[Mod-pubsub-developer] libkn released; notes from 1/2003 MPSUG

[Adam R. <Ad...@Kn...>]

Hi mod_pubsubbers!  Long time, no hear... it's been almost a month since =
our last post.  (Talk about a low-traffic list!)  So I'm taking time off =
from my vacation to post an update.

On Tuesday, January 21, 2003 we had a Mod PubSub User Group (MPSUG) =
meeting with five attendees who choose to remain nameless.  Here are the =
minutes:

   1. Fred Sanchez's C library that connects to mod_pubsub, which used =
to go by the name libkn, is now a part of the mod_pubsub package, =
checked into the CVS directory c_pubsub.

   ACTION ITEM #1: Joyce Park will put a new "ginormous" tarball on =
Sourceforge that includes this component.

   ACTION ITEM #2: Once this tarball ships, the next step is to =
"Windows-enable" c_pubsub so we have connectivity to Windows desktops, =
as Mike Dierken and Jeff Barr have discussed in the past and as KnowNow =
currently offers.

   ACTION ITEM #3: KnowNow can then use c_pubsub at KnowNow to produce a =
"Microserver SDK" package that can be used both with KnowNow's =
commercial product and with mod_pubsub.  This gets KnowNow some bang for =
the buck from the mod_pubsub project, and gets mod_pubsub some =
credibility from commercial use.

   2. We acknowledged how much we love Mike's AmazonPop application, but =
noted that it crashes ungracefully "in stupid, ugly, unpredictable =
ways".  One thing we'd love to see is a "best practices" paper -- like =
Scott LePera's "Busy Developer's Guide to mod_pubsub" idea, that tells =
people "how to make shit that doesn't suck ass".  (Forgive the phrasing =
but hey, the shoe fits. :)  The paper should be a short document on =
graceful failure & how to do it in the least effort-requiring, most =
stylistic way.

   ACTION ITEM: Scott, Ben Sittler, and I will sit down to outline the =
"best practices" paper, and we'll run it by anyone (Mike? Joyce?) who's =
interested in giving feedback and has time to do so.

   3. Joyce graciously purchased the modpubsub.com and modpubsub.org =
domain names.  These do not belong to KnowNow; they belong to the =
mod_pubsub community.

   ACTION ITEM: Joyce will make the home page at Sourceforge forward to =
modpubsub.org ...=20

   4. ... but we could still use a mascot/logo.  Suggestions included a =
tavern sign (Pub) and sandwich (Sub), or a PUG (for Pubsub User Group).  =
No decisions were made.

   ACTION ITEM: Think about a logo/mascot.

   ACTION ITEM: Think about a mod_pubsub weblog.  Can any good come from =
having one, or should we just stick to the mailing list for now?

   5. We talked some about improving the Protocol document included with =
the distribution.

   ACTION ITEM: Adam and Ben will investigate this.  This is probably =
useful to KnowNow as well.

   6. We are still on a crusade to PHP-enable mod_pubsub.  It's unclear =
to some folks what PHP on the server side buys them, since PHP is =
generally used as "better than ASP or JSP for serving static web pages" =
and inherently uses a request/response model.  Perhaps a PHP "client" =
(a/k/a "microserver") of mod_pubsub is a better use of time than porting =
the Perl mod_pubsub cgi scripts.

   ACTION ITEM: Discuss.

   7. We're curious if Kragen is currently brewing anything in the =
background.

   ACTION ITEM: Ben will get in touch with Kragen.
=20
   8. There's still no index of the 30something applications that ship =
with the mod_pubsub package.

   ACTION ITEM: Adam will make an index page in February and check it =
into CVS.  This is probably useful to KnowNow as well; they have already =
shown interest in using some of these applications as samples included =
in KnowNow's forthcoming "Live Browser" commercial offering.

   9. Monthly MPSUG meetings are fun socially and let us chat about =
what's going on with the package.

   ACTION ITEM: I suggest we regularly meet somewhere in Silicon Valley =
on the last Tuesday of the month at 8pm (this month excepted).  We'll =
pick a different restaurant each time, announce it on the "developer" =
list, and keep it open to anyone who wants to come and discuss.


That's all for now.  More soon...

   Adam

   http://mod-pubsub.sourceforge.net/



mod_pubsub statistics as of January 23, 2003

   # certified as mod_pubsub developers: 36

   # on mailing lists: 28 on developer, 24 on general

   # of mailing list posts: 59

   CVS Repository: 7 commits, 146 adds

   # of downloads: 101

   # of pageviews: 3412

   overall ranking: 7141 out of 55,112 (29.64 percentile)