Learn how you can contribute to Eclipse 4diac
From code and testing to usability enhancements, documentation, and industrial feedback. Contributions of all kinds help improve quality, usability, and long-term sustainability.
Not sure where to start?
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New to Eclipse 4diac?
A good starting point is contributing to documentation or helping with testing and quality assurance or translations. -
Software developer?
Learn how to contribute to the 4diac IDE and 4diac FORTE or extend Function Block libraries. -
UX or UI expert?
See how you can improve usability and workflows. -
Industrial user?
Read how to share feedback and real-world use cases.
If you prefer direct interaction, you are welcome to join the regular Eclipse 4diac Virtual Community Meetings, where contributors and users discuss topics, answer questions, and help newcomers get started.
Development & Engineering
Who: Software developers and automation engineers
How you can contribute:
- Contribute code:
- Java developers: 4diac IDE
- C++ or embedded developers: 4diac FORTE
- Compiler and toolchain experts: 4diac FBE
- IEC 61499 experts: 4diac SYS
- Fix bugs or implement new features
- Improve performance, stability, and maintainability
- Extend and improve existing Function Blocks
- Contribute to build systems, CI pipelines, and release engineering
- Architecture & Design
- Propose architectural or conceptual improvements
- Discuss design alternatives and technical trade-offs
- Contribute design documents or technical proposals via GitHub issues or discussions
Getting started:
- Look for issues labeled good first issue, enhancement, … across the organisation, or look in each repository.
- Ask questions on the discussion forums or mailing list
- Follow the contribution guide for code contributions
Quality, Testing & Bug Wrangling
Willing to experiment with Eclipse 4diac? Test the 4diac IDE and 4diac FORTE and help improve stability and release quality.
Who: Users, testers, developers
How you can contribute:
- Find and report bugs to help ensure the quality of Eclipse 4diac
- Verify and reproduce reported issues
- Improve bug reports by adding reproduction steps or minimal examples
- Review and prioritize bug reports and feature requests
- Create and extend automated tests (unit, integration, system-level)
- Help identify untested areas and critical workflows
Relevant issue trackers: 4diac IDE, 4diac FORTE, 4diac FBE, 4diac SYS, 4diac’s Documentation, 4diac’s Website
Even reproducing a bug, adding a test, or clarifying a report is a highly valuable contribution.
UX, UI & Usability
Small usability improvements can have a large impact on the daily user experience.
Who: UX designers, UI engineers, HCI researchers, and usability-focused users
How you can contribute:
- Review and improve editor workflows (e.g., Function Block editing, deployment, monitoring)
- Propose usability improvements for 4diac IDE
- Create UI mockups or interaction concepts for new features
- Improve icons, color usage, and visual consistency
- Review and discuss usability-related issues
Getting started:
- Browse UX-related issues in the 4diac IDE issue tracker
- Share mockups, sketches, or concepts via GitHub issues or discussions
- Discuss ideas on the discussion forum or mailing list
Function Block Libraries & Ecosystem
A rich ecosystem of FB libraries lowers the entry barrier for new users and increases industrial adoption.
Who: Automation engineers, domain experts, developers
How you can contribute:
- Develop reusable Function Block (FB) libraries
- Contribute domain-specific FBs (e.g., robotics, energy systems, process automation)
- Improve and refine existing FBs
- Improve documentation and examples for existing FBs
- Share best practices and reference architectures
Documentation, Education & Community
This is an excellent entry point for first-time contributors.
Who: Educators, students, users, technical writers
How you can contribute:
- Improve and extend the existing documentation
- Write tutorials, how-to guides, and example projects
- Create teaching material for courses and workshops
- Improve diagrams, figures, and explanations
- Support new users by answering questions in forums and mailing lists
- Create or contribute video content (e.g., tutorials, walkthroughs, recorded talks) for the Eclipse 4diac YouTube channel
Documentation workflow:
The Eclipse 4diac documentation is written in AsciiDoc and maintained openly on GitHub in the 4diac documentation GitHub repository. Improvements, fixes, and new content can be contributed via pull requests and follow the same review process as code contributions.
Localization & Accessibility
Localization and accessibility contributions help make 4diac IDE available to a broader audience.
Who: Translators, native speakers, accessibility advocates
How you can contribute:
- Translate 4diac IDE into new languages
- Improve existing translations
- Review UI text for clarity and consistency
- Help improve accessibility (keyboard navigation, contrast, screen reader support)
Getting started:
- Check existing language support
- Propose or contribute a new translation
Industrial Use, Feedback & Validation
Industrial feedback helps ensure that Eclipse 4diac remains practical, robust, and relevant for real automation systems.
Who: Industrial users, system integrators, researchers
How you can contribute:
- Share experience from real-world deployments
- Validate features and workflows in industrial settings
- Report limitations, gaps, and production requirements
- Provide feedback on performance, robustness, and usability
- Share reference architectures or anonymized use cases
Contribution Guide
A detailed description of how to contribute code and documentation to Eclipse 4diac can be found in the contribution guide. If you are unsure where to start, feel free to ask on the discussion forums, mailing list, or join the regular Eclipse 4diac Virtual Community Meetings — the community is happy to help!