[postgis-users] The first release of the PostGIS Add-ons is out!

[Stephen Woodbridge]

Pierre,

Regarding the issue of the repository becoming a mess of unmanaged code 
in the over time, we had the same issue in pgRouting and took the follow 
approach.

Rather than try to be the aggregator of the code submissions, we decided 
to become an index for them. We created a wiki page that would allow 
people to place a short description of what they provide and a link to 
github gist or project.

This puts more of the responsibility of the submitter to document and 
maintain the submission because it is theirs and reflects on them, but 
has the advantage to the community that it is easy to find the links 
that are relevant to the pgRouting community. It also has the advantage 
that we only need to maintain the index and that issues and problems get 
reported directly to the submitter rather than to us because we are 
hosting it.

A different approach but you might find it advantageous to migrate to 
something loser to this model for what you are trying to provide.

However you do it, thanks for thinking about the community.

Best regards,
   -Steve

On 11/18/2013 1:06 PM, Pierre Racine wrote:
> Rémi,
>
>> About license :
>> if you use GPL function, your code becomes GPL, this might be a problem if
>> using it inside company.
>> If you use LGPL, you can do basically what you want.
>
> I think about going like Mateusz and Stephen suggested. What do you think?
>
>> Using PostGIS everyday, I already find it hard to find the functions I need. I
>> feel there is no point to provide additionnal functions if you have to know
>> them to use them.
>
> Every function is preceded with a description of the parameters and a self-contained and a typical example. The question is: Should this documentation be: 1) embedded in the .sql file 2) in the readme 3) in the wiki? for now I thought that embedding it in the file, beside the code, with a quick list at the beginning like the one in the PostGIS doc, was the most simple way.
>
>> Say I'm developping and I need a function, how would I know you have a
>> function I might use, by searching trough all the functions name?
>
> You look in the quick list at the beginning.
>
>> I understand your maintenance concern, yet it could be mandatory to
>> document new function in markdown or in wiki when someone contribute,
>> thus eanbling a google search.
>
> It could be. I tried to put as less barrier as possible to new contributors.
>
>> About test : Your idea being more for users than regular developpers, how
>> to ensure quality.
>
> There is a .sql test file to be executed manually. Please give it a try.
>
>> I may be totally wrong, but I fear it will become like many open source
>> graveyard of non-maintained poorly written functions (I include myself in
>> people whose code have to be reviewed).
>
> I engage to be the guardian of quality for a while.  Hopefully you're wrong and I suggest you be the first contributor... ;-)
>
> For myself I had most of those functions written since a while and they were spread in many files. I had to clean them so they are easier to find and install for my users.
>
> Pierre
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