Contributing to VLC & the state of VLC for Mac

[ajmas]

This is going to sound like a PBS sponsorship drive, but it needs to be said:

While VLC is an open source project provided to you free of charge, as with other open source projects, its existence depends on everyone who provides support to the project. This support can come in many forms, such as:
- joining the team and contributing code
- spending time in the forum helping out other VLC users
- making a donation

Every bit helps, since without it the community dies and the project with it.

As mentioned in the following thread:

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=59905

we are in desperate need of Mac developers who can help maintain the Mac side of VLC. If you or someone you know is in position to join the team then please let us know. Until we have more Mac developers then the 64-bit version of VLC for MacOS X will be on hold!

[kdean]

Have you looked for developers on other actively supported open source projects that have Mac versions? Seems like the logical place to go looking if the developers aren't wandering onto the VLC forums which likely represents a miniscule fraction of the user base.

To cull from existing VLC users, maybe add a menu to the VLC app menu that says something like "Become a VLC developer..." that leads to a web page with the information they need to know for their skill-set and a sign-up form.

...or if you really want to get the word out add a window on first launch that appears when you release the 1.0.4 version that states the need.

Edit the listing on sites like versiontracker.com, macupdate.com & download.com to indicate the need for developers.

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

Have you looked for developers on other actively supported open source projects that have Mac versions?

"Hello, we would like to know if you guys could give up this project and work on VLC instead." does not sound like very appropriate behaviour. In fact, I think it would be counter-productive.

Seems like the logical place to go looking if the developers aren't wandering onto the VLC forums which likely represents a miniscule fraction of the user base.

We already mentioned it on the website. Putting a nice "ad" in the UI is not possible without MacOS developer to start with. This is known as a chicken-and-egg problem. Besides, it could annoy users.

To cull from existing VLC users, maybe add a menu to the VLC app menu that says something like "Become a VLC developer..." that leads to a web page with the information they need to know for their skill-set and a sign-up form.

Open-source does not work with sign-up forms. It works with people spontaneously sending patches. We have no problem finding people who would want to join the fame and volunteer themselves. But we do have problem finding people who actually do anything productive past that stage.

...or if you really want to get the word out add a window on first launch that appears when you release the 1.0.4 version that states the need.

As I said, been there, done that.

[kdean]

Have you looked for developers on other actively supported open source projects that have Mac versions?

"Hello, we would like to know if you guys could give up this project and work on VLC instead." does not sound like very appropriate behaviour. In fact, I think it would be counter-productive.

Who said anything about asking them to give up on another project first. It's not like developers can't work on more than one thing at a time. I still think this is your best avenue for finding people that have the skills necessary to make useful contributions. Another place to go would be find generic developer forums for the programming language you're using and post there as well.

I think it behooves you to find a better way to get the word out that just a post here to a community that has already proved itself to not have the type of people you're looking for.

Is there no past Mac developers that can be contacted to help with adding a quick window that opens 1 time only on first launch?

Maybe take some donation money and get one of the other developers a Mac Mini so they can dip into the better side.

You didn't comment on my versiontracker.com, macupdate.com & download.com suggestion so I don't know if you're discounting that one as well. It just doesn't sound that the motivation is there to actually get Mac developers by pushing every avenue.

[kdean]

We already mentioned it on the website. Putting a nice "ad" in the UI is not possible without MacOS developer to start with.

Where on the web site other than the usual Developer and Contribute sections that just state a generic need? Perhaps something large on the homepage that states the specific need for experienced Mac developers would be more effective.

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

We did it in the news. Nowadays, it's in the archives.

We also did and again do it on the MacOS download page.

[ajmas]

Who said anything about asking them to give up on another project first. It's not like developers can't work on more than one thing at a time. I still think this is your best avenue for finding people that have the skills necessary to make useful contributions. Another place to go would be find generic developer forums for the programming language you're using and post there as well.

Don't underestimate the amount of effort involved in development. Just because an application is simple to use does not mean it is simple to develop, and in fact the development effort usually increases as ease of use increases.

Many open source developers already have a day job to cover their living expenses, or are busy studying. Although it would be nice to be full time on an interesting open source project, the income provided rarely makes this a possibility.

[alanbly]

Hi

I read about your issue on Slashdot and am considering trying to help. I am a C++/Java/many others developer based out of Denver, Colorado, USA and would like to get more experience working with video codecs and the like so this looks like contributing may be a good fit for a side project. Can you post relevant links to help me (and I'm sure others) get up to speed on the state of mac development in the project? If you could post a description of what sort of work you perceive as needing to be done it would be very helpful.

----
Adam McCormick

[kdean]

Some nice exposure over on MacNN - http://www.macnn.com/articles/09/12/16/ ... s.project/

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

Hi

I read about your issue on Slashdot and am considering trying to help. I am a C++/Java/many others developer based out of Denver, Colorado, USA and would like to get more experience working with video codecs and the like so this looks like contributing may be a good fit for a side project. Can you post relevant links to help me (and I'm sure others) get up to speed on the state of mac development in the project? If you could post a description of what sort of work you perceive as needing to be done it would be very helpful.

Adam, the help is always needed in VLC. The problem with the Mac version is that it requires Objective-C knowledge.
To start, come on IRC and look at the Developers Corner on the wiki.

[DonMagee]

I too saw the post on slashdot. I've got a working knowledge of cooca and objective-c. I'll start looking as well and see how I can help. I love this project and I don't want to see the mac version I use so often die.

[mmoy]

I'll take a shot at trying to do a build - sometimes that provides an idea of how easy it is to start getting involved in a project.

I use VLC on Mac and it's nice as it handles some things correctly that other players don't. I don't have any experience with Objective-C and minimal experience with X-Code - just enough to build Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird. I do have some experience with 64-bit ports (converting software from VAX to Alpha) and with 64-bit Firefox on Windows.

[ajmas]

Just for reference, the post on Slashdot:

http://apple.slashdot.org/story/09/12/1 ... LC-For-Mac

[red82]

Obj-C developer, here from reddit.

[yonyonson]

So far have on Obj-C experince, but interested in learning it and am using VLC on Mac a lot. Have notable amout of experience in Python, Java, C#.
Will try to take a look at the source code and hopefully will move further then just staring at the lines.

Ah yes, came from Slashdot.

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

Well, thanks for all the support.

However, it might be true that VLC will be dead on Mac in the future... We may have an alternative though.

[Hyter]

I'm a little confused about the state of VLC for mac right now.
I saw the post about Glasses (http://github.com/pdherbemont/Glasses), but no one is saying the project is alive.

So is the mac version dead, alive, or somewhere inbetween?

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

Both

VLC is getting fixed and Lunettes might replace VLC.

[AlePety]

I´m an ObjC developer, and i want to colaborate. Where to start????

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

Compile OSX version as told in the wiki.

[jwkpiano1]

Are you guys still looking for help with development on the 64-bit Mac version? If so, I'd be more than willing to help. Is there a list of tasks that are currently being worked on or someone I should contact for information as to what the current development situation is?
Thanks.

[monadical]

It looks like development for mac front end has moved over to the Glasses project: http://wiki.github.com/pdherbemont/Glasses/
And at that site they say just jump in with both feet: subscribe to the dev list, get the code, look at bugs, features, etc., fork, make changes, commit, and post. IOW, don't bother posting or sending mail saying you'll help, just jump in and do it. Lots of fun to be had.

[oskar2.0]

I found it difficult to get a current git-version of VLC to compile with Glasses/Lunettes.

To help OSX users without developing needs, i put up a 64 bit version of VLC for the mac, compiled from current sources on my web site http://members.dokom.net/oskar.unna/Web ... 64bit.html.

I tend to update that as soon as I compile myself a new version

[SnidelyW]

I found it difficult to get a current git-version of VLC to compile with Glasses/Lunettes.

Hello Oskar,

I became involved with Glasses/Lunettes about three weeks ago. I am not a programmer. I had never even heard of git before that. However, I eventually figured out things on the Lunettes "How To Build" page, and have since successfully built Lunettes quite a few times using the latest source from the Lunettes and VLC repositories.

I also totally rewrote and greatly expanded the Lunettes "How To Build" page so that even the most basic Macintosh user can build Lunettes for themselves, simply by following my clear instructions on that page, which can be accessed here:

http://wiki.github.com/pdherbemont/Glasses/how-to-build

Anyway, the reason why I am writing is to comment on your above remark. When you say "difficult to get", I am not sure if you are saying that you have found it difficult to download the source from git.hub, or if you are saying that you are having trouble building Lunettes after building the VLC interface in Xcode.

I can tell you from my own experiences that I often experience difficulty downloading the VLC source from git.hub using the Terminal. The download stalls repeatedly, and I have to start all over again sometimes up to five times or more, but eventually I get it. Sometimes I simply have to wait until a different hour of the day. I have a broadband connection that maxes out on good connections at 800-900 kps.

As far as building Lunettes is concerned, I have found that when build problems occur -- such as after using the "git pull --rebase" command -- sometimes the best thing to do is to simply trash your entire "vlc" directory or "Glasses" directory, and download everything fresh again. In fact, as I point out on the "How To Build" page, I keep a virgin backup copy of the latest VLC and Glasses source on an external hard drive. That way, I don't have to keep downloading the entire directories when something goes wrong, particularly the VLC directory which is a few hundred megs in size.

Also, in case you weren't aware of it, according to Pierre and Felix, getting a lot of warnings and a few errors while building Lunettes is normal. As long as the build succeeds, you should be okay. I normally get about 138 warnings and two errors, but Lunettes still builds and runs.

Finally, if you haven't discovered it yet, you might want to check out the Lunettes issues page at the following URL. If you have problems with, or suggestions for, Lunettes, that's a good place to post them as well:

http://github.com/pdherbemont/Glasses/issues

Yippee!...I just checked...Pierre made a few new commits a few hours ago! I think I'll go and make a new build now.

[luzagodom]

If you are interested in developing for VLC, then contributing code is the best thing to do. You can either contribute to the general VLC