Need tips for working on Open Source projects for Linux

I'm not new to C or Linux. However, most of the projects I've worked on were either my own or at work. In both scenarios, I have full control over the build system used and/or can easily get help.

However, take for example this library: GitHub - liblouis/liblouis: Open-source braille translator and back-translator.

Say I want to contribute, or at least play with the library. I usually use CLion in my projects, which can work with CMake files. However, if I simply clone that repository and open it in CLion, CLion does not properly parse everything and it ends up being a big mess that I can't really build or debug/run for example.

I know that many of these linux projects follow a pattern to INSTALL like this:

1. ./configure
2. ./make
3. ./make install

However, this builds the binaries which doesn't help me if I want to work with the codebase in an IDE or do source-level debugging for example. Are there any generic tips on working on open-source linux projects or do they pretty much all vary on a case-by-case basis and nobody else could just go to that library and get it working with their IDE/editor quickly either?

For the project listed see liblouis/HACKING at master * liblouis/liblouis * GitHub

To develop using the IDE you want requires extra work and knowledge of your IDE, version control, and project native build system.

your IDE: CLion
version control: git
native build system: Automake (configure/make)

I have no idea if CLion support building with third party makefiles; if it does that might be a way to go.

Tim S.

stahta01,

Thanks for your guidance. I extracted two main pieces of information from your post:

1) Do a more thorough job of reading the provided documentation, help, and readme files.

2) If I can intercept/modify the "make" step, I can probably at least instruct the build system to build with debug symbols. Also, I found this which was helpful thanks to you: Using local makefile for CLion instead of CMake - Stack Overflow