Developer_Information

• General Developer Info
  • Subversion Repository Info
  • Building BibDesk
  • Unit Tests
  • Localization
• Current direction
• Other Information
  • Mailing Lists
  • Web Links
• Committers
  • BD2 info

General Developer Info

BibDesk is written in Objective-C with the Cocoa framework. It makes extensive use of third-party libraries, including BTParse.

In order to contribute to the main programming, a basic knowledge of Cocoa programming and Objective-C is necessary. Some parts of the code are in C, and we occasionally have to change the BTParse library, which is written in C.

There are currently few formal procedures for code review or coding standards. Most suggestions for improvement are expected to be discussed on the developer list before committing.

Subversion Repository Info

All The source code necessary to build BibDesk is available in Subversion. There is a separate page on how to use the BibDesk Subversion Repository.

Building BibDesk

Once you have downloaded the source from Subversion, you can build BibDesk.

Unit Tests

If you contribute new source code, running unit tests before committing is one way to help make sure that you haven't broken anything. Adding some unit tests of your own is a good way to make sure that future updates don't break your additions. More details at Unit Tests.

Localization

If you want to help localize BibDesk in your language, please tell us on the users list. There is a separate page to explain what needs to be done to add a BibDesk Localization.

Current direction

The development of current 1.x releases of BibDesk is taking place in the

trunk/bibdesk

subdirectory of the SVN repository.

If you want to contribute to the currently-shipping version of BibDesk, that's where to look for the source.

References to BibDesk 2.0 (aka BD2) around the wiki are referring to a side project to implement a more functional CoreData-based file format and UI for a future version of BibDesk that is in an exploratory state at present. If you want to contribute to the design and specification of this version, contact us via the developers list, and take a look at the code in

trunk/bibdesk_2_test

in the SVN repository.

Preliminary work on an iOS port of the 1.x release of BibDesk has begun. Please see the BibDesk iOS page for more information.

Other Information

Mailing Lists

• Developers list
• Bugs list
• Feature Requests list
• Subversion Commits list

Web Links

• CIA stats page - provides an RSS feed for commits to Subversion.

Committers

The current SVN committers are the following, in alphabetical order:

• Adam Goldstein (zcalifornianus)
• Christiaan Hofman (hofman)
• Michael Hohensee (mhohensee)
• Adam Maxwell (amaxwell)
• Michael McCracken (mmcc)
• Colin Smith (ununnilium)

This is a group you can join! Contribute a couple of patches or just seem trustworthy, and ask on the developer list. We'll add you.

The SVN committer list is smaller than the CVS list was. That's probably just because those project members didn't ask for access after the switch to SVN. If that's you and you want to commit again, just ask.

BD2 info

• BibDesk 2.0 Design Document - a document describing some of the original design ideas behind BD2. Currently a bit out of date.
• BD2-open-questions - Design problems that should be solved before we start on the new BD2 project.