TLC Meeting February 13, 2007

The TLC met by teleconference on February 13, 2007 at 1:00 PM EST.

Agenda

1. Recruiting drive for maintainers for OSI

2. Additions to CoinUtils

   • Importing code from IPopt
   • Creation of AmplIO class
   • Recruiting maintainers
   • Creating subprojects

3. Mailing list issues

   • Creation of missing mailing lists for projects
   • Renaming of mailing lists
   • Stale mailing list page

4. Projects list

   • Updated script
   • Current projects page
   • Category names
   • Delete SBB
   • More info on projects page (version numbers, authors, etc.)?
   • Separate listing for archived projects
   • Apply style sheet to https://projects.coin-or.org/

5. Procedure and Guidelines for project managers

6. Mechanism for scheduling (and advertize planned) releases of "connected" projects

7. Update on creation of static Web pages

8. Standardizing the content and location of README, INSTALL, and AUTHORS files (see StandardizeReadmeInstallAuthors)

9. Installation verification tests

Notes

1. The issue of recruiting volunteers to help ensure that the various OSIs are properly maintained was raised. Currently, both OsiCpx and OsiXpr are out of date. It was agreed that, with Matt Saltzman's permission, we would informally float to Dash and Ilog the idea of taking over maintenance of OsiXpr and OsiCpx, respectively. If not, we will try to look for some volunteers to help with maintenance items, such as taking care of simple bug reports (see #3 below).

2. In a related vein, it was decided to make an effort to pull as much "common" code from individual projects into CoinUtils as possible. To being with, we will pull the parameter parser and shared pointer code out of Ipopt. Because of this, and the fact that CoinUtils is becoming a bit large and unwieldy, it was decided to break it up into smaller pieces and turn it into an umbrella project with subprojects managed by subproject managers. This may involve more recruiting efforts (see #3 below).

3. It was mentioned as part of the previous two discussion that COIN generally needs more volunteers to help out. To help with the process of recruiting volunteers, we will create a Wiki page where project managers can post small jobs that need to be done and recruit volunteers to help. The page is here.

4. As part of the discussion on the future of CoinUtils, it was questioned whether we should be using the Boost libraries, rather then reinventing the wheel with our own utilities. In the past, there have been licensing issues with the Boost libraries, but the situation as since improved. It was decided to float to the SLB the question of whether the Boost license is compatible with the CPL and whether we should recommend to project managers that they use the Boost libraries for certain kinds of functionality in their projects.

5. The issue of cleaning up the mailing lists was raised. Several things need to be done. First, it was reaffirmed that every project should have a mailing list, even if the PM does not wish to monitor it, in case the community of users wants to band together and use it on their own. Second, it was reaffirmed that we should try to rename the existing mailing lists in accordance with our current policy on mailing list names. Third, it was agreed that we should probably abandon the hand-edited mailing list page and simply point to the auto-generated one.

6. It was announced that a new script for generating the project list has been created. The script is maintained in the CoinWeb repository and includes a https://projects.coin-or.org/CoinWeb/browser/trunk/project_README README] that explains how to run it. The script parses the file projects.csv, which can now be edited by anyone with access to the CoinWeb repository. This will facilitate updating of the page when new projects are added or deleted. An e-mail was sent to project managers regarding the new projects page and no complaints were registered. The possibility of creating more "intuitive" project categories (such as "LP solvers," "IP solvers," etc.) was raised, but generated little interest. It was decided that the SBB project, which does not even exist in SVN orhave a Trac page should either be deleted or made to point to Cbc.

7. There was a short discussion regarding updating the procedures and guidelines for project management. Francois agreed to add verbiage expressing a more explicit inclusion of the previously approved classification scheme for projects, which removes most project management requirements in favor of a classification system that indicates the maturity of each project and whether it is actively managed. These changes reduce the requirements on project managers to a bare minimum, but provide positive reinforcement for doing more than what is required. The new draft will be completed within a day or two and circulated for comment before the next TLC meeting.

8. There was a short discussion of whether there should be an effort to synchronize releases for the "connected" projects on which many others depend (such as CoinUtils) to help in planning the releases of other project higher up in the food chain. The possibility of creating a Wiki page containing useful project information, such as current version number, planned release dates ,etc, but no conclusion was reached. It was also mentioned that this might be an appropriate use of the milestones feature in Trac.

9. No progress has been made on the creation of static Web pages for projects.

10. All other agenda items were tabled until the next meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

Ted Ralphs, TLC Chair