[opencms-dev] Poor Javadoc in OpenCms source - AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

[Bart Elberg]

After spending months using OpenCms, I must express my frustration with 
the poor quality of comments in the source code.  Sure, there are 
Javadoc comments for most of the methods, but has anyone really looked 
at them?  Far too many times I go to read the description of the method 
and find the description of a different method!  Obviously the result of 
cut and paste.  Don't get me wrong - I appreciate what OpenCms provides 
and the effort of all the developers.  The problem is that if the 
original developer doesn't document the code, everyone else that looks 
at the code must spend an inordinate amount of time analyzing the code. 
 If we are lucky, someone down the road adds the comments and 
documentation, but that is rarely as good as the original developer's. 
 Isn't it time to get the Javadocs fixed??  The success of this tool is 
based on the acceptance of the users and that is driven by the 
participation of the developers.  The code is so poorly documented that 
many developers and even more users are avoiding using OpenCms.  I know. 
 I learned the hard way.  My original plan was to enhance OpenCms and 
contribute to the project, but instead I wasted a lot of time analyzing 
code and trying to get a deliverable website functional.

My other issue is with the level of support provided on the mail list. 
 I feel pretty much alone in my OpenCms effort.  Maybe it is the intent 
of the participants and sponsors to "encourage" users to pay for support 
(and you have the right to), but it is not conducive to a successful 
open source development project.  Most of my questions posted over the 
last few months went unanswered.  Have the OpenCms "gurus" and core 
developers left?  It would be interesting to see how many list 
subscribers there are, how many actively participate, and what level of 
expertise they feel they have.

If there is a group of individuals who consider themselves "owners" or 
"leaders" of OpenCms, I'd be interested in hearing from them.

-- 
Bart Elberg
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