Open Source Code Maintainability Analyzed

gManZboy writes "Four computer scientists have done a formal analysis of five Open Source software projects to determine how being "Open Source" contributes to or inhibits source code maintainability. While they admit further research is needed, they conclude that open source is no magic bullet on this particular issue, and argue that Open Source software development should strive for even greater code maintainability." From the article: "The disadvantages of OSS development include absence of complete documentation or technical support. Moreover, there is strong evidence that projects with clear and widely accepted specifications, such as operating systems and system applications, are well suited for the OSS development model. However, it is still questionable whether systems like ERP could be developed successfully as OSS projects. "

Results would be fairer

[Anonymous Coward]

If they excluded PERL.

I tried to read it but...

[Anonymous Coward]

by Ioannis Samoladas, Ioannis Stamelos, Lefteris Angelis, Apostolos Oikonomou ...it was all Greek to me.

bah!

[eggoeater]

I just keep my code on one 3 1/2 inch floppy.
Haven't had a problem yet....

Those who forget history are doomed to reimplement

[Thud457]

You lazy young whippersnappers and your precious Perl! You probably think you INVENTED write-only code. In my day, we wrote APL, and nobody liked it!!!!

Ah yes.

[Stumbles]

What more documentation do you need than the source code? Seems plenty enough to me, seeing as by and large only developers would look at it anyway. Even if a non-programmer wanted to spin their propeller on it, the original author is only an email away. Seems rather complete to me. Of course the analysis would not be complete without an equation. 43 sounds about right to me..... it's one better than THE answer.

Only one man...

[game kid]

...dared to challenge this article.

(insert rousing action-series music) Hercules!

Re:Those who forget history are doomed to reimplem

[Anonymous Coward]

In my day, we used punch cards, and once you made a hole, it was there for life.

Re:I tried to read it but...

[Anonymous Coward]

That's easy for you to say!

Re:bah!

[Sponge Bath]

...3 1/2 inch floppy

Nothing to be ashamed of, that's a pretty average size.

bah! "experts"

[Anonymous Coward]

From TFA: "Four computer scientists ... argue that Open Source software development should..."

I stopped reading at that point.

If they think they're so smart, those 4 guys are welcome to fork whatever project they want and do it themselves.

Re:Results would be fairer

[chromatic]

Helpful tip: avoid the breakfast cereal aisle of any supermarket in the U.S., lest the bewildering array of choices and your own indecision cause you to starve.

further research indeed

[famebait]

While they admit further research is needed,

It's not usually all that hard to get people to "admit" that they'd like more funding.

disclaimer: that was not meant as a rant, I work in science myself. But "more research is needed" is a running joke in the community. It doesn't detrect from the work, but every publication on the planet includes it, and every serious reader treats it as a mere formality and silently ignores it.