# New Developer Start Help

**URL:** <https://discuss.px4.io/t/new-developer-start-help/15356>\
**Category:** Uncategorized\
**Created:** [February 24, 2020, 11:55pm UTC](https://discuss.px4.io/t/new-developer-start-help/15356 "2020-02-24T23:55:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![FlynSafe](https://discuss.px4.io/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/f/13edae/32.png) [@FlynSafe](https://discuss.px4.io/u/FlynSafe)\
**Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 11:55pm UTC](https://discuss.px4.io/t/new-developer-start-help/15356/1 "2020-02-24T23:55:34Z")

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Hi All,

Background:  
Many years as an RC fixed wing pilot.  
A couple of years as an RC helicopter pilot  
Flew fixed wing drones professionally while training military personal  
Software Development Experience: (short list)  
Python 2.7  
JavaScript, HTML, CSS  
VBA Excel  
GitHub  
Several years Digital Electronics experience professionally  
Have a Pixhawk autopilot system  
Both hardware and software development of a lidar based monitoring system  
Installed Ubuntu 18.04 along side of Windows 10  
Installed Visual Studio Code

Goal:  
To incorporate a Python based lidar monitoring system into a drone through  
integration with the PX4 software on a Ubuntu 18.04 system

Forum:  
I have read through most of the Dronecode documentation and I am struggling with understanding terminology, what code to utilize, where and how to begin to locate the code plus how to access GPS and compass data.

I am looking for a “mentor” who would be willing to walk me through the initial steps of getting started.

I am fairly new to Ubuntu and I am an absolute newbie to the software development world of the PX4 so any help would be greatly appreciated.