Going Open Source 1: Coding Style
This is the first article in 'So you want to go Open Source', a journal of my process as I work toward releasing a company project that has been in development for a very long time as open source. This article covers my first passes through the code base.
I have already taken my most advanced implementation of the code base, set it up in a shiny new dev area and stripped all traces of the former project. I'm left with a fully functional engine with no polish that basically purrs great but does very little - isn't attached to any gears, drive trains or tires... etc. My temptation is to start implementing the meta-code that will give the project shape, but that would be getting ahead of myself.
Before shaping the logic and design of the app, I ought to do a full audit of every line of code. In my fist pass through the code, I am focusing on two things:
- Cleaning up, stylizing and commenting the code and
- Creating an itemized list of all elements of the project that will have to be dynamicized and genericized
Style, style, style...
My approach to style focuses on clarity and accessibility with a bit of dry sarcastic wit. I will be using php documentor so I'll largely taking my inspiration from their style guide. I also recommend reading the pear guides, and articles and guides for other open source projects just to round out the ideas.
Framework?
I'm basing my software on a simplified MVC, so won't have to package any other framework or incorporate bridge notes on how issues may arrise.
Comments!
I'm finding that the process of commenting is the most helpful aspect of this exercise. By forcing myself to explain each segment of code, I am rigorously exposing potential inefficiencies, insecurities and even some contextual errors. I am also developing my master ToDo list concurrently as a place to organize the tasks. I recommend Basecamp for ToDoing.
This process will take me a while, as I have to fit it in amongst other responsibilities. Stay tuned for part 2.
Eric Schmidt and Ken Auletta
I generally don't post things that are old, but here's a great conversation between the New Yorker's Ken Auletta and Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Eric touches on just about every aspect of the company, speaking candidly in his measured sort of way about everything from individual products to overarching corporate axioms.
Great things to learn about search this (or any) week
Here's a great collection of seo (mostly Google Search) tips, tricks, insights and analysis from Michael Martinez, posted on the self proclaimed best seo blog. The post is definitely worth a read through if these topics peak your interest:
- Google says “Links Are Only 1%”
- Want immediate consumer trust? Buy search display ads
- Half of all SEMs want to pay higher advertising costs – WTF?
- Google Web updates blog indexing faster than Blogsearch
- Bounce rate should not affect your (Google) rankings
- Yahoo! dropped the “keywords” meta tag
- Google wants to crawl your AJAX
Michael has some great analysis that suggest how the personalities behind the search giants (Sergey Brinn, I'm vaguely referring in your general direction) have a hand in what's weighed how. As always, Mike doesn't give any passes to the wacky apparent inconsistencies of the ever changing search engine optimization landscape. It's like there are people who's job it is to constantly shake up the algorithms making full time seo guys as manic and confused as these guys.
Multitouch
Multitouch is one of the most exciting technologies on the cusp of breaking into the main stream. It seems that every major hardware company has serious R&D going and every software platform manufacturer is scrambling to pull the elements into their languages and apis. Here are a few interesting videos and articles that give a good flavor of things to come.
Virtual autopsy via multitouch
Adobe's initiative via the almighty TED
A good rundown of issues and initiative from 10/GUI
A demo of MTJ4, a Java Based Multitouch API
... and Tom Cruise, our favorite Scientologist, from Minority Report
Share and enjoy!
Mint’s Aaron Patzer talks startup strategy
Just a few days after selling his company Mint.com to Intuit for $170M, Aaron Patzer gave a candid talk detailing his approach to starting and growing a company. This is a must watch for anyone engaging the challenges of tech startups.
Mint CEO Aaron Patzer on Startups from Techcrunch on Vimeo.
Here are some of the highlights of the presentation, in which Patzer used Mint's actual numbers to suggest a model for startup-building:
Raising Money:
- Phase 1: Once you have a mature idea, raise $100,000 from friends and family to build a prototype
- Phase 2: Prototype complete, raise $1 million and launch an alpha into the market.
- Phase 3: Once you have some traction, raise $5 to $10 million to scale up.
Phase 1 Expenses (1st $100,000):
- Founders: $30,000/year
- Engineering 1st hires: $30,000-50,000/year
- Office: $400/cube/month
- Tech: $10,000
- Legal: Deferred payments for 0.50 - 0.75% of company
Phase 2 Expenses (seed round):
- Salaries: $50,000 - $90,000/year ($450,000/year for 5 people)
- Overhead: +20% ($100,000/year)
- Legal: $25,000 + $2,000/month ($50,000/year)
Phase 3 Expenses (Series A)
- Salaries + Overhead: $200,000/year/person
- COGS: many one-time expenses add up to about $150,000/month
- Legal: $10,000-$50,000/month
Enjoy.
Some Wordpress Themes
Here are a few themes I came across while treking thorugh the jungles of theme sites. They are in no way organized or comprehensive.
Some fun ones:
http://webrevolutionary.com/curious/
http://dirtybluemedia.com/portfolio/desk-space-wordpress-theme/
http://fresh01.co.za/2008/07/23/scruffy/
http://www.prelovac.com/vladimir/wordpress-themes/amazing-grace
http://www.prelovac.com/vladimir/wordpress-themes/amazing-grace
http://www.pagelines.com/demos/stationpro/ (75 bucks but nice)
http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/cordobo-green-park-2 (love this one)
http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/arras-theme ('magazine' layout featuring lots of media)
http://test.nattywp.com/preview.php?theme=business (45 bucks)
http://www.woothemes.com/demo/?t=32 (70 bucks, but you get another free. yay?)
Share and enjoy!
NIH (Not Invented Here syndrome)
In some recent research into forming an Open Source initiative, I came across 'Not Invented Here syndrome' . This was one of those cases where it turns out that there's a widely adopted idea encapsulating a thought process and pit-of-the-stomach feeling that I'd been having for years. It was a nice 'yes! I"m not alone,' moment to be sure.
I do recognize that NIH can be a problem, but incorrect diagnosis can be dangerous as well. If you or someone you love develops a self-conscious problem and needs some reassurance that building in-house is ok, I recommend reading this article by Joel before any further self-scrutiny. (I also recomend regularly reading other stuff from Joel and participating in the business of software discussions that he kindly hosts.)
When engaging a new project, we've almost always brazenly struck forth into the fray crafting and chasing our vision for what the project could be. In the end this has lead to some truly interesting and original sites that have wowed our clients but also a number of projects running over budget (the excess of which we absorbed almost without fail.) There's little doubt that we could have delivered a number of our projects more efficiently if we had relied more heavily on more of the open source (and other) options out there. On not a few occasions, well into extended development cycles, we've realized that we're probably reinventing enough wheels to build a tractor trailer truck. It's hard to objectively quantify at this point how these minuses have balanced out with the benefits of crafting a vision from the ground up, where the only compromise is your own skill and energy. Sometimes I've suffered it. Other times I've benefited from it. I'll abstain from any overarching self-conscious values based reflections that I may or may not have.
Sensational Seo is the way to go
Sensational Seo is the best way to check your site for seo compliance.
+1 to Firefox for opening itself up to the world of addons. +5 to the developers of firebug, the piece of software that has done more to improve both the quality and efficiency of my web work than anything else I've encountered. And now +1 to the folks behind Sensational Seo, who have written one of the first addon addons, bringing the best in seo page analysis into the firebug console. Now you can kick your feet up to the warm hearth of the detachable firebug console as you compulsively scrutinize your site for keywords, best practices and completeness. I also recommend running it on very successful sites like yours to see what they do.
HTML 5 – it’s time
After a long run up, it's finally time to start embracing HTML 5. With support in Chrome, Firefox 3.5, Opera, and Safari it is just around the corner. IE is sulking in the corner as usual, too good to join the party but there are already efforts such a fiks-html5 in public development that will bypass the iempetulence (consider the term coined).
Here are the specs for scanning and/or reference:
and here's some authoritative light reading:
- http://www.alistapart.com/articles/previewofhtml5/
- http://html5doctor.com/
- http://www.alistapart.com/articles/get-ready-for-html-5/
Stay tuned for tales of integrating HTML 5!
Who over what
Ever since I began strapping myself in for the 10-18 hour days in front of the glowing screens I've traveled widely over the internets. What a strange and wonderous place it is indeed. I've found a lot of things that run the gambit from vauable professionally through personally interesting and deep into blissfully escapist. Recently, however, it hasn't been so much the things I've been finding but the people I've been finding that have peaked my interest and inspired me to push through the more difficult professional situations and even provided some uni-directional compatriatism in a very interesting kind of way.*
As with all internet trends, I don't think I'm alone. I'm feeling this shift due to a mass of interview style podcasts and video shorts that are cropping up everywhere. So if you've seen the fringes of the podcasting and video interview segment world out there and like it, pull the thread. All these people are tight with each other; spend any time with one and you'll find connections to a dozen others. Many are extremely talented, honest and open people who genuinely put themselves through these mediums.
Here's a very short list of personality centered pod/video casts that I've been moving through.
- http://www.myextralife.com/appslappy/ - very light and entertaining podcast "for iphone, ipod touch and Apple app store addicts" founded by Scott Johnson who has a built quite a domain of cartoons and nerdy movie/game/culture podcasts at http://www.myextralife.com.
- http://www.havocinspired.co.uk/category/please-start-from-the-beginning/ - a series of interviews in which freelance-ish web/design people are encouraged to start from the beginning and talk about their careers.
- http://twit.tv/ - I don't know where to begin with this one. Leo Laporte has produced a staggering amount of content and built a whole network around himself. I have mixed feelings; while I have enjoyed some of the shows, I find Leo himself to be a little too much of a personality and not enough of a person. This judgment is probably due to some kind of mishandled envy of his success on my part... (EDIT: I have since listened to a few more of his podcasts with and determined that, yes, it is just my own insecurities. Leo Laport is an excellent host, striking the balance of candid and professional). but there is a lot there to explore and subscribe to.
- aaand then there's http://davidpogue.com/. What a screwball. I enjoy catching up with his videos every three months or so.
I'd love to hear who you listen to in the comments.
* - An example of the real engagement: just this last weekend one of the commentators that I listen to was hired by his dream company, a move that will require him to go off the air. This moved me to write a contratulations email that was as heart-felt as any that I've sent to people who I know and, well, know who I am.