Free Guide on "Contributing to OpenMRS" now available from FLOSS Manuals

“Contributing to OpenMRS: Getting Started as a Developer” is now available. This free book was created for people who are interested in joining the OpenMRS community as either a developer or user of this reknowned 'open source' Electronic Health Record (EHR) system. The book serves as a quick guide to learn more about the history of OpenMRS, what it does, and how the global OpenMRS community works.

The book was written by a number of representatives of the OpenMRS community who gathered at the 2013 Google Summer of Code 'Doc Sprints' held at the Google campus in Mountain View, California. This annual event provides an opportunity for open source projects, like OpenMRS, to write a book documenting their software with the help of documentation specialists.

The book introduces the OpenMRS development processes and IT architecture, walks the reader through setting up a development environment and building a basic module, provides an overview of OpenMRS collaboration tools, and shows community members where to go for support. Other key aims of the book include helping members:

• Understand the basics about the OpenMRS system, e.g. mission, goals, history, functionality.
• Understand how the OpenMRS community interacts and communicates.
• Know where to go to get started with your first contributions to the community.

Experienced OpenMRS developers and community members should read this initial version of the book for accuracy, provide feedback, and help the community maintain and enhance this valuable new resource.

The OpenMRS community has offered a special thanks to FLOSS Manuals, Aspiration, and the Google Open Source Programs Office for their assistance and support.