Release Early and Often

Chapter 8

Chapter 8 provided a great insight into documentation and why it is extremely important in the documentation process. From personal experience, proper and detailed documentation is a great bonus for getting started in Free Open Source Software(FOSS) or Humanitarian Free Open Source Software(H/FOSS) projects. One problem I have run into, is if there is documentation, there may be a possibility that it is outdated and makes getting a project built properly for either testing or contributing for the project. Some of the steps that are involved with documentation are:

• Planning
• Content
• Writing
• Internationalism/Localisation
• Review

This process begins with the when the project is being brainstormed and presented to decision makers within the orgainzation or code project. Also, it is not hard to add documentation, as it can be implemented by the following:

• Within the code as comments
• A README within the project and subsequent directories about how the code works
• Through an online wiki

An added benefit of code documentation is that it is also an easy way to get involved with a FOSS or H/FOSS project as documentation can always be added/updated.

Chapter 9

With FOSS and H/FOSS, realeasing early and often is always encouraged, as sometimes there may be bugs or unforseen errors in the code. By constantly releasing updates, the users are happy for three reasons:

• The code is being updated
• The maintainers are listening to the users
• The maintainers care about the success of the project

Thus, constant releases are always appreciated no matter what level you are at or stage of development your project is currently in.