1 DO NOT "FIX" CODE IN THIS DIRECTORY.
3 ONLY UPSTREAM VERSIONS OF SOFTWARE GO IN THIS DIRECTORY.
5 This directory is provided as a courtesy to our users who might be
6 unable or unwilling to find and install libraries we depend on.
8 If we "fix" software in this directory, we hamstring users who do the
9 right thing and keep a single version of upstream libraries in a
10 system-wide library. We introduce subtle and maddening bugs where
11 our code is "accidentally" using the "wrong" library version. We may
12 unwittingly interfere with other software that depends on the
13 canonical release versions of those same libraries!
15 Forking upstream software for trivial reasons makes us bad citizens in
16 the Open Source community and adds unnecessary heartache for our
17 users. Don't make us "that" project.
19 Frequently Asked Questions
20 --------------------------
22 Q: What should we do when we find a bug in upstream software?
24 A: First and foremost, REPORT THE BUG, and if possible send in a patch.
26 Watch for a release of the upstream software and integrate with it
29 In the meantime, work around the bug, if at all possible. Usually,
30 it's quite possible, if slightly harder or less efficient.
32 Q: What if the bug can't be worked around?
34 A: If the upstream developers have accepted a bug patch, it's
35 undesirable but acceptable to apply that patch to the library in
36 the extlib dir. Ideally, use a release version for upstream or a
37 version control system snapshot.
39 Note that this is a last resort.
41 Q: What if upstream is unresponsive or won't accept a patch?
45 Q: I tried again, and upstream is still unresponsive and nobody's
46 checked on my patch. Now what?
48 A: If the upstream project is moribund and there's a way to adopt it,
49 propose having the GNU social dev team adopt the project. Or, adopt
52 Q: What if there's no upstream authority and it can't be adopted?
54 A: Then we fork it. Make a new name and a new version. Include it in
55 lib/ instead of extlib/, and use the GNUsocial_* prefix to change
56 the namespace to avoid collisions.
58 This is a last resort; consult with the rest of the dev group
59 before taking this radical step.
61 List of external libraries
62 --------------------------
64 A number of external PHP libraries are used to provide basic
65 functionality and optional functionality for your system. For your
66 convenience, they are available in the "extlib" directory of this
67 package, and you do not have to download and install them. However,
68 you may want to keep them up-to-date with the latest upstream version,
69 and the URLs are listed here for your convenience.
71 - DB_DataObject http://pear.php.net/package/DB_DataObject
72 - Validate http://pear.php.net/package/Validate
73 - OpenID by Janrain, http://janrain.com/openid-enabled/
74 - PEAR DB. Although this is an older data access system (new
75 packages should use PDO), the OpenID libraries depend on PEAR DB
77 - OAuth.php from http://oauth.googlecode.com/svn/code/php/
78 (has been edited to avoid colliding autoload)
79 - markdown.php from http://michelf.com/projects/php-markdown/
80 - PEAR Mail, for sending out mail notifications
81 http://pear.php.net/package/Mail
82 - PEAR Net_SMTP, if you use the SMTP factory for notifications
83 http://pear.php.net/package/Net_SMTP
84 - PEAR Net_Socket, if you use the SMTP factory for notifications
85 http://pear.php.net/package/Net_Socket
86 - XMPPHP, the follow-up to Class.Jabber.php. Probably the best XMPP
87 library available for PHP. https://github.com/heshanlk/XMPPHP. Note that
88 as of this writing the version of this library that is available in
89 the extlib directory is *significantly different* from the upstream
90 version (patches have been submitted). Upgrading to the upstream
91 version may render your GNU social site unable to send or receive XMPP
93 - Facebook library. Used for the Facebook application.
94 - PEAR Validate is used for URL and email validation.
95 - Console_GetOpt for parsing command-line options.
96 - HTTP_Request2, a library for making HTTP requests.
97 - PEAR Net_URL2 is an HTTP_Request2 dependency.
98 - Michelf/Markdown.php Markdown parser library
99 - Mf2/Parser.php microformats2 parser library
101 A design goal of GNU Social is that the basic Web functionality should
102 work on even the most restrictive commercial hosting services.
103 However, additional functionality, such as receiving messages by XMPP,
104 require that you be able to run long-running processes on your account.
105 In addition, posting by email require that you be able to install a mail
106 filter in your mail server.