OBEX library complete in download and/or DVD
LoopyByteloose
Posts: 12,537
Would it be possible to have the OBEX made available as a whole collection updated on a quarterly basis?
Files could be Zipped and online transmission via BitTorrent.
Files could be Zipped and online transmission via BitTorrent.
Comments
Now it's a bit tricky to find and/or download libraries.
A tool that is downloading everything an put it in a directory and uncompress them would be great.
Add a limited size Abstract header and a Key Word header to the Object files so that everyone can search by "Key Word" and read the "Abstract" to determine if they should look further into the Objects code.
I suggest you go to that other thread for more details.
Hello Loopy Byteloose,
We would need to look into the behind-the-scenes file storage structure, assign it (or automate it).
I'll address the easy part first - the CD/DVD approach. We won't be releasing OBEX in a DVD/CD format. Aside from printed books we've moved away from distributing digital images that have potential to become dated the minute we produce them.
But your question is really about on-line distribution. Understand that I'm going to sound like I'm suffering some sort of insider manager disease [because I do!]. Whether or not we can setup and manage a quarterly on-line distribution depends on who is required for the project: our IT or Marketing department. If it requires our IT guys, then the request would need to be scheduled in with the launch of vBulletin 4.0 (presently planned for next week), the introduction of USPS Priority Intl. Mail (another suggestion in this forum), an upgrade to our on-line shopping system and implementation of Parallax's commercialization plans for Propeller. If this could be achieved by our Marketing crew without the help of IT, then it competes with other OBEX priorities. In summary, IT is focused on business-critical issues right now. Marketing has more flexibility if they can achieve it without IT's help (just hired another IT guy we will introduce shortly, BTW).
This request also needs to be considered in terms of the other OBEX requests. Our current priorities for OBEX are as follows:
1. Improve the search function.
2. Provide a Parallax gold-star rating for objects which we have tested and verified for commercial distribution with our IDE (and BST, hopefully). Many customers have made it very clear that they would like Parallax to approve objects with this kind of system without discouraging others from posting their work in OBEX. This project will be done by one of our FAEs.
I'll look into what it would take on our part to do this and get back to you. Thinking out loud here - my initial thoughts are that we have other priorities that benefit a greater number of Propeller customers. If it's easy to do I can probably take care of it, else it will sit on our internal planning list for a long time.
Sincerely,
Ken Gracey
Parallax Inc.
It is good to hear from you. It makes it easier to be patient. Ubuntu Linux runs very well on a six month distribution update, it doesn't have to be quarterly and you may have two slow quarters (not in synch with tax season and so on) to better manage this.
Making a DVD/CD ISO could be done automatic on the server so that people can download.
I'm not sure how the files etc are stored on the server but it's probably relatively easy to make a script that runs every month to make a zip/rar file of everything so that it can be downloaded.
A better search function? Maybe but then it has to search inside the files and not in the field that the author used when the file was uploaded. Or the authors has to be more specific when the upload descriptions
1. A download all (without ZIP files) may be too much for the servers to reasonably handle.
2. ZIP files could be comprehensive and issued on a regularly cycle - quarterly or semi-annual
3. ZIP files might be further broadcast via BitTorrent if the size is too huge for normal downloads.
As it is, I download BitTorrent images of Ubuntu Linux in Taiwan from the US in about 40 minutes where as the old ISO images without BitTorrent took 8-10 hours and sometimes fail their checksum verification.
Since this is likely to be given away too users and continue to grow in size, try to think in terms of how to make it inexpensive for Parallax.
BTW, regarding the addition of Abstracts and KeyWords for each and every object, I'd be willing to start a project to write them for all code authors that don't want to do so and are willing to delegate the task to a 'community team effort'.
That would seem to bring everything up to speed. Volunteer writers would be given something like 3 objects at a time to write Abstracts and Keywords for so that nobody would be doing the vast majority of the work. Finished abstracts and keywords would be initially posted somewhere for peer review of errors and omissions, then migrate to published form after a 90 day review period. Of course, either the author or the Parallax would continue to have opportunity to review and revise after that, but the peer-to-peer review process would end.