Hello there, and good luck for your project... I am not an expert on this, but I want ot give a few ideas:
Replies below Robert PS: I am not a debian devleoper, I simply contribute. -----Original Message----- From: Astrid Karin Furre To: debian-project@lists.debian.org Sent: 1/27/03 12:41 PM Subject: Project >> Hello. We are two girls studying at Stavanger University College,computer engineering. We are now working on a project,where we want to do some researh and develop an open-source-code-solution on an already existing program.. We need some help with our research,and have some theoretical questions we want to answer. Company-internal use of the open source-code concepts. Which benefits and risks are there for a large corporation in applying theseconcepts in web-solution development? (Sharing and collaboration between several business units in the corporation.) How does this relate to a "buy, not build" policy, used by many large corporations? Suggest how to apply these concepts in sharing, maintaining and further developing, a small existing web-solution. * What are the concepts used in open source-code systems development? << I think the concepts used in open source development are not fundamentally fifferent from concepts used in "closed-source" development. There are possiobly two exceptions: a) You will not use code/concepts that are licensed under a non-free license. b) Since you are usually devleoping in a team, clear/legible code as well as good documentation are key factors. But you'll do that anyway, I guess. >> * How are these projects/developments being managed? << Usually a project leader is assigned, and code is developed in a collaborative manner, usually with tools like cvs helping development. >> * Cooperation tools used? << I'd say the use of cvs (http://cvshome.org) is rather widespread. In the case of the debian project, packages are also digitally signed with gnupg (http://www.gnupg.org). Mailinglists are also often used, with either Mailman (http://www.list.org) or majordomo being used. >> * How are version control and quality assurance taken care of? << VC see above, quality control: Debian has a quality control team. >> * Identify strengths and weaknesses of these concepts. << Strengths: - Incentives to develop/improve software can be non-moetary/non-commercial (the simple fact that I have contributed to that program or found a bug in it) Weaknesses: - Since the collaboration is usually informal, quite a lot depends on the leadership skill of the project leader(s). There are quite a few mismanaged open-source projects. Also the term 'free software' is controversial to neophytes (esp. that 'free' does not apply 'absence of cost, more on this on the fsfeurope website (www.fsfeurope.org)) * Compare with "buy, not build" policy and the rationale behind it. Does anyone of you know something about this stuff? We are really thankful if you send us an e-mail as soon as possible. Regards, Astrid Karin Furre and May Elin Fjelde Ny versjon av Yahoo! Messenger <http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons/35.gif> Nye ikoner og bakgrunner, webkamera med superkvalitet og dobbelt så morsom
