The Comprehensive Kerbal Archive Network (CKAN) Package Manager; v1.18.0 [19 June 2016]

[Phineas Freak]

1 hour ago, politas said:

Is there any problem with the game caused by not having the extra layer of directory? Fix submitted, anyway.

Yes, as i mentioned the camera part module included (used if you don't want or don't have docking ports, like a launch camera) will not complile correctly since it expects the "OLDD" prefix.

[Kobymaru]

So... Does anyone know what's up with the huge backlog of pull requests? Why doesn't stuff get merged?

There was one single merged PR 9 days ago, but the last bigger merge was 18 days ago :'( This is a bit of a problem since, you know, people can't find new mods and some mods get broken.

Are you running out of active maintainers? Is CKAN dying?

[politas]

2 hours ago, Phineas Freak said:

Yes, as i mentioned the camera part module included (used if you don't want or don't have docking ports, like a launch camera) will not complile correctly since it expects the "OLDD" prefix.

Righto - It's in the list of Pull Requests waiting for merging.

[jkortech]

8 hours ago, Kobymaru said:

So... Does anyone know what's up with the huge backlog of pull requests? Why doesn't stuff get merged?

There was one single merged PR 9 days ago, but the last bigger merge was 18 days ago :'( This is a bit of a problem since, you know, people can't find new mods and some mods get broken.

Are you running out of active maintainers? Is CKAN dying?

I was just about to post the same thing.  I've been waiting on a PR to be accepted to release the next version of my mod.  It's really annoying to have an official 1.0.5 release that can't be pushed out because of mod the NetKAN PR model not working (because of no one accepting PRs).

[Noname115]

I don't know what I did but out of nowhere I started getting this error: http://imgur.com/MvAacfG

It just started happening today. I hadn't messed with any files or settings in any way. I puled up CKAN for a routine update check, then that appeared. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT: I suppose it's not a HUGE issue, considering that CKAN loads up just fine after dismissing the error alert. Although, I'd still like to at least know what is causing the error.

Edited January 28, 2016 by Noname115

[valiantjared]

10 minutes ago, Noname115 said:

I don't know what I did but out of nowhere I started getting this error: http://imgur.com/MvAacfG

It just started happening today. I hadn't messed with any files or settings in any way. I puled up CKAN for a routine update check, then that appeared. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

nothing wrong on your end or CKAN's end.

github is experiencing an outage. https://twitter.com/githubstatus

 

Check again after github is back up. Should resolve your issue

[vixr]

Same here Noname115

[Amgrod]

Add me to the list Noname and vixr...

[Amgrod]

49 minutes ago, Noname115 said:

EDIT: I suppose it's not a HUGE issue, considering that CKAN loads up just fine after dismissing the error alert. Although, I'd still like to at least know what is causing the error.

Well, I was just sitting down to reconfigure mods, so I didn't have any installed.  CKAN can't find any mods - when I try to update the repository, it says:

"Connection to https://github.com/KSP-CKAN/CKAN-meta/archive/master.tar.gz could not be established."

Thoughts?

EDIT: And it looks like github is down...maybe that's the problem?

Edited January 28, 2016 by Amgrod

[Noname115]

5 minutes ago, Amgrod said:

 

EDIT: And it looks like github is down...maybe that's the problem?

I think that is the issue, the mods on CKAN do use github as the download source. Also, I just noticed that the "Compatible" section of CKAN only shows my installed mods. I guess we will just have to wait until Github is up again.

[Amgrod]

10 minutes ago, Noname115 said:

I think that is the issue, the mods on CKAN do use github as the download source. Also, I just noticed that the "Compatible" section of CKAN only shows my installed mods. I guess we will just have to wait until Github is up again.

Progress? Just tried to load CKAN and the error went away, but still no mods.  Maybe github is getting itself back online...

[Tanner Rawlings]

14 minutes ago, Amgrod said:

Progress? Just tried to load CKAN and the error went away, but still no mods.  Maybe github is getting itself back online...

it looks like its up and working now!

[Amgrod]

Just now, Tanner Rawlings said:

it looks like its up and working now!

Yep - great news!

[pjf]

10 hours ago, Kobymaru said:

So... Does anyone know what's up with the huge backlog of pull requests? Why doesn't stuff get merged?

There was one single merged PR 9 days ago, but the last bigger merge was 18 days ago :'( This is a bit of a problem since, you know, people can't find new mods and some mods get broken.

Are you running out of active maintainers? Is CKAN dying?

This is a really good question, so I'm going to cover it in some depth.

Pull requests are one of the cornerstones of good software engineering, as they allow code to be reviewed and tested before merging. They allow newer developers to make changes and get assistance from more experienced developers. They allow more experienced developers to make changes and make sure that's done in such a way that the fresh eyes of newer developers can understand them. Much of the CKAN's stability is due to the fact all our changes get reviewed by both humans and machines before being merged into the main project.

However while we've had hundreds of people contribute pull requests, there's only a few dozen that have the permission to merge them, and not all of those are active. What we've seen is that very often the bulk of merges are done by a relatively small number of people, usually those who are the most experienced. This isn't surprising, as merging code carries more responsibility than writing code. It's what actually makes the changes visible to our tens of thousands of users, and so it's easy to hesitate before hitting the "merge" button, or leave it for someone with more knowledge to handle. For many people, writing new code is more fun than reviewing someone else's, and this further dilutes the number of contributors who are merging pull-requests.

This has been an ongoing problem not just for the CKAN, but for many software projects. If any of the merge-active contributors reduce their activity, we end up with backlogs. Sometimes those backlogs can be intimidating, and can make the matter worse.

We've taken a number of steps to try and protect against this. The CKAN has a very flat organisational structure; any contributor can make any change they feel themselves qualified to make, up to and including the release of new clients. That helps reduce the number of roadblocks that exist, although there's still a hump to get over in the induction of new developers.

The other has my Patreon campaign, where has let me take time off from both my consulting and speaking duties to work on the CKAN. For the second half of 2015, most code pull-requests that got merged were thanks to Patreon-funded sprints, and most new CKAN client releases were due to the same sprints.

At the end of 2015, three things happened: the software grant from the Open Source Developers' Conference funding my work on the CKAN ended, a number of deadlines for The Kerbal Book (of which I'm co-authoring) came at once, and finally my mental health was not at its best. The result was the November and January sprints did not happen (and no patrons were charged), and due to reduced funding December only saw one sprint rather than two. So in the last three months, the amount of hours I've put into the CKAN has been a sixth or less of what we normally see.

I can't say that my reduced hours is the only reason we're seeing longer with merging PRs, but those 6+ hrs/week that I normally spend on them has definitely helped in the past.

Having said all that, this is very much something I want to turn around. Next week is Linux.conf.au, which is the most appropriate place for me to negotiate a second software grant for CKAN development. After the book deadlines KSP was feeling more like work than fun, but now those are (mostly) in the past I want to spend more time playing, and spend more time with other KSP modders, developers, and players, in person as well as on-line. Mental health can be more of a challenge, but I'm working with my health professionals on that, and given that it's something I'm not shy talking about in public, I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes.

So thank you all so much for your patience while I've spent less time on the CKAN than I would like, and I hope very much to be more active in the future.

~ Paul

 

[Brigadier]

25 minutes ago, pjf said:

This is a really good question, so I'm going to cover it in some depth.

Pull requests are one of the cornerstones of good software engineering, as they allow code to be reviewed and tested before merging. They allow newer developers to make changes and get assistance from more experienced developers. They allow more experienced developers to make changes and make sure that's done in such a way that the fresh eyes of newer developers can understand them. Much of the CKAN's stability is due to the fact all our changes get reviewed by both humans and machines before being merged into the main project.

However while we've had hundreds of people contribute pull requests, there's only a few dozen that have the permission to merge them, and not all of those are active. What we've seen is that very often the bulk of merges are done by a relatively small number of people, usually those who are the most experienced. This isn't surprising, as merging code carries more responsibility than writing code. It's what actually makes the changes visible to our tens of thousands of users, and so it's easy to hesitate before hitting the "merge" button, or leave it for someone with more knowledge to handle. For many people, writing new code is more fun than reviewing someone else's, and this further dilutes the number of contributors who are merging pull-requests.

This has been an ongoing problem not just for the CKAN, but for many software projects. If any of the merge-active contributors reduce their activity, we end up with backlogs. Sometimes those backlogs can be intimidating, and can make the matter worse.

We've taken a number of steps to try and protect against this. The CKAN has a very flat organisational structure; any contributor can make any change they feel themselves qualified to make, up to and including the release of new clients. That helps reduce the number of roadblocks that exist, although there's still a hump to get over in the induction of new developers.

The other has my Patreon campaign, where has let me take time off from both my consulting and speaking duties to work on the CKAN. For the second half of 2015, most code pull-requests that got merged were thanks to Patreon-funded sprints, and most new CKAN client releases were due to the same sprints.

At the end of 2015, three things happened: the software grant from the Open Source Developers' Conference funding my work on the CKAN ended, a number of deadlines for The Kerbal Book (of which I'm co-authoring) came at once, and finally my mental health was not at its best. The result was the November and January sprints did not happen (and no patrons were charged), and due to reduced funding December only saw one sprint rather than two. So in the last three months, the amount of hours I've put into the CKAN has been a sixth or less of what we normally see.

I can't say that my reduced hours is the only reason we're seeing longer with merging PRs, but those 6+ hrs/week that I normally spend on them has definitely helped in the past.

Having said all that, this is very much something I want to turn around. Next week is Linux.conf.au, which is the most appropriate place for me to negotiate a second software grant for CKAN development. After the book deadlines KSP was feeling more like work than fun, but now those are (mostly) in the past I want to spend more time playing, and spend more time with other KSP modders, developers, and players, in person as well as on-line. Mental health can be more of a challenge, but I'm working with my health professionals on that, and given that it's something I'm not shy talking about in public, I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes.

So thank you all so much for your patience while I've spent less time on the CKAN than I would like, and I hope very much to be more active in the future.

~ Paul

 

Paul, I'm just an average player but have been allowed to expand my KSP experience through the use of CKAN mod management.  Regardless of the work you have yet to put in, thank you for the work done so far.  It's made the game much more enjoyable.  I can't speak for others, but given the circumstances, thank you for the explanation and, personally, I can wait.

Best of luck at the Linux conference, and take care of yourself first and foremost.

Edited January 28, 2016 by Brigadier

[inigma]

Can I get https://github.com/KSP-CKAN/NetKAN/pull/2935 merged? I have GAP 1.1.1 out and EVA Parachutes really need to be recommended for it since most players won't know to look.

Edited January 28, 2016 by inigma

[Kobymaru]

36 minutes ago, inigma said:

Can I get https://github.com/KSP-CKAN/NetKAN/pull/2935 merged? I have GAP 1.1.1 out and EVA Parachutes really need to be recommended for it since most players won't know to look.

We all need stuff to get merged. There's a backlog of about 80 Pull requests at the moment. Some explanation can be found 2 posts above yours: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/90246-the-comprehensive-kerbal-archive-network-ckan-package-manager-v1160-13-dec-2015/&do=findComment&comment=2382964

[speedwaystar]

14 hours ago, pjf said:

thanks for that talk, @pjf. as a long-time major depression sufferer, i initially researched the condition thoroughly, but after trying every SSRI in existence (pretty much) with only bare maintenance levels of success, i have simply lost interest/motivation/become burned out on keeping up with current literature on the subject, your brief update on recent genetic research is really valuable. very interesting and a huge thumbs up for your public stance. respect.

Edited January 28, 2016 by speedwaystar

[NecroBones]

From another fellow Depression Survivor, let me just say I understand.

 

How does one get approved for merge access? I'd be happy to occasionally pop in and check out the netkan pull requests. I'm no stranger to JSON (and XML and other such data encapsulation formats). For simple adds and updates to netkan files, it should be pretty straightforward, yes?

[kcs123]

Recognizing problem and admitting that you actually have a problem is more than a half way to finding a solution.

I hope that you will find mental willpower to overcome this condition. Usually it helps if you can make yourself occupied with something so you spend less time thinking about it, but like you said it is different from men to men, something that worked for someone does not have to work for another. Anyway, personal health comes on the first place.

14 hours ago, Brigadier said:

Paul, I'm just an average player but have been allowed to expand my KSP experience through the use of CKAN mod management.  Regardless of the work you have yet to put in, thank you for the work done so far.  It's made the game much more enjoyable.  I can't speak for others, but given the circumstances, thank you for the explanation and, personally, I can wait.

Best of luck at the Linux conference, and take care of yourself first and foremost.

Second this. Like many others too, we all can wait and some with enough knowledge will step in and help with CKAN project.

[pjf]

Thank you all so much. I really appreciate all the kind words.

I'm going through outstanding PRs now in an attempt to try and unclog things. If you want to help out, there are a few ways you can do so:

• If you use IRC, then hopping on the #ckan channel on irc.esper.net is where a lot of the action happens. You don't need to be there, but it's the easiest way to ask and answer questions. If you need my attention, make sure you mention 'pjf' in your message, otherwise it might be a while before I see it.
• If you've personally tested any of the outstanding PRs (by running `netkan.exe` over them, and installing the result), and they look good or bad, then just commenting that in the PR helps a lot.
• A lot of the PRs that are automatically generated by KerbalStuff aren't suitable for merging directly, as they only work if the mods are packaged in a very simple way. If it looks like an auto-generated PR is broken, then feel free to open a new PR that installs the mod properly, and just write "supersedes #1337" (or whatever the original PR is) in the description.
• If you've already written a number of netkan PRs and what what you're doing, then definitely ping me on #ckan, we can divide and conquer the queue, and I can give you extra permissions to make that easier.

Thank you all so much again, you all rock!

[pjf]

The good news is that after a bunch of testing, editing, and merging from @politas and myself today, we're down from 80-ish pull requests to 54. Most importantly:

• With only two exceptions, all human-submitted PRs have been merged.
• All the bot-submissions which are passing our automated tests and don't have additional requirements have been merged.

In the case of the un-merged human PRs, one's waiting on confirmation from the mod-author if we should (the mod is still very much in development), and the other requires us to make some changes to how Real Solar System's textures are handled (which is a low-risk change, but I'm checking in with @NathanKell just to make sure).

So with a day's worth of work, and two people, we've managed to knock over the most visible changes. It may still take a couple of hours for our indexing bot to update the client metadata, but you can check that on our status page.

The outstading bot PRs are all new mods, which we definitely want to handle, but in the meantime all your existing mods should start upgrading nicely.

Thank you all again so much for both your patience and encouragement!

~ Paul

 

[politas]

I'd just like to thank @pjf for all the work he does on CKAN, and for adding me as a project contributor. 

[NecroBones]

Thanks guys for all of your hard work! It's definitely appreciated.

 

[stibbons]

10 hours ago, politas said:

and for adding me as a project contributor. 

Very well deserved, I'm a big fan of your work.

@pjf I'll see you at LCA! KSP BoF?