Analog: Help wanted

It's not always easy for people to get involved in open source projects, because they don't know where to start, and because they haven't got time to understand the whole program. So here, in no particular order, is a list of tasks which I would love to see done for analog. They're things which I'm not skilled to do myself, and which I'm not likely to have the time to learn in the near future. Each one is more-or-less self-contained. Some require programming skills, but most don't. They're to be done on a volunteer basis, of course.

If you want to tackle one of these projects, the first step is to contact me to check that no-one else is doing it, and to get more details.

No programming required

Project	Notes
Language files	Translations of analog into new languages are always welcome. (See the list of current languages.)
How-To's	I'm looking for people to write tutorials about aspects of analog. The idea is that they complement the existing documentation by being focused on specific tasks, and by teaching by example -- for instance, they might contain configuration samples and/or screen shots. (Have a look at the existing How-To's for examples.) Here are some suggested topics: Using analog with virtual servers -- one logfile. Getting started under Windows. (Allocated 05-Jun-01). Writing a `LOGFORMAT`. (Allocated 05-Jun-01). Configuring Apache. Configuring IIS. (Reallocated 14-Aug-01). Setting up the form under NT. Using analog with Report Magic. (Allocated 02-Aug-01). If you want to tackle one of these, contact me for more details first. Or feel free to suggest other topics! Posted 23-Jan-01, 30-Apr-01.
Precompiled versions	If you have an operating system which is not one for which a precompiled version is already available, and if you want to volunteer always to compile the latest version of analog, and to host the precompiled version at your site, I would love to hear from you. There are several Unixes currently without precompiled versions; also Windows on the Alpha chip.
Language test suite	Construct a configuration, or set of configurations, which uses all or nearly all of the strings in a language file (and presumably shows off most of analog's features).
List of robots	Construct a more comprehensive list of `ROBOTINCLUDE` commands than the one distributed with (version 5 of) the program. Posted 18-Apr-01.

Some programming required

Project	Notes
None at the moment!	(But feel free to suggest some...)

In progress

These projects were on this page, but I've already got a volunteer for them now. Just so you know what's coming!

Project Notes

Windows Makefile Make a Makefile to let MSVC++ compile analog without going through the GUI. Allocated 20-Sep-00; reallocated 05-Apr-01.

Better Windows behaviour Arrange that analog should not pop up a DOS window when it starts (i.e. get the window to start minimised). But if there are any error or warning messages, the window should pop up, and then also not close automatically at the end of the program. Allocated 30-Mar-01.

./configure Supply a GNU autoconf script to replace editing the Makefile and the anlghead.h. Allocated 05-Apr-01.

Make --settings produce a configuration file Make something like SETTINGS ON or --settings (but with a new name) produce a configuration file of the current settings instead of an English description. Posted 23-Jan-01; allocated 18-Apr-01.

Project	Notes
Windows Makefile	Make a Makefile to let MSVC++ compile analog without going through the GUI. Allocated 20-Sep-00; reallocated 05-Apr-01.
Better Windows behaviour	Arrange that analog should not pop up a DOS window when it starts (i.e. get the window to start minimised). But if there are any error or warning messages, the window should pop up, and then also not close automatically at the end of the program. Allocated 30-Mar-01.
`./configure`	Supply a GNU autoconf script to replace editing the Makefile and the `anlghead.h`. Allocated 05-Apr-01.
Make `--settings` produce a configuration file	Make something like `SETTINGS ON` or `--settings` (but with a new name) produce a configuration file of the current settings instead of an English description. Posted 23-Jan-01; allocated 18-Apr-01.

Completed jobs

The following projects were on this list but have now been completed.

Project Notes

SEARCHENGINE configuration file Construct a more comprehensive list of SEARCHENGINE commands than the one distributed with the program. Completed.

Precompiled version for Solaris 2 Completed.

Wildcards in directory names Make wildcards in directory names in LOGFILE commands work. Completed in version 4.90beta4.

How-To's

Using analog with virtual servers -- multiple logfiles. Completed in version 5.0.
Batch file and scheduling under Windows. Completed in version 5.0.

Unix man page Completed in version 5.01.

Project	Notes
`SEARCHENGINE` configuration file	Construct a more comprehensive list of `SEARCHENGINE` commands than the one distributed with the program. Completed.
Precompiled version for Solaris 2	Completed.
Wildcards in directory names	Make wildcards in directory names in `LOGFILE` commands work. Completed in version 4.90beta4.
How-To's	Using analog with virtual servers -- multiple logfiles. Completed in version 5.0. Batch file and scheduling under Windows. Completed in version 5.0.
Unix man page	Completed in version 5.01.

Of course, if you have ideas for other ways to contribute, then feel free to contact me too.

Go to the analog home page.
Need help with analog? Use the analog-help mailing list.

Stephen Turner

Page last modified: 08-Nov-01