The xml.apache.org project lives or fails based on its human resources. Users and contributors alike help the project with ideas and brainpower. A common foundation of knowledge is required to effectively participate in this virtual community. The following is a list of documents that we have found helpful for us and may be helpful to you:

These resources are required reading for anybody contributing source code to the project.

• The Java Language Specification
  

  Written by the creators of the Java Programming Language, this online book is considered by many to be the bible for programming in Java. A must read.

• Javadoc
  

  Javadoc is the automatic software documentation generator used by Java since it was first released. All Java code written for this project must be documented using Javadoc conventions.

• Introduction to CVS
  

  Written by Jim Blandy, this brief introduction gives a first look into CVS. If you have never used CVS before, you'll want to start here.

• Version Management with CVS
  

  Written by Per Cederqvist at al, this is the main manual for CVS. It provides details on all documented CVS features.

The following are a set of articles written about the recent source code movements that help illustrate some of the attributes of a collaborative project such as this. You may not agree with all of the points of these articles, but an understanding of them will help in communicating with everyone on the project.

• The Cathedral and the Bazaar
  

  Written by Eric S. Raymond, this is a must read for anyone willing to join or support a volunteer project.

• Homesteading the Noosphere
  

  Written by Eric S. Raymond, this is a sequel to "The Cathedral and the Bazaar". It details the property and ownership customs of the open-source culture. This analysis has larg implications for anyone interested in organizing large-scale intellectual collaborations such as this project.