Module Maintenance

patches, and feature requests. SourceForge also provides a separate task list appli 

cation that functions as a lightweight progress tracker for use by developers.

The SourceForge bug tracking facility is well integrated into the larger 

SourceForge system. When a SourceForge user creates a bug report, status infor 

mation on the bug is available on that user's home page as long as the bug is live. If 

you're already using SourceForge for CVS and mailing lists, then this may be the 

ideal solution for you.

Bugzilla

Bugzilla is a popular, open source bug tracking system created to support the 

Mozilla

10

 project. It's written entirely in Perl and uses MySQL

11

 to hold its data. If 

you're considering setting up your own bug tracker, then you should definitely 

take a look at Bugzilla. You can find more information about this bug tracking 

system at http://www.mozilla.org/projects/bugzilla/.

Making Releases

As Eric Raymond famously advised,  release early, release often. 

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 There are a 

number of good reasons to follow his advice. Releases keep your user community 

engaged users have a new release to download, test out, and critique. Frequent 

releases also mean that bugs have a shorter lifespan. If you hold onto bug fixes for 

long periods, you increase the chances that more people will run into the bug 

that's already fixed in your development tree.

Releasing real, working software is the most effective way to battle FUD

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 and 

head off competitors who might be close to a release themselves. Even in open 

source software, being the first to market has its benefits!

Finally, by releasing your module, you make it clear that your module is still 

being supported. It's unfortunate, but when people see that a module hasn't been 

updated in a few months they don't think  stable,  they think  abandoned! 

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10. A Web browsing, mail and news reading, IRC chatting, calendar having mega application. 

See http://www.mozilla.org for details.

11. An open source relational database system. See http://www.mysql.com for details.

12. The Cathedral and The Bazaar, http://tuxedo.org/~esr/writings/cathedral bazaar.

13. FUD stands for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. It is the result of announcing a new feature, but 

not releasing the code. Commercial software companies (most famously Microsoft) use this 

technique to prevent their customers and potential customers from jumping ship to a 

competing product.

14. Mark Jason Dominus, from an interview by the author via e mail in the spring of 2002

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