[Qgis-psc] QGIS for Mac OS packaging and infrastructure

[Andreas Neumann]

I've put the annual cost of US $ 700.- into the agenda of the upcoming PSC
meeting. We will inform you later.

Thanks,
Andreas

On Mon, 3 Dec 2018 at 15:36, Saber Razmjooei <
saber.razmjooei at lutraconsulting.co.uk> wrote:

> Tim,
>
> Thanks for your feedback.
>
> I totally understand PSC members' position in regards to funding Mac OS
> due to extra hurdles.
>
> Andreas,
> For the initial cost (5k-8k euro), if it cannot be funded by QGIS now, we
> can seek alternative methods: run a crowd-funding campaign or apply for
> QGIS funds when it is up next. The key point for the PSC is to decide if
> they would be willing to cover the re-occurring costs for licence and
> dedicated server and to maintain the Mac OS packaging and testing directly
> under QGIS.org.
>
> Regards
> Saber
>
>
> On Mon, 3 Dec 2018 at 14:09, Andreas Neumann <andreas at qgis.org> wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> Regarding the 600 US $ per year for dedicated server and 99 US$ per year
>> for developer certificate cost: this shouldn't be a problem. I increased
>> the infrastructure budget by 500 € to accommodate for that. It is now at
>> 2000 €, in 2018 we used 830 € so far, maybe 1000 € per year's end. So this
>> should easily fit into the 2k € for next year.
>>
>> Andreas
>>
>> On Mon, 3 Dec 2018 at 13:37, Saber Razmjooei <
>> saber.razmjooei at lutraconsulting.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>>> Dear PSC,
>>>
>>> It the past couple of months we have put together a very basic
>>> infrastructure to automatically generate Mac OS packages as a proof of
>>> concept and also as a part of a contract with a client.
>>>
>>> The packaging now works as expected and we will support it for another
>>> year. We are aware of the users’ complaints and feedback in regards to Mac
>>> OS packages in the past, despite the hard efforts of the QGIS community.
>>> Specifically, William who has been undertaking this difficult task. We are
>>> also aware of other companies who offer QGIS Mac packages (download links
>>> are available after registration).
>>>
>>> In addition to the lack of any documentation on the packaging process,
>>> the packages are not signed by QGIS (or OSGeo), which is not very welcome
>>> in large organisations. There have been several emails in the past about
>>> this topic but has lead to nowhere.
>>>
>>> Another shortcoming of the current packaging is the lack of master
>>> (nightly) builds for Mac users. This has been causing a lot of negative
>>> reactions from the users after each release (as they are not able to test
>>> the features before the release).
>>>
>>> We would like to hand-over our QGIS Mac OS packaging to QGIS.org. This
>>> will come with a bit of caveats:
>>>
>>> 1- The current scripts are not perfect but it is open source and
>>> publicly available. We will need to polish it. There will be some
>>> additional work to remove a blocker to support older Mac OSes. It is likely
>>> to be between 5k-8k euro.
>>>
>>> 2- The server cost (~600 USD/year/server) and Apple Developers
>>> certificate cost (99 USD/year) will be probably more significant compared
>>> to other OSes. We can start with one server and have the second one if
>>> needed. I am sure there are organisations and users who will be interested
>>> in funding/sponsoring QGIS with more positive experience for their platform.
>>>
>>> 3- We are happy to help and support the Mac OS packaging for the next
>>> couple of years for a smooth integration with the rest of QGIS packages.
>>> This will include obtaining QGIS (or OSGeo) Apple developer certificate.
>>> Our current packages are signed with Lutra certificate. But the process is
>>> easy and documented in our packaging process.
>>>
>>> 4- QGIS 2.18 is not supported.
>>>
>>> 5- QGIS nightly is also available as a part of our packaging, which
>>> allows users to better test QGIS master before the release.
>>>
>>> Looking forward to hearing your feedback.
>>>
>>> Regards
>>>
>>> Saber
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Saber Razmjooei
>>> www.lutraconsulting.co.uk
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Qgis-psc mailing list
>>> Qgis-psc at lists.osgeo.org
>>> https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/qgis-psc
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> --
>> Andreas Neumann
>> QGIS.ORG board member (treasurer)
>>
>
>
> --
> Saber Razmjooei
> www.lutraconsulting.co.uk
> +44 (0)7568 129733
>


-- 

--
Andreas Neumann
QGIS.ORG board member (treasurer)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/qgis-psc/attachments/20181203/01ec3547/attachment.html>