

Bugzilla

• We track everything in bugzilla. We also do some work around bugzilla.
• Create yourself an account: http://bugzilla.mozilla.org
• Learn to use it: Bugzilla For Humans How-To video
• Use Quicksearch to search bugzilla
• Ask for a review of your work.
• What may I change in Bugzilla?

Automation Harnesses

• The automated testing overview
• XPCShell
• Mochitest
• Reftest
• Mozmill
• What is an "orange" test? It's a test that fails intermittently. They are called "oranges" because they turn our status reporting orange. View current list of "oranges".

E-Mail & Mailing Lists

• Watch m.d.a.Firefox for Firefox front end design, questions and status
• Watch m.d.quality for information on testing
• Watch m.d.Planning for project wide notices and meeting announcements
• Watch m.d.Platform for technical discussions regarding the Gecko Platform
• To keep abreast of the latest status on the entire project, Planet Mozilla is useful, but is a TON of data.

MXR & Pastebin

• To look up source in Mozilla-Central (trunk): http://mxr.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/
• To look up a specific file in our tree use this url for a base: http://mxr.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/find?text=&string= and add the file name to it.
  • Pro tip: make it into a bookmark keyword in Firefox. Then you can type "mxrf <filename>" in the URL bar.
• To "pastebin" something, paste it here and hand the link you're given after clicking "submit" to people on IRC.

Building & Build/Test Status Reporting

• How to build
• How to use Try Server
• Watch the status on "pushlog" (aka "tbpl" or "tinderbox pushlog")

The Brief Guide to Coding

• Source for mozilla-central
• How to use Mercurial Queues
• Add "ac_add_option --enable-tests" (no quotes) to your mozconfig to enable tests
• Get a MPL license block for a new file
• Javascript Style Guide
• General Coding Style
• General Rule -- follow the style of the file you're editing, but no tabs. Ever.