OK, so how can I help? I am not what could be called by most standards a "professionally competent" Java programmer yet. However, I agree that documentation is lacking -- I noticed that many, or at least some, of the Help documents in the distribution have not been updated since 1999 (or if they have been, -last edited- date and by whom have not been). I am attempting to use FOP for my company's publishing work flow - source content to pdf, html, and mySQL database text blobs. It's a great product, considering that XEP costs >=$5,000, but frustrating in that Help is not always (or has ever been?) up to date with the current release. I might be able to squeeze in an hour or two a week for something deemed useful by someone in charge. Btw, who's in charge? It doesn't seem clear to me.
And reluctantly, but while I'm at it, what the hey (certainly Keiron's always very patient comments didn't provoke the following), (everyone is entitled to a little ranting now and then, yes?): And why does it seem that those folks working on this project seem so against stating what their goals for when they want to complete certain stages of development, i.e. "it'll be done when it's done" is frankly not what I'd expect to here from a professional, even if they are only programming on their free time. If you expect "users" to use the product, not just hobbyist's or programming guru's, then you've got to be more forthcoming with what the development plan is. At least then, if you don't meet it, you can identify why and then set a new, more realistic goal. Finally, one thing FOP should have is an upto date page identifying all the elements, attributes, and attribute values that are supported. For instance, how long is keep-with-next going to remain "(broken)" on the website, when it clearly is implemented at least partially with tables? If you need someone to do it, just tell me how and I'll get about it. As to feature requests -- not everyone is a programmer, in fact most people are "users", so not everyone can "volunteer" to implement something. Maybe it's not the best example, but when I use MSWord and it has a defect, I don't volunteer to fix it; I expect MS to do it. I just want to use the product (commercial or not) to make my other development efforts easier. On the other hand, I know the active developers have much to do. So rather, than brush people off with "do I here you volunteering", create a public "wish list" or to-do list or whatever you want to call it. I know the type of comments this will probably generate around here about this being Open Source, and there being too few developers. Sure, I understand all that. But a plain 'ol user has certain performance expectations. I doubt that mySQL would enjoy the popularity it does today, if developers didn't meet user expectations (granted, there are far more people working on it, but I hope you get my point). Well, I've had my sayso, and I feel better. Now I can calm down again. :-) thanks all for your consideration, Matthew L. Avizinis <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Gleim Publications, Inc. 4201 NW 95th Blvd. Gainesville, FL 32606 (352)-375-0772 ext. 101 www.gleim.com <http://www.gleim.com> ======================================================================= com·put·ing (kum' pyoot ing) 1. n the art of calculating how much time you wasted and money you spent in a doomed attempt to master a machine with a mind of it's own. --from computing: A HACKER'S DICTIONARY > -----Original Message----- > From: Keiron Liddle [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2002 9:55 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: Seeking Comments on Status of Project > > > > As far as using FOP it is still in the early development stages. So you > can evaluate it and use it if it is good enough for your needs. > Due to the > missing features and bugs etc. it is harder to evaluate and may be a > problem if you want to extend how you use it. > > In terms of the current development status. I would say that there needs > to be more people invloved and at the current progress it is still a long > way from being completed. Part of the problem seems to be that to > implement even a simple fo feature there is still a lot of other code to > do. Another problem is the lack of effort around all the other important > areas: website, docs, images etc. > > The only thing that will improve FOP is more people doing something > positive even if it is small. > > Regards, > Keiron Liddle > > On 2002.01.25 00:12 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > First off, thank you for what looks like a fantastic effort. I admire > > (and > > am envious of) each of you who have found the time to contribute to such > > a > > valuable project. > > > > I am involved with the approval process for bringing new technology into > > our company. We have several development groups who have seen the FOP > > engine and would like to include it their applications. The requirements > > are pretty much the same across applications. They need to generate lots > > of > > short dynamic documents in PDF (lots=500-1000 per day, short=1-20 pages, > > mostly text, some tables). Some of the applications need to support > > unicode or double-byte languages. > > > > On the surface, I agree that FOP looks like the right answer for what > > they > > need. However, I also need to ensure that we follow our guidelines for > > technology acquisition. > > > > One of our primary tenets is "no beta software should be included in > > production applications". > > > > I have read through many posts in the mail list and appreciate the > > honesty > > and clarity about the current status. > > Back in January of 2001 and again in July 2001, Arved Sandstrom pointed > > out > > that FOP is still a development effort. > > With this message, I am hoping I can persuade one of the committers to > > provide a "January 2002" update on the status. > > I have found the occasional status messages very useful, hopefully any > > response to this message on the archive will help others in the future. > > > > Here is a snippet from the July 2001 post by Arved: > > > > >> FOP developers and committers have never suggested that the processor > > is > > >> anything other than a work in progress. My best guess is that if we > > have > > a > > >> production release by the end of the year then we'll be doing well. > > Alpha is > > >> a long ways away. > > > > Is this still the case? I am making an assumption that the version > > number > > speaks to the status (v0.x is "pre-release"). > > Is the version numbering a reflection of: > > A. Still early in development > > B. Indication of how completely the XSL:FO spec is implemented > > C. A combination of both > > > > I also in various places reference to RC (Release Candidate) > versions. It > > seems that currently v0.20.1 is the latest "stable" release (no > > implication > > intended by "stable" - I just think I saw that phrasing somewhere > > associated with v0.20.1). > > If possible, could someone clarify the intention/meaning of the x.yy.zz > > version scheme. > > (I am guessing that x is major production release, yy is a > change to what > > is supported, and zz is for minor changes / patches.) > > > > I see some notes about the inclusion of jfor (RTF output) into the FOP > > project. I think that would be really cool, and speaks very well of the > > effort put in thus far. Anyone care to comment on when that may make it > > into a release? > > > > On a somewhat related note, any updated comments on the following would > > be > > appreciated. > > I have seen several posts that recommend Renderx XEP if you "need > > production level code". Is that still the case? > > Sometime ago, Renderx apparently put a feature comparison up on their > > site, > > but since removed it (concerns of bias, etc). > > I have seen references to things like "look for independent > comparisons". > > Has anyone seen a recent comparison? I can not find one (though I > > understand time is better spent refining the code than dedicating > > resources > > to run comparisons). > > > > Thanks in advance for any responses, > > > > Pete Tribulski > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > For additional commands, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
