Hi all,
A week ago we talked about Inkscape technical papers. Several people were interested in writing on particular relevant topics, which is great! I think we should make several attempts, that way if some aren't accepted, we'll have multiple chances.
Here's what to do if you're interested: 1. First, read through this email and think about a) what you would like to write on, and b) which conference(s) you'd like to author or co-author a paper for. Reply back here with this info, so co-authors can link up.
2. Next, look at their Call for Papers and see what they require for submitting a proposal (some just need abstracts, others need paper drafts), and when the due date is. Also look through their archives to see examples of types of papers that conference accepts.
3. Make a first stab at a short abstract. It should state in 1-3 paragraphs everything that the paper will discuss. Doesn't have to be perfect. :-)
4. If you want to work on the paper in a version control system, please feel free to create a subdir in the inkscape_project CVS module.
It sounds like papers could be written on the following topics. I would be interested in co-authoring on any of these papers.
Packaging Inkscape on Linux: Autopackager and Other Options ============================================================ Mike Hearn is interested in a paper that presents Autopackager and tells how it has provided a convenient option for Linux users to try. We can compare and contrast our experiences with it along with other packaging options, including use of (near-)static binaries. There are probably other related issues we could discuss, such as the C++ ABI change that caused problems on gentoo, and maybe our experiences with portability of Gtk apps to Windows and OSX.
Quality Control in Open Source Desktop Linux Applications ========================================================= Kees is interested in writing up something related to bug fixing in Inkscape.
I think there's a really engaging story in how over the course of a year we went from a codebase plagued with bugs and crashes, we were able to stabilize it and achieve a level where today reviewers remark that they "simply could not get it to crash". :-)
Part of the story could explain how we rely on and use the bug tracker to prevent any bug from slipping through the cracks unexamined. Another part I think would be worth describing is how we include the larger community as teammembers in the process. Encouraging users to file bugs, showing them how to use gdb for making back traces, and involving them with validating our patches (perhaps via the nightly snapshots) is something that seems like a really obvious process, but a lot of projects and companies don't know how this works, so our experiences with making it work will be valuable.
Drawing File Format Conversion Scripting in Inkscape ==================================================== Ted is interested in a paper describing our scripting system, and the clever ways we've been able to bend other open source applications to do our bidding.
We can describe the crude stdin/stdout extension mechanism that we've been using for the last year to add support for various kinds of file formats, and describe the successes and problems we've seen.
Also, it would be valuable to outline some of the other ways we've looked at extending Inkscape, including the ECMA and DOM work Ishmal's been doing (esp. if he'd be willing to participate in the paper).
I think this paper would have a huge side benefit in that it'd give us really good motivation to create a complete but concise piece of documentation on our extension system. Since we have several upcoming milestones focusing on extensions, this would probably help in firming up those efforts. It would also gain us something we can give to new developers that would like to extend Inkscape.
This might be a good OSCON paper.
Best Practice in Open Source Graphic Design =========================================== Andy is interested in helping out with a paper on graphic design, and thinks this could be a good collaboration with Scribus as well. The paper would explain the benefits of using SVG for illustration, and explore reasons and methodology.
This could be a good way to showcase examples of the more complex uses that Inkscapers have put the tool to use. I know that people recognize Inkscape can be used for simple, small scale stuff, but I think a lot of people aren't aware of the huge, complex, beautiful works that some folks have done with Inkscape (Scislac's work, for instance).
Some other ideas for possible things worth mentioning in a paper like this: The Deviant Art Inkscape group, OCAL, SVG compatibility between other tools/projects (cairo, batik, illustrator, oodraw, et al), bitmap tracing tricks, node and gradient editing techniques, etc.
This paper may be best given in a conference geared around art or svg, rather than a strictly technical convention, since it would be aiming at artists rather than developers. Rejon mentioned OpenSVG in the Netherlands, which might be a bit of a trip for most of us.
This paper may be something that could be shopped out to several conferences, each near one of the authors (Australia, California, France...) so depending on which conference accepted it, we'd potentially have someone to present there.
Conferences =========== Here's some info about what conferences are coming up, how much they cost, when things are due, etc.
OSCON - O'Reilly Open Source Convention Proposals: Due Feb 13, 2005 Date: Aug 1-5, 2005 Loc: Portland, Oregon URL: http://conferences.oreillynet.com/os2005/
FOSSTEC - Int'l Symp on Free/Open Source Software, Technologies and Content Abstracts: Due March 2, 2005 (500-1500 words) Date: July 10-13, 2005 Loc: Orlando, Florida URL: http://www.iiisci.org/fosstec05/website/callforpapers.asp
OpenSVG Papers: Due March 1st Date: Loc: Netherlands Cost: URL: http://www.svgopen.org/2005/registration.html
LWE - Linux World and Expo, SF Proposals: Due March 22, 2005 Date: Aug 8-11, 2005 Loc: San Francisco URL: http://www.linuxworldexpo.com/live/12/speakers//callforpapers
LWE tends to be sort of business-ish. The Autopackager paper may fit here, but the others would probably have a tougher chance.
LISA Drafts: May 10, 2005 Date: Dec 4-9, 2005 Loc: San Diego, CA URL: http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa05/cfp/
STARWest - Software Testing Analysis & Review Proposals: Due May 20, 2005 Date: November 14-18, 2005 Loc: Anaheim, CA URL: http://www.sqe.com/starwest/speak.asp
Might be good for the paper on our bug fixing process...
And there's probably more conferences out there... Google around to see if there's an appropriate you think would be worth submitting a proposal to.
Bryce