Topic: Re: CUSTOM BUILD 7.0 SME SERVER

[gordonr]

Now its the time for all the sharks to show there skills
Who is the first to come up with a complet rebuild custom version
of the new 7.0 with all the nice contribs out there

No, please don't! The development team spent a lot of time undoing the effects of the various update scripts and custom ISOs so that we have a stable, consistent base. Let's not go down that path again.

The correct way to approach this is via yum repositories on contribs.org. We have already configured the following on all servers:

smeos
smeupdates
smeupdates-testing
smedev
smetest
smeaddons

What we need now is people to manage the the transition of packages from contribs into smedev -> smetest -> smeaddons.

That way everyone can get them as yum downloads or from the Software Installer and the repositories can be kept consistent. There is enough scope in those repositories to allow both experimental work and stable, well behaved contribs which may become part of the base in a future release.

With my Development Manager hat on, I need someone who is willing to gather the list of important contribs and rate them. Then I need someone who is willing to ensure that they are packaged properly and placed in the appropriate repository.

There are a lot of great contribs out there and some of the them deserve to become core features. But at the moment they are spread across a large number of web sites around the world with no process for getting them into the base.

Let's change that. If you're willing to put in the effort with one of the roles above, please contact me.

Note: This is not the thread in which to vote for the contrib you want. We need organisation to make it happen, not just votes.

[kruhm]

I volunteer.

Well put. As you already know, info is spread out everywhere:
-contrib tab (updated but missing alot)
-forums (often incorrect or outdated)
-documentation (mostly outdated)
-user contribs folders (mostly outdated) (there's even a legacy user contrib dir out there I came across not too long ago that hasn't been updated in years)
-bug tracker
-dev mailing list
-sourceforge
-users own websites
-faq

If we could gather all this info into one organized spot (possibly repo-janitor), it would make everyone's life easier. Then I wouldn't have to spend hours searching and double-checking the source of the info to make sure it's accuracy, current and not-depreciated by newer available info.

[TrevorB]

What we need now is people to manage the the transition of packages from contribs into smedev -> smetest -> smeaddons.

With my Development Manager hat on, I need someone who is willing to gather the list of important contribs and rate them. Then I need someone who is willing to ensure that they are packaged properly and placed in the appropriate repository.

Let's change that. If you're willing to put in the effort with one of the roles above, please contact me.

Hi Gordon, as PM how do you see the roles?

Release Manager, who agrees/validates the inclusions in smeaddons in conjunction with the developer community (suggest that is YOU with help from someone you nominate).
Packager (with backup) being the person who manages the transition (and builds) through > smedev > smetest > smeaddons
QA (with backup) to ensure that appropriate testing etc. has been performed
Document the process & procedures to be used.
General developers & helpers to assist with testing etc.

Or something else?

Trevor B
PS. I'm happy to help where I can (eg. Packager and/or Backup)

[gordonr]

Release Manager, who agrees/validates the inclusions in smeaddons in conjunction with the developer community (suggest that is YOU with help from someone you nominate).
Packager (with backup) being the person who manages the transition (and builds)
through > smedev > smetest > smeaddons
QA (with backup) to ensure that appropriate testing etc. has been performed
Document the process & procedures to be used.
General developers & helpers to assist with testing etc.

I think that's a very reasonable split of the tasks involved. The other big issue is ensuring that the packages are in CVS on SourceForge. All packages added to the repos must be built from SourceForge CVS to ensure that we have a reliable, reproducible build. This is a vital part of building the distribution.

This will require training/documentation and coordination with the contribs developers. We don't want to keep playing catch-up with changes made outside CVS. Just as Bugzilla is available as a resource for contribs developers, so too is SourceForge CVS.

[TrevorB]

The other big issue is ensuring that the packages are in CVS on SourceForge. All packages added to the repos must be built from SourceForge CVS to ensure that we have a reliable, reproducible build. This is a vital part of building the distribution.

Mandatory, which leads to having to decide the other criteria for including any contrib in smeaddons (eg. MUST use current db locations, etc., etc.).

This will require training/documentation and coordination with the contribs developers. We don't want to keep playing catch-up with changes made outside CVS. Just as Bugzilla is available as a resource for contribs developers, so too is SourceForge CVS.

Again, it falls back to the core developers....

If you have anything you can feed me, I'll try and compose a 'Release Process' (ie. the various build stages and migration between environments).

Trevor B

[calisun]

At first I have decided to start work on SME Server PLUS, so I have created a sourceforge account: http://sourceforge.net/projects/sme-server-plus

But after reading this post, it makes sense not to create a PLUS version but to focus on contribs.

Since I have already created a project, if you guys are interested, I can change focus of the project and make you guys admins. This way you guys will have a dedicated place for all your work and CVS repository.

[kruhm]

You should kill the project. SME already has a place of work and a CVS. Official contribs should be in the SMEADDONS and easily installed via yum.