[XPS-devel] Programming Tasks To Consider

[Reid S. <ras...@re...>]

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Developers,

I just had an inquiry from a potential XPS developer about what kinds of
programming tasks need to be done on XPS right now.  Below is the part
of my response to him that describes those tasks. I thought I'd include
the larger group in this information as well in case one of these
appeals to you.

1. XPL critique. I've published my first draft of the XPL language
schema (with limited documentation) and am looking for feedback on it.
You may have already downloaded it. I really need to know what's bad
about it so I can correct the design. Your thoughts would be welcome.

2. Schema Specific XML Compression.  XPS will be transferring a lot of
data around the network. I'd like to transfer that data with the least
overhead possible. XML is extremely verbose but it compresses well. This
task involves generation of compression software for specific XML
schemas. That is, you would be writing a compiler that parses XML
Schemas and produces the source code for a C++ class that compresses
instances of that schema.  The initial version can live with all kinds
of restrictions as long as text and elements are supported. I have
specific design ideas about this that I will share with you if you want
to take on this task.

3. CVS Encapsulation. Source code in XPS will be managed by CVS. I need
some C++ code that complete encapsulates the CVS tool. You'll need to
understand CVS at a pretty deep level for this one. If you've used it
and want to learn it, it might be a fun, isolated project.

4. Unit Tests. I have various modules in the software now that need
their unit tests upgraded. This is important work in order to prove the
reliability and correctness of the system!

5. I18N and L10N. If you've got experience with Internationalization and
Localization, I need your help! I'm currently planning on using the
gettext tool from GNU for string translation. However, there are
competing open source technologies such as ICU to consider. First, I
need a review of which technology is most appropriate for XPS and then
some work to integrate it into the growing software base. 


As always, my best regards,

Reid