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The Great Source Code Supermarket

Published by kiko February 13, 2008 in Bazaar, General

Launchpad is kinda hard to describe. When I’m asked what it is, I normally use three or more of the words “open source free software support project Q&A code registration bugs management listing bazaar planning hosting”. Most people make comparisons to Sourceforge, Savannah, Berlios and Google code hosting, and while those are useful, it’s only a part of the picture. The other part, which is perhaps not as well understood, is that it’s also a public project registration service, similar to Freshmeat. Well, except for a twist.

Launchpad’s source code directory

In addition to providing a project registration service open to the public for free (with probably the best Google juice out there; this has caught some people off-guard before!), Launchpad takes this to a next step, and actually provides a unified interface for interacting with each project registered. The most obvious unified service that you can use today is our code directory, which I want to introduce here.

Now Launchpad provides some key features related to source code for free software projects:

There’s a really cool thing that falls out of the combination of code imports, branch mirrors and Bazaar: you can use bzr and Launchpad to fetch any piece of software we have registered code for. And Bazaar even provides a little shortcut that makes it even easier to grab the default branch for any project: bzr branch lp:<projectname>.

An open source supermarket

The effect is that you can, right now, pull a /lot/ of software in less than 30 keystrokes, without knowing or caring about what its native version-control system is, or where it’s hosted. Want to grab the Python source code? Just do bzr branch lp:python. How about Storm? bzr branch lp:storm. In fact, there are thousands of native Bazaar branches and over one thousand imported branches. Here are just a few examples of major projects you can pull right now:

Couldn’t find a branch listed for the project you want? We can sort this out for you, too. If it’s in CVS or Subversion elsewhere, you can just follow the instructions for setting up an import. If it’s a Bazaar branch, just register it and we’ll hook it up with the project’s mainline series record.

More on project branches

If you visit https://code.launchpad.net/ you’ll notice that it has an abbreviated project cloud, which lists all the projects with branches in Launchpad. The project’s name is rendered in different sizes and intensities according to how active the actual project is; the size of the name in the cloud is defined by the number of branches that the project has, and the intensity of the tag in the cloud is determined by how recent the last commit to any active branch is. And green indicates that there’s a default branch for the project, which means that the bzr branch lp:foo abbreviation works for it. There’s a also a page with the full code cloud.

So each of those projects has active source code branches that you can pull from Launchpad using Bazaar. For instance, to check the source code for Apport, you could click on its entry in the listing and getting there you could inspect the branches available and select one of them for pulling. For instance, if you chose Will Woods’ Fedora support branch you get instructions on how to pull it: bzr branch http://bazaar.launchpad.net/~wwoods/apport/fedora or even just
bzr branch lp:~wwoods/apport/fedora

Imports and today’s deliveries

Import requests are handled in a queue by Launchpad code ninjas; normally this it Michael Hudson’s responsibility but starting today I’ll be helping out too. Of the import requests I handled today, the following succeeded and are ready for grabbing in the great bzr-get-lp-colon fashion:

I’ll keep you posted on new imports as they come online. Meanwhile, go grab some branches and post some comments telling me what you think. If you have any problems or questions about our code hosting service, feel free to ask on the Launchpad code section in answers.launchpad.net.

5

PyRoom: a WriteRoom clone in Python

Published by Matthew Revell February 4, 2008 in General

You could argue that the free software world isn’t short of a text editor or two. With some people already pretty attached to their preferred choice, you might wonder if we really need another.

Some time ago, I read a newspaper article complaining that today’s computer desktop dangles too many distractions in front of professional writers. The author presented two solutions:

WriteRoom is a big black box with green text. Basically, think Windows Notepad but with fancier marketing and a $24.95 price tag. Nonetheless, its simplicity has struck a chord with many; not least of all me.

That’s why I was delighted when Bruno Bord told me about PyRoom. It’s one of several WriteRoom clones that grew out of a thread on the Ubuntu forums and, as you might expect, is written in Python.

If you have Bazaar, you can get hold of PyRoom with:

bzr branch http://bazaar.launchpad.net/~brunobord/pyroom/trunk

Writing this post in PyRoom almost makes me nostalgic for my Amstrad PCW days. It’s is a work in progress so give it a try and file bug reports. Bruno’s also on the look-out for translators.

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Launchpad users meeting for January

Published by Matthew Revell January 29, 2008 in General

30th January 17.00 UTC in #launchpad

Launchpad isn’t just about source code, bugs, or translations. Nor packages, specifications, community support or file downloads.

Launchpad’s about people. Okay, that sounds a bit cheesy but it’s true: every new feature or improvement we make to Launchpad is designed to make it easier for you, me and anyone else to work together.

That’s why we hold monthly user meetings: talking to people who use Launchpad is absolutely the best way to find out what we can improve and what works well. You can find the Launchpad team in #launchpad and on the launchpad-users list just about any time but these meetings give you a focused opportunity to talk directly to members of the Launchpad team.

Come along to this month’s meeting on 30th January at 17.00 UTC in #launchpad on Freenode. Add your question or any other item to the agenda or simply speak up during the meeting. See you there 🙂

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Launchpad 1.2.1: PPA package deletion, branch feeds and more

Published by Matthew Revell January 24, 2008 in Releases

Today we unleashed Launchpad 1.2.1, our first release of 2008!

Highlights include:

Don’t forget our logo competition! Send us your design for the chance to win an Ubuntu messenger bag.

Read the full Launchpad 1.2.1 release notes!

1

Logo contest update

Published by Matthew Revell January 23, 2008 in General

Over the past couple of weeks we’ve been accepting entries to our Launchpad logo competition.

Rather than store up the entries until the deadline (31st March, by the way), I thought I’d share a couple of those we’ve had so far. Of course, you don’t have to wait for me to pop up here to see what people are submitting. If you want to get an email whenever a new logo is put forward, click Subscribe on the submissions page.

Launchpad logo competition entry - Damián VilaI like the flow of Damián Vila’s design, which maintains a green feel similar to the present Launchpad site design. The rocket flying off from the Launchpad logo-text puts me in mind of Launchpad as just that – a launching point for work on free software projects.

Launchpad logo competition entry - Donn IngleDonn Ingle says he “tried to capture the fun spirit of the overall Launchpad design”. His is the first logo to move away from green and I think he does capture a sense of fun in his design. I’d love to see an animated version.

Do go see the other entries in the competition. Better still, fire up Inkscape and create your own!

This post doesn’t imply any particular favourites, by the way 🙂

0

Down-time 5am 24th January UTC

Published by Matthew Revell January 21, 2008 in Notifications

On Thursday 24th January we’re making the first Launchpad release of 2008! Launchpad will be offline while we roll-out the new code.

Offline at: 05.00 UTC 2008-01-24
Expected back online at: 06.30 UTC 2008-01-24

Thanks for bearing with us while we release Launchpad 1.2.1!

1

Translate Ubuntu Hardy Heron

Published by Matthew Revell in Translations

The next Ubuntu release – Hardy Heron – is now open for translation!

If you want to help ensure it’s accurately translated into your language, you can get going at:

https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu/hardy/+translations

If you’re new to translating Ubuntu and want to find out more, take a look at the Translating Ubuntu.

Frequent lang pack updates

If you’re running Hardy Heron during its development cycle, you’ll receive twice weekly language pack updates reflecting the latest work in Launchpad Translations. These updates should start later this week.

If you’re planning to work on Hardy translations, this is a great way to see your work in place before the official release.

If you have any questions about using Launchpad to translate, ask on launchpad-users or come join us in #launchpad on Freenode.

0

Kubuntu distributes KDE 4 using PPA

Published by Matthew Revell January 14, 2008 in PPA

Seen some of the bling and functionality in KDE 4 and thought, “I want some of that”?

If you’re running Kubuntu or Ubuntu, no problem! Thanks to Launchpad’s Personal Package Archives, upgrading is as simple as adding a new repository.

Jonathan Riddell – chief Kubuntoid – sent word on why they’re using a PPA:

“It’s the fastest and most flexible way to make our KDE 4.0 packages available. For example: it’s very easy to bring in new contributors since we can just add them to the necessary team. The other great thing is that we can get packages out there very quickly because they get published as soon as they are compiled.”

Take a look at Kubuntu’s KDE 4 page to get KDE 4 on your desktop.

2

Help design the new Launchpad logo!

Published by Joey Stanford January 9, 2008 in General

Announcing the Launchpad Logo Community Design Contest.

What: Design a new logo for Launchpad
When: Now through 31 March 2008
How: See http://help.launchpad.net/logo for more details and official rules
Prize: Winner will receive an Ubuntu Messenger Bag

0

Launchpad 1.1.12 now live!

Published by Matthew Revell December 20, 2007 in Releases

Welcome to the last Launchpad release of 2007! The highlights of Launchpad 1.1.12 include:

Read the full release notes for more on what’s new in this release. See you next year when we’ll be back in January with Launchpad 1.2.1!

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