REQUIRED FOR NEW ADDONS

[Nabeel]

We have quite a few addons, which is great, but the problem starts happening with keeping the latest versions, and sometimes people have stuff uploaded to different places, and then hosts go down or change, and some of the stuff is lost.

I ask everyone who is writing an add-on to please go down this route.

I would like addons to be uploaded to Github or Bitbucket (whichever you prefer, though Github is better for reasons you'll see), as a public repository.

It's not too much extra effort, but it ensures that:

1. Your code is available (especially after the forum crash)
   
2. If people want to improve your code, or help fix a bug, it's easy
   
3. Every knows what the latest version is
   
4. There's an integrated bug tracker and wiki for you to keep docs and issues,
   
5. Zip/tar files are automatically generated and kept, you don't need to upload them to your own server
   

I have also created an organization at Github called "phpVMS" (https://github.com/phpVMS), to where I can fork and add your code in - this way everything is organized in one place, available and accessible for everyone. I believe it's a great way to get more participation, and also to use the tools that are currently available.

How to use Github

1. Setup/Install git
   
2. Register at http://www.github.com
   
3. Create a new repository - call it something descriptive - "TopPilot" (using simpilot as an example). You can add the "phpvms" prefix if you'd like
   
4. Package up your code in one directory, without any phpVMS files (again, simpilot as an example). It should only be the files for your addon
   
   • A suggestion: package your files in a way so that when you extract a zip file, all of the files go to where they should - example: if you to put files in core/templates, create a folder called "core" and inside of that, create a folder called "templates", then place your files there
     

• Create a README file, with instructions on what to do (where to put files)
  
• Follow the github instructions for creating and updating your repository
  
• Notify me, so I can fork it and add it under the phpVMS Organization
  

If you need help, do not hesitate to let me know

[Kyle]

I gotta say so far, I gotta love Github right now.

It can even easily track your file changes as well even message the commits. Very handy and I definitely recommend for add-on developers to use it. It's easy to use, but you just gotta learn how to use the SSH Bash stuff. It's easy to learn as well.