Hi Cameron
OK quick effort at the last moment...
I won't try and get on the email list and send it may take too long. Is it ok
to send to you. If not I can do it first thing in the morning.
• Please describe your application.
• What is its name?
XCSoar
• What is the home page URL?
http://xcsoar.org/
• Which OSI approved Open Source Licence is used?
GPL
• What does the application do and how does it add value to the
GeoSpatial stack of software?
XCSoar is a tactical glide computer originally developed for the Pocket PC
platform. In 2005, the originally commercial software was given to the
open-source community for further development and has constantly been improved
since. It is now a multi-platform application that currently runs on Windows,
Windows Mobile, Unix and even Android devices.
In many ways it is an end user of GeoSpacial data, importing lots of
information, from terrain to maps, airspace to real time weather. XCSoar also
produces content in the international standard IGC file format - International
Gliding Commission, Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.
Part of XCSoar is also publishing tracks after flights and even live tracking
through child projects such as Sky Lines - http://skylines.xcsoar.org/
• Does the application make use of OGC standards? Which
versions of the standards? Client or server? You may wish to add comments about
how standards are used.
Data used by XCSoar includes:
* Maps - built using JPEG2000 from standard formats (very limited space on glide
computers) - Terrain & Topology
* Airspace - OpenAir format - standard for Aviation airspace
* Waypoints - Lots of formats supported
* Flarmnet - FLARM is the international anti collision system used (stand
alone), this DB allows us to use Flarm data for identification
* Waypoint details file - text file
* Checklists - text file
• What language is it written in?
C++
• Which version of the application should be included in the
next OSGeo-Live release?
STABLE - 6.4.4
• Stability is very important to us on OSGeo-Live. If a new user finds
a bug in one application, it will tarnish the reputation of all other
OSGeo-Live applications as well. (We pay most attention to the following
answers):
• If risk adverse organisations have deployed your application
into production, it would imply that these organisations have verified the
stability of your software. Has the application been rolled out to production
into risk (ideally risk adverse) organisations? Please mention some of these
organisations?
Not really. We know XCSoar is used by defence, and gliding pilots, hang
gliders, para gliders and other aviation use it for 7+ hours each day. Pilots
do not depend on the software for safety, but they do for competition. It is
used in almost all gliding competitions across the world.
• What is the size of the user community? You can often answer
this by mentioning downloads, or describing a healthy, busy email list?
In Android via Google Play alone there is 509 ratings (4.7/5 stars) & 21,950
installs (that is not downloads, that is installs - which means if users have
multiple devices they only get 1, and each new version still only registers 1 user).
Gliding is relatively small, 2000+ pilots in Australia. The numbers of users on
Mac, Windows, PocketPC, and dedicated devices (e.g. Altair) is not recorded.
• What is the size of your developer community?
10 very active (daily commit) developers. 50 developers over the last year.
• Do you have a bug free, stable release?
Yes. As it is used in gliding competitions it is very important. Very quick
community to update too.
• Please discuss the level of testing that your project has
gone through.
Built in unit testing. Lots of recent work in performance testing (it is important with
older and small embedded devices). User testing by all "release candidates"
before final stable builds.
Code is all done in GIT, and all pulls are code reviewed and tested before
merging.
• How long has the project has had mature code.
5 years. Slow period 3 years ago with fresh development team with now even more
mature code in the last 2 years.
• OSGeo-Live is targeted at applications that people can use rather
than libraries. Does the application have a user interface (possibly a command
line interface) that a user can interact with? (We do make an exception for
Incubated OSGeo Libraries, and will include Project Overviews for these
libraries, even if they don't have a user interface.)
Yes it is a GUI interface.
• We give preference to OSGeo Incubated Projects, or Projects which are
presented at FOSS4G conferences. If your project is involved in OSGeo
Incubation, or has been selected to be presented at FOSS4G, then please mention
it.
It has been at many conferences, including OSDC.com.au, but not FOSS4G
(although I went when it was in Australia).
• With around 50 applications installed on OSGeo-Live, us core
packagers do not have the time to liaise with every single project email list
for each OSGeo-Live release. So we require a volunteer (or two) to take
responsibility for liaising between OSGeo-Live and the project's communities.
This volunteer will be responsible for ensuring the install scripts and English
documentation are updated by someone for each OSGeo-Live release. Also test
that the installed application and Quickstart documentation works as expected
on release candidate releases of OSGeo-Live. Who will act as the project's
liaison person.
Scott Penrose <[email protected]> - expert in XCSoar and Linux, happy to help.
• OSGeo-Live is Ubuntu Linux based. Our installation preference is:
• Install from UbuntuGIS or DebianGIS
• Install .deb files from a PPA
• Write a custom install script
Probably just a custom install script for this release. Although it is fairly
easy stand alone install.
Can you please discuss how your application will be installed.
• OSGeo-Live is memory and disk constrained. Can the application run in
512 Meg of RAM?
Yes
• How much disk space will be required to install the application and a
suitable example application?
Approx 10MB
• We aim to reduce disk space by having all applications make use of a
common dataset. We encourage applications to make use of the example datasets
already installed:
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Live_GIS_Add_Project#Example_Datasets If another
dataset would be more appropriate, please discuss here. Is it appropriate, to
remove existing demo datasets which may already be included in the standard
release.
Unfortunately not possible, but the demo data set can be very constrained.
• Each OSGeo-Live application requires a Project Overview available
under a CC By and a Quickstart available under a CC By-SA license. (You may
release under a second license as well). Will you produce this?
Yes
• In past releases, we have included Windows and Mac installers for
some applications. It is likely we won't have space for these in future
releases. However, if there is room, would you be wishing to include Windows
and/or Mac installers?
Yes we have a Mac and Windows installer. The data files can be common to all
versions. There is also an Android, Pocket PC and other versions.
Scott
