At a Glance:
- Involved in open source since: 2019
- Works for: EclipseSource
- Eclipse Foundation contributor since: 2019
- Involved in: Eclipse Theia, Eclipse EMF Cloud, Eclipse GLSP
- Eclipse Foundation committer since: 2021
What’s your background as a developer?
I began my academic journey with a bachelor’s degree in Tyrol and then spent a few years working as a C++ developer in the private sector.
After that, I decided to return to university and pursue a master’s degree in Vienna. During my studies, I was introduced to model engineering and modelling tools, which turned out to be a defining moment for me. I also came into contact with Philip Langer, which eventually led me to work at EclipseSource. I started there in parallel with my master’s studies, and that’s where I really discovered my passion for tool development, especially modelling tools.
This phase also came with a natural transition towards web development, which I enjoy a great deal. It feels far more flexible than what I had experienced before. Looking back, it’s interesting to see how everything evolved, and I feel I’ve ended up in exactly the right place.
What is it you like about model-based engineering?
What I really appreciate about it is that you typically design tools for a very broad and diverse group of users. You’re not just focusing on a single use case, you have to take usability, functionality, and many different workflows into account at the same time.
Knowing that people actively work with the tools you’re building is incredibly rewarding.
How did you get involved in open source?
Before joining EclipseSource, my exposure to open source was mostly theoretical. During my first job, I didn’t really have the opportunity to engage with it directly. That changed completely when I started working at EclipseSource.
Many of the frameworks we use, both internally and for customer projects, are open source and actively developed by EclipseSource. Getting involved in open source therefore became a natural part of my day-to-day work. Over time, I really came to appreciate the benefits it brings, not just technically, but also in terms of collaboration and transparency. It quickly became something I found very valuable.
How did you then become a committer at the Eclipse Foundation?
My first committer role came through my work on Eclipse EMF Cloud. At the time, I was also working on my master’s thesis, and a large part of that work was directly related to EMF Cloud.
As I became more deeply involved in the project and contributed more regularly, taking on additional responsibility, becoming a committer felt like a natural next step. That was my entry point, and later I also became a committer on Eclipse GLSP and, more recently, Eclipse Theia.
What are the biggest challenges as a committer to an OSS project?
One of the biggest challenges is learning to step back when making decisions, particularly for larger contributions or architectural changes. As a committer, you always need to consider the full range of users and use cases, not just the one you may be focused on at that moment.
It’s also essential to keep code quality and maintainability in mind at all times, even for small bug fixes. Every change affects the long-term health of the project and everyone involved in it.
That said, I don’t see this purely as a challenge. It’s also a form of training. You develop a mindset that naturally leads to more robust designs and better decisions overall.
What have been the highlights of being a committer so far?
For me, the biggest highlight is the community. Interacting with contributors and users from different backgrounds constantly brings new insights into how tools are used in practice.
One moment I find particularly rewarding is when new contributors open an issue and I can encourage them to make their first contribution. When that first pull request gets merged and you see how happy they are about it, it’s incredibly motivating. Sometimes the barrier to entry can seem high, and helping people overcome it is what I really like.
The community is also extremely constructive and welcoming. When you’re unsure about a decision, architectural or otherwise, or use cases you need to tackle, you can always reach out and get valuable feedback. This is one of the greatest strengths of open source.
Do you also get to meet the community at on-site events?
I plan to attend OCX this year, as I’d like to meet some of the other contributors in person. At the moment, I’m only in contact with them via GitHub, so this would be very valuable for me as well.
What makes Eclipse Theia stand out from similar projects?
From my perspective, Theia’s greatest strengths are its flexibility and modularity. As an adopter, you’re not required to consume the entire codebase. You can choose exactly what you need.
Theia also supports different deployment models: it can run in the browser or as a standalone desktop application. This flexibility allows it to cover a wide range of use cases and requirements, which makes it stand out from comparable tools.
Any advice for someone new to open source?
My advice is simple: just start. It’s often easiest to begin with a small contribution. That could be opening a bug report, improving documentation, or adding tests – things that might seem minor but are extremely valuable to a project.
There really shouldn’t be any barriers. Communities are usually very welcoming and happy to help if you have questions. Starting small is a great way to become familiar with a codebase, and once you see your first contribution merged, it’s incredibly rewarding. It’s a bit like an entry drug: once you experience that first success, it becomes much easier and more motivating to keep contributing.