Skip to main content

From User to Committer

Jing Yang
Jing Yang

Apache Fesod New Committer

Hello everyone, bengbengbalabalabeng here. I am incredibly honored and thrilled to share some great news with you all: I recently received an official invitation to become a Committer for the Apache Fesod (Incubating) project.

From starting out as an everyday user to submitting my first bug fix, and eventually diving deep into code contributions, documentation improvements, and community support—this journey has been incredibly rewarding. I'd like to take this opportunity to document my open-source adventure so far.

My First Encounter with Apache Fesod (Incubating)​

In my work as a Java developer, I frequently encountered the need to process complex Excel files. It was while searching for an efficient solution to this challenge that I first discovered FastExcel. It quickly became an essential tool, significantly simplifying the complexity of handling Excel data in our daily development.

Later on, some exciting news broke: FastExcel was being donated to the Apache Software Foundation, officially entering the incubator and rebranding as Apache Fesod (Incubating). At that moment, I felt the project's vitality had been elevated to a whole new level. It combined the massive influence and solid user base established during the FastExcel days with the huge, untapped potential of the Apache open-source ecosystem. Seeing such a powerful tool gain a "new lease on life" on a premier open-source platform deeply drew me in.

From there, I started following the community closely. I went from quietly lurking, to participating in Issue discussions, and finally submitting my very first PR (#668).

My Contributions​

After the thrill of having my first PR merged, I stopped limiting myself to isolated bug fixes and started looking at the project from a more holistic perspective. My main areas of contribution have included:

  • Building out the Documentation System
  • Bug Fixes
  • Improving the Testing Framework
  • Feature Enhancements
  • Community Engagement

My Takeaways​

Throughout my involvement with Apache Fesod (Incubating), I've come to deeply realize that:

  • Open source is about collaboration, not just writing code. Every single step—Issues, PRs, Code Reviews, and discussions—requires clear communication and patience.
  • Small contributions can make a massive impact. Fixing a simple typo or adding a code snippet can potentially help thousands of users.
  • The power of the community far exceeds that of any individual. Every discussion and every consensus reached makes the project that much better.

Looking Ahead​

Becoming a Committer is by no means the finish line; rather, it is a brand-new starting point. It comes with greater responsibilities and higher expectations. I am incredibly excited to continue working alongside the community to make Apache Fesod (Incubating) even better.