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

[Carlos Lopez Molina]

Ok, everything may be enhanced, but don't loose the focus. You paid nothing 
for such a nice product, and that means that you receive a lot for nothing. 

I am sure a lot of you guys had experiences with full blown products, 
costing lots of dollars, and poorly documented, when there was any 
documentation available.

I had to deal with an events management console (I know, this has nothing 
to do with CMS, but is a good example) which had a developer guide, with a 
small set of examples, and that was really incomplete. There was an 
unofficial developer guide, written by somebody, and publicly available; 
that was the best documentation. Also, you had support (paid support, of 
course), but most of time, you received nothing at all. I had a very 
disappointing answer for a reported problem: If that works, then it is 
supported; if it doesn't work, then it is unsupported. That people invented 
the subject "Error or feature". Another answer for a problem was to look 
for some kind of book (nobody knew nothing about it), and look for some odd 
procedure... I thought I was reading some kind of role game book. 
Definitely they was more interested in selling services than in supporting 
you.

I just want to say that I find OpenCMS a serious and useful product, and 
the developers must be encouraged to go on such a task. Thanks, OpenCMS 
guys.

Best regards,
Carlos Lopez.

-----Mensaje original-----
De:	frank at noblepath.org [SMTP:frank at noblepath.org]
Enviado el:	lunes, 21 de octubre de 2002 19:16
Para:	opencms-dev at www.opencms.org
Asunto:	RE: [opencms-dev] Poor Javadoc in OpenCms source - 
AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

And there I had thought it was just me that was disliked.  Hmmm.

I agree, the source is not well organized and documented.

...Frank

 -------- Original Message --------
   Subject: RE: [opencms-dev] Poor Javadoc in OpenCms source -
AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
   From: "Aleksandar Lukic" <aleksandar.lukic at nbj.sv.gov.yu>
   Date: Mon, October 21, 2002 9:13 am
   To: <opencms-dev at www.opencms.org>

   I agree too.

   Aleksandar

   -----Original Message-----
   From: owner-opencms-dev at www.opencms.org
   [mailto:owner-opencms-dev at www.opencms.org]On Behalf Of Srinivas
   Chidumalla
   Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2002 6:24 AM
   To: opencms-dev at www.opencms.org
   Subject: Re: [opencms-dev] Poor Javadoc in OpenCms source -
   AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!


   Hi totally agree with you.

   I am new to OpenCMS, and facing this problem too.

   Even though I have source code with me, I am facing problems in most
   of the code that i review because of this.

   Srini

   ----- Original Message -----
   From: "Bart Elberg" <belberg at idealcorp.com>
   To: <opencms-dev at www.opencms.org>
   Sent: Tuesday, October 15, 2002 11:37 PM
   Subject: [opencms-dev] Poor Javadoc in OpenCms source -
   AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!


   > 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
   > __________________________________________________
   > I.D.E.A.L. Technology Corporation - Orlando Office
   > http://www.idealcorp.com - 407.999.9870 x15