Re: [Connotea-code-devel] development questions

[Martin F. <ma...@ne...>]

Hi Andrew,

Your point about the weighting of articles in regards to the multi-URI 
problem is well taken.

> Yeah, I saw the Web API and think it's obviously very cool.  Very Web2.0, mashup-friendly, etc.  But having said that, I see the tools utilizing the Web API (http://www.connotea.org/wiki/ConnoteaTools) as bells and whistles, while there are still some meaty things to be done with the core application.  For example, how many of the feature requests (http://www.connotea.org/wiki/RequestedFeatures) or bug reports (http://www.connotea.org/wiki/PossibleProblems) could/should be addressed through the web API?  (Not a rhetorical question...)

Well, no, not many of those ones. But to be fair the requested features 
list probably errs on the side of listing everything that could be done 
and not just what *will* be done (but then also partly because 
priorities change and we might change our mind and come back to it).

> Obviously it's easy for the peanut gallery to inundate you with suggestions from the outside.  But my question boils down to this -- is there a structure (and a desire by current developers) by which outside developers can aid the effort?  Specifically on issues which you (current developers) or we (bioinformatics community) deem to be critical?

To answer your question literally, the list here is the best form of 
organization for outside developers to initiate offers to build things, 
and we certainly set it up in the hopes of attracting outside participation.

Unfortunately the formal bug tracker software is private (Nature internal).

Ian Mulvany is the manager at Nature that sets our priorities and I'm 
sure he will have something to say on this general issue.

If you or your students were to work on a sizable project, which wasn't 
just for your own purposes (i.e. for a local codebase running your own 
site), then it would make sense for Ian to be involved in helping you 
select the task, and then me to be involved in engineering decisions.

We'd be excited for masters students to do thesis projects with Connotea 
or Connotea Code - if the only deciding factor was that we needed a bit 
more public structure, then I think you will find us interested in the 
suggestions.

Martin