[vtk-developers] development roadmap?

[Prabhu Ramachandran]

hi,

>>>>> "WEL" == William E Lorensen <lorensen at crd.ge.com> writes:

    WEL> So let's keep the discussion going. I suggest we be as frank
    WEL> as possible and accept all inputs without being judgmental.

Here are some of my thoughts.

 (1) We really need a separate changes page where the developers can
 enter information on changes etc.  I dont think this information
 belongs in the FAQ.  Earlier (VTK 2.x?)  there used to be a page
 dedicated to changes between versions.  The following things in such
 a page would be nice.

   (a) Chapters (or whatever you call it) for each release.  Entries
   can start with VTK 3.2.

   (b) Sections on: new classes (with a one line description and a
   link to the docs), new features, compatibility issues, wrapping,
   performance, installation and miscellaneous things would make for
   very useful, readable, navigable collection of information.  This
   would be pretty comprehensive.

   (c) Free access just like the FAQ.  Also cross references from and
   to the FAQ.

   (d) One "Future" section and maybe a wishlist.  I guess this covers
   all that Mike asked for.

 (2) More discussion on the devel list.  Frankly there isn't enough.
 Some of you might have the feeling -- "many people don't respond with
 suggestions when people do make posts".  I feel that communication
 need not be two way all the time.  If someone posts about something
 they plan to do and no one responds, at the very least everyone knows
 what is going on.

    (a) Frankly, even though I'm supposed to be a developer I have no
    clue of where VTK is going and what is being planned.  Maybe all
    the Kitware folks have a general idea but I'm not sure if we all
    have a general idea of who does what and what the "big plan" is.
    I can't believe that there is none.  Also, since all this is OSS,
    I'm not sure there are secrecy issues with other projects that are
    being hosted by the developers (that includes the Kitware folks,
    GE, and the rest of us -- we all have projects OSS or otherwise
    that heavily use VTK).

    (b) I guess the VTK BOF's that you have during conferences keeps
    all the people who can attend informed but that is not enough.
    Maybe all developers should meet once in a month on IRC or
    something?  This way its possible to keep in touch and share ideas
    better.  A few hours once a month wouldn't hurt and its all online
    and the session could be recorded for later reference.

 (3) I'm not sure release every three months is a good idea (I'm not
 sure this is what Lisa meant either).  Releasing often is ok but
 forcing a release every three months isn't so good.  Maybe we push
 for a stable release every 6 months with relatively stable snapshots
 every month (or two weeks?).  Something like Debian's unstable,
 testing, stable.  Testing contains packages that had no problems for
 a week or something (I dont know the exact criterion) and finally
 stable is rock solid.  This is just an idea.


Thats all I can think of now.

prabhu