BioJava plans for the next months

Posted this to the BioJava mailing lists:

Here a quick summary of what I propose to be our action plan for the next months for BioJava:

* I would like to call for a code-freeze in 2 weeks (or so) in order to finalize the new modularized and mavenized version of biojava for the developers. The current developmental trunk will remain permanently frozen and all future work should continue at a new location in SVN. As such it will be important that all developers commit any changes they are working on before that.

* We will update the documentation for how to obtain a new mavenized checkout on the wiki.

* After the change the new modules need to be tested and if no major problems are found, the ok will be given to continue working on the new modules (at the new location)

* All developers should obtain a new checkout.

* We need to identify sub-module leaders who will take over leadership of the sub-modules.

In order to come up with a new release of biojava we should continue development on the new modules for a few months. Talking off list with Richard Holland it looks like we will have a hackaton in January in Cambridge, U.K. (details to be finalized and announced). I suggest that we use that opportunity to focus on further developing the modules and make a new public BioJava release shortly after that.

At the present I see the following topics that would be great to work on until and during the hackaton in order to prepare a shiny new version of BioJava for public release:

+ Work on standardizing the organization of the modules (tests, examples, source, docu etc.)
+ Add new modules
+ Improve existing modules
+ Anything the module leaders deem necessary for their modules.
+ Use OSGI for visualization related modules

I can post a more detailed and specific list of things to work on if people are interested.