Ubuntu Tries To Attract New Developers

Through improving the publicly available Ubuntu Linux documentation and reaching out to new developers -- along with existing Windows developers that may now be thinking of targeting Ubuntu as their next supported platform -- the Linux OS hopes to increase its developer and application count.

Among the work items that came out of this week's Ubuntu Developer Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark as it concerns application development largely revolved around enhancing the Ubuntu Developer web-site. Specifically, the Ubuntu 13.04 objectives for the developer site include:

- Creating a new online API documentation resource. Compared to currently available Ubuntu API documentation, they are desiring better search capabilities, dynamic content, and better integration in developer.ubuntu.com.

- Embeddeding the StackExchange-powered Ask Ubuntu into the Ubuntu Developer web-site.

- Promoting a contest to help populate an "App Developer Cookbook with new and exciting recipes."

- A new section will come to their web-site so developers can "share their favorite code snippets."

- Another new section will include topic-based video tutorials and app developer events videos.

- There's also a desire to hold workshops about writing web-apps and using Ubuntu One U1DB.

The longer-term goal is also for Ubuntu to eventually have its own SDK to assist new and existing software developers wishing to target the Linux distribution.