I'm an avid user of KDE and a full supporter of OSS, however, all I can do right now is use the programs and encourage others to do so. I've had 2 semesters of university programming and would like to know of a guide or book that would allow me to transition into the deeper parts of linux. Eventually, I'd love to be able to pump out patches for the linux programs I use all the time.

For programming KDE Software, you may want to check out

• KDE Dev Guide book
• Get Involved/Development on Techbase
• Blog series about my personal journey to what I call "KDE Devland"

Note that there are many ways to get involved, see http://community.kde.org/Getinvolved. Personally I started out with the goal to become a KDE developer, but now I mostly contribute in other forms, such as helping out in the forums.

Since you're a university student, you may also be interested in Google Summer of Code (note that the deadline is in one week!).

My best advice is to do what you want to do. Is there an KDE application that you like that hasn't been updated in a while? Or maybe you miss a feature in an application. We call this "scratching your own itch."

Good luck, don't hesitate to ask if you have any further questions!

Oh great, a spambot. However, I've preserved the topic since it may be useful to others.