Re: Contrib structure

Hi All,

Given there is a brand new server to setup, it seems a good time to 
consider different ways in which code can be shared. Here are some ideas...

*Code sharing: *
I wonder if there should be two levels of code submission.

The first level is as per the "contrib" guidelines. This is code that 
has been checked by one or more of the maintainers and the owners of the 
contrib code have committed to maintain the code long term. The contrib 
code remains part of the Barracuda distribution.

The second  level is for those who have code they think would be 
interesting for everyone, however, they don't want to be responsible for 
maintaining the code in the future. Kind of like "Here have a look at 
this, everyone and use it how you will". The intent of this level is 
that it makes it easy for someone to share some code, and in addition, 
it reduces the load for the project maintainers since they wouldn't have 
to vet code in this level. The second level code is possibly accessible 
from CVS under a separate title.
*
Application patterns / Best practises:*
Something else that I see as being essential for Barracuda to really fly 
is a collection of patterns and best practices. For instance there are 
no Barracuda application libraries at present. Someone like myself who 
is new to Barracuda has a lot of development work generating such things 
as a pattern for Search->View->Add/Edit/Delete, and I'm also looking at 
the code to view multiple records and provide a split to multiple pages. 
As a new developer, I'm unlikely to get this right first, or even second 
time, and yet these things provide a foundation for the entire app and 
so it takes several applications before the framework is "nice" and then 
one has to go back to the other apps and fix them up. (Sound familiar, 
I'm sure many of us have been there. We're using WebObjects which is 
great, and now we need an OpenSource environment as well for 
applications which require no deployment fee. We went through the 
scenario above with WebObjects and now it runs well for us, but I hope 
to find a way with the help of the community to avoid that costly 
learning cycle with Barracuda).

As I see it, Barracuda provides a high level abstraction layer so we can 
concentrate on Business logic in our applications. Unfortunately, a new 
user currently has to become an expert in Barracuda and write their own 
components before they can write the business logic they chose Barracuda 
for.

In summary, as a new Barracuda user there are in effect two barriers to 
picking up Barracuda. The first is the framework which has quite a 
learning curve, and the second thing is developing the needed components 
on top of the framework. Providing application patterns enables 
Barracuda users to write sound *business based code* very soon after 
picking up the product. In addition, patterns and a few screens based on 
those patterns show best practices rather than having to discover them.

Thanks
Stephen

Note: I know the BarracudaDiscRack application exists. It didn't compile 
for me and it is not running on the Barracuda web site and so I haven't 
seen it for a year or so. I understand this application is written as a 
tutorial based on an original XMLC application rather than "here is the 
best way to do a commercial database application in Barracuda". Correct 
me if I'm wrong.