Finished going through and writing the "Starting a Project" general

[fspm_howto] / FreeSoftwareProjectManagementHOWTO.sgml

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 <artheader>
  <title>Free Software Development HOWTO</title>

  <author>
     <firstname>Benjamin</firstname>
     <othername>Mako</othername>
     <surname>Hill</surname>
     <affiliation>
        <address>
           <email>mako@debian.org</email>

        </address>
     </affiliation>
  </author>

   <revhistory>
      <revision>
         <revnumber>v0.01</revnumber>
         <date>25 March 2001</date>
         <authorinitials>bch</authorinitials>
          <revremark>
          Initial Release
         </revremark>
      </revision>
   </revhistory>

  <abstract>
    <indexterm>
      <primary>fswd</primary>
    </indexterm>

    <para>
     This HOWTO is designed for people with experience in programming
     and some skills in managing a software project but who are new to
     the world of Free Software. This document is meant to act as a
     guide to the non-technical aspects of programming and was written
     to act as a crash course in the people skills that aren't taught
     to commercial coders but that can make or break a free software
     project.
    </para>
  </abstract>

 </artheader>

<!-- Section1: intro -->

 <sect1 id="intro">
   <title>Introduction</title>

   <indexterm>
    <primary>fswd!introduction</primary>
   </indexterm>

  <para>
   For various reasons, this realease has been codenamed the
   <emphasis>homade yogurt</emphasis> release.
  </para>

  <para>
   New code names will appear as per industry standard
   guidelines to emphasize the state-of-the-art-ness of this
   document.
  </para>

  <para>
   Skimming through Freshmeat provides mountains of reasons for this
   HOWTO's existence--the Internet is littered with excellently
   written and useful programs that have faded away into the Universe
   of Free Software Forgottenness. This dismal scene made me ask
   myself, "Why?"
  </para>

  <para>
   This HOWTO tries to do a lot of thing (probably too many), but it
   can't answer that question and won't attempt it. What this HOWTO
   will attempt to do is give your Free Software project a fighting
   chance-an edge. If you write a piece of crap that no one is
   interested in, you can read this HOWTO until you recite it in your
   sleep and your project will probably fail. Then again, you can
   write a beautiful, relevent piece of software and follow every
   instruction in this HOWTO and your software may still not make
   it. Sometimes life is like that. However, I'll go out a limb and
   say that if you write a great, relevant pieces of software and
   ignore the advise in this HOWTO, you'll probably fail <emphasis>
   more often</emphasis>.
  </para>

  <para>
   A lot of the information in this HOWTO is best called common
   sense. Of course, as any debate on interfaces will prove, what is
   common sense to some programmers proves totally unintuitive to
   others. After explaining bites and pieces of this HOWTO to Free
   Software developers on several occasions, I realized that that
   writing this HOWTO might provide a useful resource and a forum for
   programmers to share ideas about what has and has not worked for
   them. 
  </para>

  <para>

  </para>

  <para>
   As anyone involved in any of what seems like an unending parade of
   ridiculous intellectual property clashes will attest to, a little
   bit of legalese proves important.
  </para>

<!-- Section2: copyright -->

  <sect2 id="copyright">
   <title>Copyright Information</title>

   <para>
    This document is copyrighted (c) 2000 Benjamin (Mako) Hill and is
    distributed under the terms of the Linux Documentation Project
    (LDP) license, stated below.
   </para>

   <para>
    Unless otherwise stated, Linux HOWTO documents are
    copyrighted by their respective authors. Linux HOWTO documents may
    be reproduced and distributed in whole or in part, in any medium
    physical or electronic, as long as this copyright notice is
    retained on all copies. Commercial redistribution is allowed and
    encouraged; however, the author would like to be notified of any
    such distributions.
   </para>

   <para>
    All translations, derivative works, or aggregate works
    incorporating any Linux HOWTO documents must be covered under this
    copyright notice. That is, you may not produce a derivative work
    from a HOWTO and impose additional restrictions on its
    distribution. Exceptions to these rules may be granted under
    certain conditions; please contact the Linux HOWTO coordinator at
    the address given below.
   </para>

   <para>
    In short, we wish to promote dissemination of this
    information through as many channels as possible. However, we do
    wish to retain copyright on the HOWTO documents, and would like to
    be notified of any plans to redistribute the HOWTOs.
   </para>

   <para>
    If you have any questions, please contact 
    <email>linux-howto@metalab.unc.edu</email>
   </para>
  </sect2>

<!-- Section2: disclaimer -->

  <sect2 id="disclaimer">
   <title>Disclaimer</title>

   <para>
    No liability for the contents of this documents can be accepted.
    Use the concepts, examples and other content at your own risk.
    As this is a new edition of this document, there may be errors
    and inaccuracies, that may of course be damaging to your system.
    Proceed with caution, and although this is highly unlikely,
    the author(s) do not take any responsibility for that.
   </para>

   <para>
    All copyrights are held by their by their respective owners, unless
    specifically noted otherwise.  Use of a term in this document
    should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark
    or service mark.
   </para>

   <para>
    Naming of particular products or brands should not be seen 
    as endorsements.
   </para>

   <para>
    You are strongly recommended to take a backup of your system 
    before major installation and backups at regular intervals.
   </para>
  </sect2>

<!-- Section2: newversions-->

  <sect2 id="newversions">
   <title>New Versions</title>

    <indexterm>
     <primary>(your index root)!news on</primary>
    </indexterm>

   <para>
    This is the initial release. It is written to be released to
    developers for critique and brainstorming and submitted to
    Hampshire College for academic credit. Please keep in mind that
    this version of the HOWTO is still in an infant stage and will be
    revised extensively before it hits the LDP.
   </para>

   <para>
    The latest version number of this document should always be listed 
    at my webpage at<ulink url="http://people.debian.org/~mako/">
    http://people.debian.org/~mako/</ulink> Debian.
   </para>

   <para>
    The newest version of this HOWTO will always be made available at
    the same website, in a variety of formats:
   </para>

   <para>
   <itemizedlist>
    <listitem>
     <para>
      <ulink url="http://people.debian.org/~mako/howto/fswd-howto.html">HTML</ulink>.
     </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
     <para>
       <ulink URL="http://people.debian.org/~mako/howto/fswd-howto.txt">plain text</ulink>.
     </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
     <para>
      <ulink url="http://people.debian.org/~mako/howto/fswd-howto.US.ps.gz">compressed 
       postscript (US letter format)</ulink>.
     </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
     <para>
      <ulink url="http://people.debian.org/~mako/howto/fswd-howto.UF.ps.gz">compressed 
       postscript (Universal format / 8.27x11in; 210x279mm)</ulink>.
     </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
     <para>
      <ulink url="http://people.debian.org/~mako/howto/fswd-howto.sgml">SGML source</ulink>.
     </para>
    </listitem>
   </itemizedlist>
   </para>
  </sect2>

<!-- Section2: credits -->

  <sect2 id="credits">
   <title>Credits</title>

   <para>
    In this version I have the pleasure of acknowledging:
   </para>

   <para>
    <emphasis>Karl Fogel</emphasis>, the author of <emphasis>Open
    Source Development with CVS</emphasis> published by the Coriolis
    Open Press. Larges parts of the book are available <ulink
    url="http://cvsbook.red-bean.com">on the web</ulink>. 225 pages of
    the book are available under the GPL and constitute the best
    tutorial on CVS I have ever seen. The rest of the book covers,
    "the challenges and philosophical issues inherent in running an
    Open Source project using CVS." The book does a good job of
    covering some of the subjects brought up in this HOWTO and much
    more. <ulink url="http://cvsbook.red-bean.com">The book's
    website</ulink> has information on ordering the book and provides
    several translations of the chapters on CVS. I you are seriously
    interested in running a Free Software project, you want this book.
   </para>
   
   <para>
    Karl Fogel can be reached at <email>kfogel (at) red-bean (dot)
    com</email>
   </para>
   <para>
    Also providing support and material, and inspiration for this
    HOWTO is Eric S. Raymond for his prolific, consitent, and
    carefully crafted arguments, to Lawrence Lessig for reminding me
    of the importance of Free Software and to every user and developer
    involved with the <ulink url="http://www.debian.org">Debian
    Project</ulink>. The project has provided me with a home, a place
    to practice Free Software advocacy and to make a difference, a
    place to learn from those how have been involved with the movement
    much longer than I, and an proof of a Free Software project that
    <emphasis>definately, definately works</emphasis>.
   </para>

   <para>
    Above all, I want to thank <emphasis>Richard Stallman</emphasis>
    for his work at the Free Software Foundation and for never giving
    up. Stallman provided the philosphical basis that attracts me to
    Free Software and that drives me towards writing a document to
    make sure it succeeds. RMS can always be emailed at <email>rms
    (at) gnu (dot) org</email>.
   </para>

  </sect2>

<!-- Section2: feedback -->

  <sect2 id="feedback">
   <title>Feedback</title>

   <para>
    Feedback is most certainly welcome for this document. Without your
    submissions and input, this document wouldn't exist. Something
    missing? Don't hesitate to contact me and to write a chapter. I
    want this document to be as much a product of the Free Software
    development process that it heralds and I think its ultimate
    success will be rooted in this fact. Please send your additions,
    comments and criticisms to the following email address :
    <email>mako (at) debian (dot) org</email>.
   </para>
   </sect2>

<!-- Section2: translations -->

  <sect2 id="translations">
   <title>Translations</title>

   <para>
    I know that not everyone speaks English. Translations are nice and
    I'd love for this HOWTO to gain the kind of international reach
    afforded by a translated version.
   </para>
   <para>
    However, this HOWTO is still young and I have to yet to be
    contacted about a translation so English is all that is
    available. If you would like to help with or do a translation, you
    will gain my utmost respect and admiration and you'll get to be
    part of a cool process. If you are at all interested, please don't
    hesitate to contact me at: <email>mako (at) debian (dot)
    org</email>.
   </para>
   </sect2>
 </sect1>

<!-- Section1: intro: END -->

<!-- Section1: starting -->

 <sect1 id="starting">
  <title>Starting a Project</title>

   <indexterm>
    <primary>fswd!starting</primary>
   </indexterm>
  <para>
   With very little argument, starting a project is most difficult
   part of successful free software development. Laying a firm
   foundation for your project will determine whether your project
   flourishes or withers away and dies. It is also the subject that is
   of most immediate interest to anyone reading this document as a
   tutorial.
  </para>

  <para>
   Starting a project also involves a dilemna that you as a developer
   must try and deal with. No potential user for your program will be
   interested by a program that doesn't work. Simultaneously, the
   development process that you want to employ holds involvement of
   users as essential to the process of the development that will
   realize this working software.
  </para>

  <para>
   It is in these dangerous initial moments that anyone working to
   start a free software project must strike a balance. One of the
   most important ways that omeone trying to start a project can work
   towards this balance is by establishing a framework for the
   development process through some of the ways mentioned in this
   section.
  </para>


<!-- Section2: chooseproject-->

  <sect2 id="chooseproject">
   <title>Choosing a Project</title>

   <para>
    If you are reading this document, there's a good chance you
    already have an idea for a project in mind. Chances are pretty
    good, it fills a gap by doing something that no other free
    software process does or or does it in a way that is unique
    enought to necessitate a seperate project.
   </para>

   <sect3 id=identifyidea>
    <title>Indentify and Articulate Your Idea</title>
    <para>
     Eric S. Raymond writes about how free software projects start in
     his paper, "The Cathedral and the Bazaar" which comes as required
     reading for any free softare development. You can find it online
     at <ulink url="http://www.tuxedo.org/!esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/">
     http://www.tuxedo.org/!esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/</ulink>.
    </para>

    <para>
     In "The Cathedral and Bazaar," Raymond tells us that:
     <emphasis>Every good work of software starts by scratching a
     developers itch.</emphasis> Raymond now widely accepted
     hypothesis is that new free software programs are written, first
     and foremost, to solve a specific problem facing the developer.
    </para>

    <para>
     If you have an idea for a program in mind, chances are good that
     it it is targetting a specific problem or itch you want to see
     scratched. <emphasis>This idea is the project. Articulate it
     clearly. Write it out. Describe the problem you will attack in
     detail. The success of your project in tackling a particular
     problem will be tied to your ability to identify that problem
     early on. Find out exactly what it is that you want your project
     to do.</emphasis>
    </para>
   </sect3>

   <sect3 id=evalulateidea>
    <title>Evaluate Your Idea</title>

    <para>
     In evaluating your idea, you need to ask yourself questions.
     Before you move any further into this HOWTO, you need to
     determine if the free software development model really is the
     right one for your project. Obviously, since the program
     scratches your itch, you are definately interested in seeing it
     implemented in code. But, because one hacker coding alone fails
     to qualify as a free software development effort, you need to ask
     yourself the question: <emphasis>Is anybody else
     interested?</emphasis>
    </para>

    <para>
     Sometimes the answer is <emphasis>no</emphasis>. If you want to
     write a set of scripts to sort <emphasis>your</emphasis> MP3
     collection on your machine, maybe the free software development
     model is not the best one to choose. However, if you want to
     write a set of scripts to sort <emphasis>anyone's</emphasis>
     MP3s, a free software project might fill a useful gap.
    </para>

    <para>
     Luckily, The Internet is a place so big and diverse that, chances
     are, there is someone, somewhere, who shares your interests and
     how feels the same itch. It is the fact that there are so many
     people with so many similar needs and desires that introduces the
     second major question: <emphasis>Has somebody already had your
     idea or a reasonably similar one?</emphasis>
    </para>

     <sect4 id=evalwhere>
      <title>Finding Similar Projects</title>

     <para>
      There are places you can go on the web to try and answer this
      question. If you have experience with the free software
      community, you are probably already familiar with all of these
      sites. All of the resources listed bellow offer searching of
      their databases:
     </para>

     <para>
     <variablelist>
       <varlistentry>
        <term>freshmeat.net</term>
        <listitem>
         <para>
          Located at at <ulink url="http://freshmeat.net">
          http://freshmeat.net</ulink>, freshmeat describes itself as,
          <quote>the Web's largest index of Linux and Open Source
          software</quote> and its reputation along these lines remains
          unquestioned. If you can't find it on freshmeat, its doubtful
          that you'll find it indexed anywhere else.
         </para>
        </listitem>
       </varlistentry>

       <varlistentry>
        <term>Slashdot</term>
        <listitem>
         <para>
          Located at <ulink url="http://slashdot.org">
          http://slashdot.org</ulink>, Slashdot provides <quote>News
          for Nerds: Stuff that Matters,</quote> which usually includes
          discussion of free software, open source, technology, and
          geek culture new and events. It is not unusual for an
          particularly sexy develpment effort to be announced here so
          it definately worth checking.
         </para>
        </listitem>
       </varlistentry>

       <varlistentry>
        <term>SourceForge</term>
        <listitem>
         <para>
          Located at <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net">
          http://sourceforge.net</ulink>, SourceForge houses and
          facilitates a growning number of open source and free
          software projects, SourceForge is quickly becoming a nexus
          and an necessary stop for free software
          developers. SourceForge's 
          <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/softwaremap/trove_list.php">
          software map</ulink> and <ulink
          url="http://sourceforge.net/new/"> new releases</ulink>
          pages. should be necessary stops before embarking on a new
          free software project. SourceForge also provides a
          <emphasis>Code Snippet Library</emphasis> at <ulink
          url="http://sourceforge.net/snippet/">http://sourceforge.net/snippet/</ulink>
          which contains useful reusuable chunks of code in an array
          of langauges which can come in useful in any project.
         </para>
        </listitem>
       </varlistentry>

       <varlistentry>
        <term>Google and Google's Linux Search</term>
        <listitem>
         <para>
          Located at <ulink url="http://www.google.com">
          http://www.google.com</ulink> and
          <ulink url="http://www.google.com/linux">
          http://www.google.com/linux</ulink>, provide prowerful web
          searches that may reveal people working on similar
          projects. It is not a catalog of software or news like
          freshmeat or Slashdot, but it is worth checking before you
          begin pouring your effort into a redundant project.
         </para>
        </listitem>
       </varlistentry>

      </variablelist>
     </para>
    </sect4>

    <sect4 id=evalhow>
     <title>Deciding to Proceed</title>
     <para>
      Once you have successfull charted the terrain and have an idea
      bout what kinds of similar free software projects exist, every
      developer needs to decide whether to proceed with their own
      project. It is rare that a new project seeks to accomplish a
      goal that is not similar to related to the goal of another
      project. Anyone starting a new project needs to ask themselves:
      <emphasis>Will the new project be duplicating work done by
      another project? Will the new project be competing for
      developers with an existing project? Can the goals of the new
      project be accomplished by adding functionality to an existing
      project?</emphasis>
     </para>

     <para>
      If the answer to any of these questions is yes, try to contact
      the developer of the existing project in question and see if he
      or she might be willing to collaborate with you.
     </para>

     <para>
      This may be the single most difficult aspect of free software
      development for many developers but it is essential. It is easy
      to become fired up by and idea and be caught up in the momentum
      and excitement of a new project. It is often extremely difficult
      but it is important that any free software developer rememeber
      that the best interests of the of the free software community
      and the quickest way to accomplish ones own project's goals and
      the goals of similar project can often be accomplished by
      <emphasis>not</emphasis> starting a new project.
     </para>

    </sect4>
   </sect3>
  </sect2>

<!-- Section2: chooselicense-->

  <sect2 id="chooselicense">
   <title>Deciding on a License</title>
   <para></para>
  </sect2>

<!-- Section2: chooseversioning-->

  <sect2 id="chooseversioning">
   <title>Choosing a Method of Version Numbering</title>
   <para></para>
  </sect2>

<!-- Section2: documentation-->

  <sect2 id="documentation">
   <title>Documentation</title>
   <para></para>
  </sect2>

<!-- Section2: presentation -->

  <sect2 id="presentation">
   <title>Other Presentation Issues</title>
   <para></para>
  </sect2>

<!-- Section2: futuredev -->

  <sect2 id="futuredev">
   <title>Nuturing Future Development</title>
   <para></para>
  </sect2>

 </sect1>

<!-- Section1: starting: END -->

<!-- Section1: developers -->

 <sect1 id="developers">
  <title>Maintaining a Project: Interacting with Developers</title>
></ulink>which
   <indexterm>
    <primary>fswd!developers</primary>
   </indexterm>

<!-- Section2: delegation  -->

  <sect2 id="delegation">
   <title>Delegating Work</title>
   <para></para>
  </sect2>

<!-- Section2: branches  -->

  <sect2 id="branches">
   <title>Stable and Development Branches</title>
   <para></para>
  </sect2>

<!-- Section2: freezing -->

  <sect2 id="freezing">
   <title>Freezing</title>
   <para></para>
  </sect2>

<!-- Section2: codecram -->

  <sect2 id="codecram">
   <title>Avoiding the Code Cram Effect</title>
   <para></para>
  </sect2>

<!-- Section2: patching -->

  <sect2 id="patching">
   <title>Accepting and Rejecting Patches</title>
   <para></para>
  </sect2>
 </sect1>

<!-- Section1: users -->

 <sect1 id="users">
  <title>Maintaining a Project: Interacting with Users</title>

   <indexterm>
    <primary>fswd!users</primary>
   </indexterm>


<!-- Section2: announcing  -->

  <sect2 id="announcing">
   <title>Announcing Your Project</title>
   <para></para>
  </sect2>

<!-- Section2: testing -->

  <sect2 id="testing">
   <title>Testing and Testers</title>
   <para></para>
  </sect2>
</sect1>

</article>

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