No subject

1. Publish an up-to-date and complete roadmap. So everyone can=20
see where gvSIG is going (and be ready to make adjustments if=20
there are good reasons being voiced by the community).=20

2. Complete English translations and communication (all web pages,=20
all documentation, all traffic on the bug tracking list,=20
source code comments, error messages and GUI strings). Otherwise=20
this project will remain largely closed to non-English speaking=20
code contributors.=20

3. Open up discussion of new features and design. Let your users=20
share their thoughts about how to get features "just right".=20
It will give interesting perspectives and improve quality all over.=20

4. Open up the bug tracker read-only for everyone, but also=20
give ticket writing privileges to those users who would like=20
to go bug hunting and file reports directly. Urgent: switch=20
all communication on the bug tracker to English as soon as=20
possible. Essentially, this means external peer review=20
-> huge quality booster!=20

5. And finally, most importantly: release early, release often!=20
Don't worry about every release being perfect or even able to=20
run at all. People can always switch back to an earlier version.=20
But do give plain users a chance to try even small improvements=20
and provide feedback on how a major release is shaping up.=20
This actually was done quite well on the way up to gvSIG 1.9=20
which sometimes had a release every week (Ideal! Please let's=20
have weekly builds again!), but somehow no longer happens.=20
Note: this would also need to be done for extensions!=20
All we need is an automatic snapshot of the SVN binaries once=20
on a Friday evening.=20

Along the lines of what Silvio said: Some things to ponder over the weekend=
!=20

Have a nice weekend folks!=20

Ben=20



> Regards=20
> Jos=C3=A9 Canalejo=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
> --=20
> Jos=C3=A9 Antonio Canalejo Alonso=20
> CSGIS=20
> Email: jose.canalejo at csgis.de=20
> Web: http://www.csgis.de=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
> De: Benjamin Ducke < benjamin.ducke at oxfordarch.co.uk >=20
> Para: Users and Developers mailing list=20
> < gvsig_internacional at listserv.gva.es >=20
> Enviado: vie,26 marzo, 2010 16:32=20
> Asunto: Re: [Gvsig_english] QUESTION gvSIG 1.9 (BN 1253) -- Future of=20
> gvSIG and Sextante=20
>=20
> Hi all=20
>=20
> > About Sextante + gvSIG in the future... My opinion is that we will=20
> be=20
> > togheter, and there will be always a gvSIG+Sextante distribution. In=20
> > fact, we are planning a new 1.9.1 release to fix some of the more=20
> > anoying bugs, and we will try to put the latest Sextante release (if=20
> > it=20
> > is possible. There are some problems, for example, latest release=20
> will=20
> > need java 1.6, and CIT (the public administration that pays the=20
> bill)=20
> > still have a lot of computers with 1.5, so we need compatibility=20
> with=20
> > 1.5. Maybe the solution will be to make 2 distributions, one with=20
> 1.5=20
> > and other with 1.6, I don't know).=20
> >=20
>=20
> Well, that explains something!=20
> And here we are guessing for months while gvSIG 1.9 still ships=20
> with Java 1.6 and can no longer include SEXTANTE...=20
>=20
> Sorry if this sounds a bit frustrated, but this is exactly the=20
> sort of opacity that will send external contributes running away=20
> if it keeps up (please see my more extensive comments below).=20
>=20
> > These are only my personal thoughts. The decision process is driving=20
> > by=20
> > a commitee, but there is always a possibility to make an=20
> "unofficial"=20
> > distribution, like OADE [1] or the latest gvSIG portable (also with=20
> > Sextante, and with Vista and 7 compatibility (thanks to AI2, the=20
> > people=20
> > who is developing the 3D plugin), and with the collaboration of=20
> V=C3=ADctor=20
> > to put Sextante, CSGIS, and some others (Jorge Gaspar, and my self,=20
> > for=20
> > example)).=20
> > BTW, there is another "flavor" in gvSIG for Mac, thanks to Agustin=20
> > D=C3=ADez=20
> > and the people of AI2 (again) [3].... ;-)=20
>=20
> So now we have gvSIG 1.9, gvSIG 2.0 (no binaries yet), gvSIG OADE=20
> 2010,=20
> and the new raster driver binaries done by AI2. But how is a first=20
> time=20
> user supposed to understand what's going on here?=20
>=20
> This is exactly the problem with forking and why I hope version 2.0=20
> (or at least 2.1) will give us the opportunity to merge all of this=20
> mess=20
> into a consolidated platform, again.=20
>=20
> If gvSIG is to be an open source project in the true spirit of it,=20
> then=20
> there need to be more frequent releases and there can be no exclusive,=20
> closed decisions by some committee about the design of the official,=20
> public and open source release. No complex code base has ever survived=20
> as an open source project in that way (look at Xara Xtreme for Linux=20
> for a horrible example; Netscape had to radically change its approach=20
> before it could turn into a successful open source project with=20
> Mozilla).=20
>=20
> In fact, if there is pressure on CIT to develop a version specifically=20
> targeted at its own workplaces, than *that* version should be branched=20
> off to include things such as Java 1.5 support. The way it is right=20
> now,=20
> we have an official version for use at CIT and branches for use by=20
> the rest of the world -- that's the wrong way around from the open=20
> source point of view!=20
>=20
> There is no "payment" as such for users contributing to this project.=20
> All=20
> they can get out of it is recognition and the good feeling to have=20
> contributed=20
> to something greater. But with the way development decisions are=20
> currently=20
> made, I don't see that happening. Which makes me worried that we will=20
> lose=20
> user contributions.=20
>=20
> If CIT wants to get the *real* benefits from going open source, then=20
> it=20
> needs to adopt more of the open source mindset.=20
>=20
> Ben.=20
>=20
> >=20
> > Best regards, and keep going with your how-to manuals, and remember=20
> > that=20
> > the code behind all these releases is very, very simillar. Thanks a=20
> > lot=20
> > for your hard work.=20
> >=20
> >=20
> > Fran Pe=C3=B1arrubia=20
> > gvSIG Team.=20
> >=20
> >=20
> > [1] http://oadigital.net/software/gvsigoade/gvsigoade2010beta=20
> > [2] http://www.gvsig.org/web/plugins/downloads/gvsig-1-9-portable=20
> > [3]=20
> http://gvsigmac.blogspot.com/2010/03/big-news-gvsig19-working.html=20
> >=20
> >=20
> > Simon Cropper escribi=C3=B3:=20
> > > Hi,=20
> > >=20
> > > A recent post by Victor outlined the roadmap for Sextante.=20
> > >=20
> > > In it he indicated he intended to make Sextante into a library and=20
> > > allow various developers to assimilate this library into their=20
> > > projects, rather than maintain a plug-in system which requires=20
> > > constant rejigging to ensure the bindings work.=20
> > >=20
> > > Surprisingly, despite Victor pointing everyone to OADE 2010, the=20
> > > developers of gvSIG (core project) were not goaded into a=20
> response.=20
> > >=20
> > > So I am asking... What is the position of the gvSIG Developers=20
> > > regarding Sextante (you have had enough time to talk about this)?=20
> > Are=20
> > > you planning to incorporate the upcoming library into gvSIG or=20
> will=20
> > > you let this plug-in languish? I suppose the question is also=20
> > relevant=20
> > > for the next version of OADE.=20
> > >=20
> > > I think this is an important question as Sextante elevates gvSIG=20
> > into=20
> > > a product that can be used in a production environment; without it=20
> > > gvSIG lacks important basic functionality.=20
> > >=20
> > > And at a personal level, I am in the final stages of preparing my=20
> > > templates for my how-to manuals -- should I be writing my=20
> > > documentation for OADE 2010 (which incorporates Sextante) or=20
> > > gvSIG+Sextante or if the use of Sextante is uncertain, other=20
> > upcoming=20
> > > packages? I am also on record stating that gvSIG+Sextante is the=20
> > first=20
> > > FOSS GIS that I could use in a production environment. There is=20
> also=20
> > > an upcoming paper in OSGeo Journal to that elk. So, will these=20
> > > statements hold true in the future or will the gvSIG product fall=20
> > back=20
> > > to just the core modules?=20
> > >=20
> > > --=20
> > >=20
> > >=20
> > > Cheers Simon=20
> > >=20
> > > Simon Cropper=20
> > > Botanicus Australia Pty Ltd=20
> > > PO Box 160, Sunshine, Victoria 3020.=20
> > > P: 9311 5822. M: 041 830 3437.=20
> > > mailto: scropper at botanicusaustralia.com.au=20
> > > <mailto: scropper at botanicusaustralia.com.au >=20
> > > web: www.botanicusaustralia.com.au=20
> > < http://www.botanicusaustralia.com.au >=20
> > >=20
> > >=20
> > >=20
> > >=20
> >=20
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------=
=20
> > >=20
> > > _______________________________________________=20
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> > > Gvsig_internacional at listserv.gva.es=20
> > >=20
> http://listserv.gva.es/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gvsig_internacional=20
> > >=20
> >=20
> > _______________________________________________=20
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> > Gvsig_internacional at listserv.gva.es=20
> > http://listserv.gva.es/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gvsig_internacional=20
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