> Finally, this community has to do a better job at outreach. You should talk to your friends and blog about web2py. You must talk about the applications you build with it. We do not lack developers. We lack salesmen.
I apologize in advance for being blunt. I thought about writing about Web2Py on my blog, but what can I say? That everything is a little different but slightly better than Django? They aren't going to believe me, and it will get ignored and downvoted just like the recent Reddit stories. A simple search for web2py on Reddit shows many stories with heavy downvotes and people simply not interested that there is a Django or Pylons clone, when Django and Pylons do just fine. The problem with Web2Py is that it does not have a niche. Right now, Django is occupying the same niche. As the first-comer, it has the advantage that people already know how to use it. Until Web2Py manages to have a benefit greater than its own learning curve, Web2Py will continue to sit in second place. If it has something that no one else does (a feature), then you will be justified in bragging about it, and the detractors will not be justified in denouncing it. This is not to say that we should have every feature possible; only that we need ones that set Web2Py apart. As for which feature we should include, I currently have 1 in mind that will set it apart from the others: First class support for a free distributed database. The reason is simple. There is a need for a scalable database that does not rely on Google or Amazon. By focusing on the needs of ambitious projects, you will increase the likelihood of getting free press that matters: from big flashy projects. Instead, right now the ecosystem consists mostly of hobby projects on the GAE and internal websites. This is probably not the only killer improvement that Web2Py can make, but its the one the personally interests me the most. (P.S. Massimo, I believe you've received my synopsis on supporting MongoDB before CouchDB). On Jul 16, 7:49 pm, mdipierro <[email protected]> wrote: > Pareto (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle) once said that > 80% of effects come from 20% of causes. For software we can re-phrase > as 80% of users use only 20% of features. > > These are not at all a scientific statements but you understand what > they mean. > > We can add more and more features to web2py with the effect that: > - web2py grows in complexity to the point that it becomes harder to > maintain > - web2py gets slower > - I spend all my time reviewing patches instead of improving > documentation > - You spend all your time thinking how to improve web2py instead of > building applications with it > - Many of these improvement will not buy us a significant number of > users. > > I am not trying to discourage people from submitting patches and I > very very much appreciate people who have done so. Most if not all the > patches that I have received were good and needed. I am sure I will > continue to receive excellent patches. > > Yet, when discussing the roadmap it has to be clear that the point > should not be adding new features. The goal should be locking existing > features: make sure they are well documented, make sure there are no > problems, make sure everything has tests. > > We also need a plugin system but that is not a new web2py feature. > That is a set of specifications and naming conventions for writing > models/views/controllers. It is possible that we may have to modify > admin as result of these specs (in order to apply/remove plugins). > > Finally, this community has to do a better job at outreach. You should > talk to your friends and blog about web2py. You must talk about the > applications you build with it. We do not lack developers. We lack > salesmen. This is not because we want to have more user but because > more users means web2py is tested more, there will be more web2py > jobs, and you (as early adopters) will have a better chance to sell > your web2py based solutions. > > Massimo --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "web2py Web Framework" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/web2py?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
