What To Do Next? (was: Re: [GeneX-dev] Re: usersec table)

[Greg D. C. <gd...@nc...>]

Jason:


>Delivered-To: fix...@li...@fixme
>To: gen...@li...
>Subject: Re: [GeneX-dev] Re: usersec table
>Mime-Version: 1.0 (generated by tm-edit 1.5)
>From: ja...@op... (Jason E. Stewart)
>List-Archive: <http://lists.sourceforge.net/archives//genex-dev/>
>Date: 22 Jan 2001 22:10:28 -0700
>

>In general, we have way more things to do than time and money to do
>them.

Agreed.

>To my mind re-writing what already works (even if it's
>sub-optimal) is a spectacular waste of time, and money.

I know where you are coming from on this. But I'm not sure that's going to work, 
considering the audience.

>We don't need to re-write anything to communicate over SSL. All we
>have to do is run an SSL-enable apache, and all our CGI scripts will
>work fine. We were supposed to be doing that all along. 

This is true. But it does also require that each lab that installs GeneX and 
wants SSL must SSL-enable their apache. That costs extra money from RedHat or 
requires we add a new set of modules to our distribution.

>So of course we could do a whole lot better than everything we've
>already done, but wouldn't it be a good idea to be smart about we
>spend our time on? Here's my tentative list:
>
>1. Get a full GeneX release on sourceforge
>2. Get all developer modules in CVS on sourceforge
>3. Spread the word about the open source GeneX project
>4. Improve the query interface to do real queries instead of
>   pre-canned ones
>5. Add more analysis tools
>6. Improve how GeneXML communicates data
>7. Improve the data model to support security
>8. Improve the data model to support updates

This gets at the heart of what we must decide in the next couple of weeks. What 
is our strategy? The above items certainly make sense in light of past 
discussions, but I don't think it's simply a matter of adding more analyses or 
queries. I suggest we step back a bit and ask ourselves what it is we are trying 
to accomplish before we decide what new features we are planning to add.

User response to GeneX seems to be that we have done a great job laying down a 
foundation, but what does the system do for me now? How do I use it to solve the 
problems I have on my mind? In other words users are impressed with our 
technical vision, but it isn't clear to them how to use the system to address 
issues of immediate importance to them. Thus, systems like Silicon Genetics, 
that seem targeted to answer research questions, have an edge on us. A simple 
example of how this plays out is right in our backyard (UNM).

I think we need to address this question if we wish to rapidly extend our 
install base or even attract new developers.

Greg