/var/log/vshivak - Open Source

djauthy - simple authentication using one time tokens, OpenID and OAuth

nospam@example.com (Marek Kuziel) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:35:45 +1200

Last night I wrote first draft of specification for djauthy.

I presented djauthy almost a month ago at the Christchurch Python Meeting, but I sat down to put together comprehensive specification only now.

The specification is here: djauthy - simple authentication using one time tokens, OpenID and OAuth.

Your feedback is welcome and appreciated.

I will be releasing djauthy under one of the open source licenses in the near future.

Do you really think you own your code?

nospam@example.com (Marek Kuziel) — Thu, 11 May 2006 17:17:00 +1200

I work on a new project, or rather on a set of small projects by creating small PEAR packages, that will provide my own native PEAR commands.

My intention is to create simple tools, that would potentially save me a lot of time when it comes to repetitive tasks. See for example my Kuziel_PEAR_Command_Database package which is the first official package of the whole project).

I reckon "don't repeat yourself" is a good rule, however, you have to put a lot of energy to create such a tools to be able to do so. Hence, why I started work on this "project".

I discussed the idea of the project in our cosy private IRC chat room with Jim to get his opinions on this.

Note: You can read about the importance of instant feedback in a post by Matt on 37signals's blog.

Anyway, if you think about repetitive tasks, it is mostly about some sort of generation of something. Generation of code, configurations, and so on.

And here comes the problem. Actually, not really a problem, but rather something worth to discuss, before you start doing generators of any sort.

So, the thing is that in some cases it is not very clear who owns the copyright of the generated code!

Jim, raised the question about this on RoR's forum bridge.

And if case you're interested, you can also read his thoughts about it, in his post Who owns your code?

As for my project, I think I need to spend some time over the weekend re-reading parts of Innovation happens elsewhere, where open source licencing and copyright issues are discussed very well and also keep my eye on the RoR forum's discussion to see where it will go.

And as for now: "All your code are belong to us …"

Book: Innovation Happens Elsewhere

nospam@example.com (Marek Kuziel) — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 12:15:20 +1200

A month ago (or so) I registered for the Sun Developer Network (SDN). As a bonus for joining in, they offered free hardcopy of the book 'Innovation Happens Elsewhere' by Ron Goldman and Richard P. Gabriel. Free hardcopy of very cool book according to /. is in my opion very good reason to register for the SDN .

Just few days ago I recalled that I should receive the book and felt a bit sad that the book hasn't arrived yet.

However, on Friday I received an instant message from my lovely wife, that the FedEx courier just came with the package from Sun. My copy of 'Innovation Happens Elsewhere' arrived. YAY!

I would like to mention that the book is licensed under a Creative Commons License and is available online here: http://dreamsongs.com/IHE/IHE.html

So, why I am so happy to have it and what's the book really about, anyway?

Well, if you ever considered Open Source as a way to do your business, this is the right book for you.

It describes what the Open Source is and how it works, tells you why you should consider Open Source as a business strategy and describes how an open source project works.

It also helps you to make decision on whether open source is right for your project, and, if so, what steps you should take to proceed and some mistakes you should avoid.

Conclusion? This is definitely a must-read book, that I can only recommend to anyone with an interest in using Open Source as a business strategy.