"Kyle Stemen" <c8n1cpm02@sneakemail.com> writes:
> I wrote a program to do better merges as a replacement for diff3. I'd
> like to hear some advice on whether to release it GPL and find out if
> anyone would like to work on it. I know this isn't exactly the right
> place to ask, but my program would be most likely used with svn.
> Suggestions on other places to ask are welcome.
>
> The merge algorithm can do things like correctly merge the renaming of
> a class and adding a function in C++, so that the added function has
> the new class name for the classname:: . Also, if one branch has coded
> added, and the other branch renames a veriable, when the added code is
> merged it will use the renamed variable. If you create clones of
> functions, changes to the original will be merged into both.
>
> The algorithm has no semantic or syntactic knowledge of C++ or any
> other language. Even newlines have no special meaning to it. That
> means that I didn't specifically program in how to rename a class or a
> variable. The program just looks at how the text changes and
> propogates those changes to the other branch.
>
> I am considering making this project open source. I've never really
> worked on an open source project before. The determining factor for
> whether I release my program under the GPL is whether I get anything
> from it. I would be pleased if I could even get some other developers
> to work on it. As it is now, I'll barely use it, and I doubt anyone
> else will either. Ideally releasing it under the GPL would fix that.
I wouldn't open source it expecting developers to jump in and help --
sometimes that happens, sometimes it doesn't. But why not open source
it and post it just so that the *possibility* is there? Even if it
doesn't happen today, someone might pick it up later and run with it.
(Subversion was a vaporous idea in the mind of a couple of CVS
developers for a long time, then CollabNet picked it up and ran with
it.)
As for how: find a friend who's done some open source development, get
her or him to guide you through it, I think that'll be easiest.
There's too much to list it all here.
-Karl
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Received on Tue Jul 26 01:18:24 2005