First, do we keep the right data about the members? Essentially, we keep: <operating_system, os_version, compiler, compiler_version, architecture>. For Linux, we genarlly ask for the Distribution/distro-version instead of the OS/os-version. However, that lead to interesting situations - Gentoo for example is so "flexible" that in version 2004.03 you might easily be using kernel version 2.4.x or 2.6.x ... in fact it's almost impossible to tell what might be installed on a Gentoo system, or how it was compiled. So I'm really not sure how we should treat such systems.
Second is the fact that systems change over time. People upgrade their machines. I'm considering a facility to allow people to change the <os-version,compiler-version> aspects of their registered personality - these will become essentially timestamped pieces of information, so we'll still be able to tie a set of values to a history item.
Third, what can be done to improve the usefulness of the server / web site? I already have the following items on my list of TODOs:
. allow sorting of member list by personality feature (e.g. see all the OS/X boxes together)
. filter dashboard page to only show certain members (this already works but you have to construct the list manually, e.g. http://www.pgbuildfarm.org/cgi-bin/show_status.pl?member=cat&member=dog&member=loris&member=gibbon )
. an email alerting system for when a system changes state
Fourth, there are some significant gaps in the buildfarm coverage. I am currently personally supplying the Windows and Cygwin members, but since that is on my laptop which is frequently required for other work it's not ideal, and there can be large gaps. Other gaps include HPUX, for example. If you run a machine that should be covered and can help, please do. After the initial setup there should be very little work involved.
Finally, a volunteer or two to help me with both running and administering this would be great. Knowledhge of perl and Template Toolkit a decided advantage.
Buildfarm was created to assist the principal hackers - so any and all (constructive) input is welcome.
cheers
andrew
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