Contributing

Help make this blog series even better! We welcome contributions from the engineering community.

🎯 Ways to Contribute

📝 Improve Existing Content

What we need:

• Clearer explanations of complex concepts

• Better code examples and edge cases

• More realistic failure scenarios

• Improved testing instructions

How to help:

1. Find areas for improvement: Look for confusing sections, outdated examples, or missing edge cases

2. Make the changes: Edit the content, test any code changes

3. Submit a pull request: Include a clear description of your improvements

🐛 Report Issues

Found something broken?

• Code examples that don't work

• Setup scripts that fail

• Unclear or confusing instructions

• Missing dependencies or prerequisites

How to report:

1. Check existing issues: Someone might have already reported it

2. Create a detailed issue: Include error messages, environment details, and steps to reproduce

3. Label appropriately: Use labels like bug, documentation, enhancement

💡 Suggest New Content

Ideas we're looking for:

• Additional engineering scenarios and stories

• New workflow patterns and use cases

• Integration examples with other tools

• Performance optimization techniques

How to suggest:

1. Open a discussion: Share your idea in GitHub Discussions

2. Get feedback: Let the community help refine the concept

3. Create an issue: Once the idea is solid, create an issue to track it

🔧 Add New Examples

Want to contribute a new engineering story?

Follow our established pattern:

1. Identify a Problem: Common workflow challenge in your domain

2. Design the Solution: How Tasker would solve it elegantly

3. Create the Example: Complete, runnable code

4. Write the Story: Compelling narrative with technical depth

5. Test Thoroughly: Ensure everything works perfectly

📋 Contribution Guidelines

📝 Content Standards

Writing Style:

• Conversational but technical: Accessible to engineers without being dumbed down

• Story-driven: Start with relatable engineering pain points

• Example-heavy: Show, don't just tell

• Results-focused: Include concrete metrics and improvements

Code Quality:

• Complete and runnable: Every example must work without modification

• Well-commented: Explain why, not just what

• Production-ready: Use realistic patterns and error handling

• Tested: Include comprehensive test scenarios

Documentation:

• Step-by-step setup: Assume minimal prior knowledge

• Troubleshooting: Cover common issues and solutions

• Multiple scenarios: Success cases, failure cases, edge cases

🔄 Development Process

1. Setup Your Environment

# Fork and clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/tasker-blog.git
cd tasker-blog

# Create a branch for your changes
git checkout -b improve-chapter-1-examples

# If adding code examples, test them
cd blog/posts/post-01-ecommerce-reliability
./setup-scripts/blog-setup.sh
# Test your changes

2. Making Changes

For Content Changes:

• Edit the relevant Markdown files

• Follow GitBook formatting conventions

• Test any code snippets you add

For Code Examples:

• Follow existing code organization patterns

• Add comprehensive error handling

• Include test scenarios

• Update documentation

For New Chapters:

• Follow the established directory structure

• Include all required files (README, blog-post.md, TESTING.md, etc.)

• Create working setup scripts

• Write comprehensive documentation

3. Testing Your Changes

Test Content:

# Install GitBook CLI (if testing locally)
npm install -g gitbook-cli

# Build and serve the book
gitbook serve
# Visit http://localhost:4000

Test Code Examples:

# Test each setup script
./blog/posts/YOUR_CHAPTER/setup-scripts/blog-setup.sh

# Run through all testing scenarios
# Follow the TESTING.md guide for each chapter

# Verify examples work in clean environment

4. Submitting Changes

# Commit your changes
git add .
git commit -m "Improve e-commerce example error handling

- Add more realistic payment failure scenarios
- Include network timeout simulation
- Update testing guide with new scenarios"

# Push to your fork
git push origin improve-chapter-1-examples

# Create a pull request on GitHub

🏗️ Directory Structure for New Chapters

If adding a new chapter, follow this structure:

blog/posts/post-XX-your-topic/
├── README.md                    # Chapter overview and setup
├── blog-post.md                # Main narrative content
├── TESTING.md                  # Comprehensive testing guide
├── code-examples/              # Complete working code
│   ├── README.md              # Code organization guide
│   ├── task_handler/          # Main workflow definitions
│   ├── step_handlers/         # Individual step implementations
│   ├── models/                # Supporting data models
│   ├── demo/                  # Controllers, simulators, sample data
│   └── config/                # YAML configurations
└── setup-scripts/             # Installation and setup tools
    ├── blog-setup.sh          # One-line installer
    └── README.md              # Setup documentation

📊 Content Templates

New Chapter Template

Create blog/posts/post-XX-your-topic/blog-post.md:

# Your Compelling Title

*Subtitle that captures the engineering pain point*

---

## The 3 AM Wake-Up Call

[Start with a relatable engineering nightmare scenario]

## The Problem

[Technical deep-dive into what goes wrong and why]

## The Solution

[Step-by-step Tasker implementation]

## The Results

[Concrete metrics showing improvement]

## Key Takeaways

[5-7 actionable insights]

## Want to Try This Yourself?

[One-line setup with working example]

Setup Script Template

Create setup-scripts/blog-setup.sh:

#!/bin/bash
set -e

# Your Chapter Name Demo Setup
GITHUB_REPO="tasker-systems/tasker"
BRANCH="main"
INSTALL_SCRIPT_URL="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/${GITHUB_REPO}/${BRANCH}/scripts/install-tasker-app.sh"

# Parse arguments and call main installer
curl -fsSL "$INSTALL_SCRIPT_URL" | bash -s -- \
    --app-name "$APP_NAME" \
    --tasks your_template_name \
    --non-interactive

# Provide chapter-specific instructions

🎯 Specific Contribution Opportunities

High Priority

Chapter 1 Improvements:

• Add more payment gateway failure scenarios

• Include inventory race condition examples

• Improve error message clarity

• Add load testing examples

Infrastructure:

• Improve setup script error handling

• Add automated testing for all examples

• Create Docker-based setup option

• Add Windows/WSL testing

Documentation:

• Video walkthroughs of key examples

• Interactive decision trees for choosing patterns

• Performance benchmarking guides

• Migration guides from other workflow systems

Future Chapters

Most Requested Topics:

• Data Pipeline Resilience: ETL workflows with parallel processing

• Microservices Coordination: API orchestration and circuit breakers

• Team Scaling: Namespace organization and workflow governance

• Production Observability: Metrics, tracing, and alerting

• Enterprise Security: Authentication, authorization, and audit trails

Specialized Topics:

• Event-Driven Architectures: Integration with message queues

• ML/AI Workflows: Model training and inference pipelines

• DevOps Integration: CI/CD workflow orchestration

• Financial Services: Compliance and audit requirements

🔍 Review Process

What We Look For

In Content Reviews:

• Clarity: Is the explanation easy to follow?

• Accuracy: Are technical details correct?

• Completeness: Does it cover the essential concepts?

• Engagement: Is the story compelling and relatable?

In Code Reviews:

• Functionality: Does the code work as described?

• Quality: Is it production-ready?

• Testing: Are failure scenarios covered?

• Documentation: Is setup and usage clear?

Review Timeline

• Initial Review: Within 48 hours

• Detailed Feedback: Within 1 week

• Final Approval: Based on complexity and scope

Feedback Incorporation

We'll work with you to:

• Refine the content: Improve clarity and engagement

• Fix technical issues: Ensure code examples work perfectly

• Enhance testing: Add comprehensive failure scenarios

• Polish presentation: Optimize for GitBook formatting

🎉 Recognition

Contributor Credits

• Major contributions: Author credit on chapter pages

• Improvements: Acknowledgment in chapter acknowledgments

• Bug fixes: Recognition in commit history and release notes

Community Benefits

Your contributions help:

• Engineers worldwide: Learn better workflow patterns

• Tasker ecosystem: Grow and improve

• Your reputation: Build credibility in the engineering community

• Open source: Strengthen the community-driven development model

📞 Getting Help

Before Contributing

• Read existing content: Understand our style and approach

• Try the examples: Experience the user journey

• Check discussions: See what others are saying

• Review contribution guidelines: Ensure your ideas align

During Development

• Ask questions early: Better to clarify upfront than fix later

• Share drafts: Get feedback before investing too much time

• Test thoroughly: Prevent issues for future users

• Document everything: Help others understand your changes

Communication Channels

• GitHub Issues: For bugs, features, and formal requests

• GitHub Discussions: For questions, ideas, and community chat

• Pull Request Comments: For specific feedback on changes

• Email: For sensitive or complex coordination (if provided)

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Great engineering content comes from the engineering community. Thank you for helping make these stories better for everyone!