Hello,
I went through the long thread "FSFE-defined coding standards". Did not read all the mails in this thread as at the end it deviated from original topic.
I developed software for different domains and I do not think it is a good idea to promote one-fits-all approach for coding standards. E.g., coding guidelines for safety-critical applications (which do actually exists as industry standards) are different from coding standards for financial applications.
Therefore I do not think that FSFE shall develop any coding guidelines for open-source apps. Coding guidelines to follow are dictated by domain, not by the fact that the specific software is open-source.
However, it is very important to promote quality in software. And open sourcing actually contributes to a software quality in a number of ways. To mention couple:
* Education. Juniour developers use open source software to study how the code shall be developed in a professional way. They also learn how to cooperate with other developers in the mailing lists, bug trackers, git repositories etc. * Independent reviews. Open source software is constantly under review from the community. More eyes you have, easier it is to find a new bug (yes, including security vulnerability).
I think that FSFE can focus on promoting open source as a way to improve software quality. What practically can be done?
Couple of ideas:
- FSFE quality award to the open source software projects (based on the objective metrics - lint, coverity, relative defects amount etc) - Educational track. Promote open source as a way to create quality software. Online courses, hackatons with quality as one of the focuses etc.
But FSFE coding guidelines sound like a wrong goal for me.