Bazaar Explorer

Commitment to Bazaar Explorer development?

Asked by Greg

I hesitated many times before asking this question but I must...
What is the commitment to the continued development of Bazaar Explorer?

I used Bazaar for over a year on personal projects and fell in love with it. Recently I introduced it to my work place. We have had so many problems with stability, mostly crashing Bazaar Explorer, but also some internal repository stability issues. I am constantly monitoring the situation and may have to discontinue use.

Like most commercial operations, we must have a stable and working system and are willing to pay for it. Some of the other DVCS are getting commercial support. I thought Canonical was actively supporting development. Over the last few months, the issue list has increased but development appears stagnant.

If the code base was C# and .Net, I know myself and a few other people who might contribute occasional fixes and improvements.

I will end this question with many thanks to the active Bazaar Explorer developers, particularly Ian Clatworthy and Alexander Belchenko who seem to stand out with code or community contributions. I sincerely hope this is just a temporary lul or my imagination, and not a decline for a DVCS that is designed for humans, both from the command line and UI.

Question information

Language:
English Edit question
Status:
Solved
For:
Bazaar Explorer Edit question
Assignee:
No assignee Edit question
Solved by:
Greg
Solved:
Last query:
Last reply:
Revision history for this message
Martin Pool (mbp) said : 		#1

Hi Greg,

Sorry for the delay, I was at a conference and travelling last week.

The short answer is that the lull in Explorer development is because one of it's leading developers, Ian, is gravely ill. <http://ianclatworthy.wordpress.com/2010/05/22/tough-times-easy-choices/> Other people are still working on qbzr and related things but he's left big shoes to fill.

If you've done GUI work in C# then you may find the language barrier is not so high and some of these bugs are approachable, and if you do try a patch for them we will help you get it in.

More broadly Canonical is still committed to using Bazaar and we're using it more and more broadly ourselves. At the moment we are focussing on bzr-builddeb and bzr-builder but we do still want to maintain the overall suite.

Revision history for this message
Greg (gregspecialsource) said : 		#2

Thanks for responding Martin, and others who did so privately. It is encouraging to hear about your continued commitment to QBZR and other related components. I was aware and greatly saddened by Ian's deteriorating health. I am grateful for his outstanding contribution and pleased he's now spending precious time with family and friends. The challenge now, as you suggest, is to continue the work toward an integrated GUI for The Masses. I understand Web and Linux seem to take the limelight in Open Source, but The Masses still appreciate rich client apps on Windows and Mac.

Revision history for this message
SimonHill (isimonhill) said : 		#3

Bazaar Explorer's development might have faced some challenges. It's recommended to check the latest information on the project's official channels or forums like https://bestvolleyballshoe.com/ to understand its current status and the commitment to ongoing development.

Revision history for this message
Maxwell Henry (momiz) said : 		#4

Bazaar Explorer, which is a graphical user interface for Bazaar (a distributed version control system), has indeed seen a slowdown in active development compared to earlier years. While Canonical, the company behind Bazaar, has historically supported its development, the focus has shifted more towards other projects, such as Snapcraft and Ubuntu.

However, the Bazaar community still exists, and there are individuals who contribute to its development and maintenance, as you've noted with Ian Clatworthy and Alexander Belchenko. Their contributions are valuable in keeping the project alive.

Regarding stability issues you've encountered, it's unfortunate that you've experienced these problems, especially in a workplace setting where reliability is crucial. It's essential to weigh the benefits of using Bazaar Explorer against its stability issues and determine if it meets your organization's needs effectively.

If you're considering contributing fixes and improvements to Bazaar Explorer, especially if it were based on C# and .NET, your contributions could potentially address some of the stability issues you've encountered. Open-source projects thrive on community contributions, and your involvement could benefit not only your own use but also the broader Bazaar user community.

In terms of commercial support, while Bazaar itself may not have official commercial support, there are often third-party vendors or consultants who can provide assistance with deployment, troubleshooting, and customization. It might be worth exploring such options if you decide to continue using Bazaar Explorer in your workplace.

As for the future of Bazaar Explorer, it's difficult to predict with certainty. However, with continued community involvement and potential contributions from developers like yourself, there's always the possibility of revitalizing the project and addressing its current challenges.

In a similar vein, just as community involvement can bolster open-source projects like Bazaar Explorer, https://volleycrafters.com/best-volleyball-shoes/ provides a platform for volleyball enthusiasts to come together, share knowledge, and contribute to the growth and improvement of the sport. Just as you're considering contributing to Bazaar Explorer, others may contribute to https://recipevilla.com/, enriching the volleyball community as a whole.