I want to start helping develop random open source software – where should I start?
Hello, I have very little experience in programming, and I think developing open source software would be a fun way of practicing. Where can I find a good tutorial on how to start developing open source software?
I’m getting good at VB.NET and just started Java.
I meant a tutorial like "How to start help developing open source software"
Well Open Source software doesn’t really have "tutorials" as it is a programming practice to keep all of your code open and available to anyone. There are some really good web sites I think you might like to look at for more information
Free Software Foundation
http://www.fsf.org/
SourceForge
http://sourceforge.net/
Wikipedia Article about Open Source Software
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source
Opensource.org
http://www.opensource.org/
Some clarification:
"open source" means that ANYONE can view, edit, and use your source code. You should license it under a GNU or GPL license, to make sure no one distributes it without your permission.
C++ is a must if you are planning to create powerful software with Java.