I spent a good amount of time over the last few months migrating Miro on Windows to a new Windows build environment that uses Python 2.6.5 and Visual C++ 9.0 (part of Visual Studio 2008).

I landed the changes two weeks ago. Janet, Ben and I identified a couple of problems and sorted those out. Last week I got the Windows build box to produce nightlies without requiring any babysitting.

Yay!

Features of the new Windows build environment:

1. It's a lot easier to configure. Previously, we had to set PATH, INCLUDE, and LIB environment variables to the right magic values to build correctly. Python 2.6 automatically pulls those values from Visual Studio 2008 files. So we don't need to deal with those anymore.
2. It uses Visual C++ 9.0 (Visual Studio 2008) rather than VC++ 7.1 (VS 2003). The latter can no longer be acquired legally (thank you MS). There's an Express version of the former available on the Microsoft site for free.
3. We were using Python 2.5 which had a bunch of bugs we had workarounds for. We're now using Python 2.6.5 which doesn't have these issues and also has a series of optimizations that should make Miro run better.
4. There's a get_requirements.sh script that downloads the versions of Python and libraries that you need automatically.

This also means that we can require Python 2.6 or later on all platforms for Miro. Therefore we can:

• fix try/except blocks http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0352/
• use with and contexts http://docs.python.org/release/2.6.5/whatsnew/2.6.html#pep-343-the-with-statement

The one thing we still want to do is upgrade from gtk 2.16 to gtk 2.20. Bug 14037 covers the problems here. We're blocked by Bug 625972 in gtk.

I've written up instructions on setting up the new Windows build environment. It takes me about 30 minutes to do--mostly because it takes a while to install Visual C++ 9.0 Express. It's much easier to set up the new environment than the previous environment. When I first started at PCF a few years ago, it took me a couple of days to get the Windows build environment working.

For more details on the new Windows build environment, see the wiki page on WindowsBuildDocs.

Miro 3.5 status (roadmap)

• working on fixing up video conversion issues
• working on fixing libcurl related issues

Miro Community 1.1 status (roadmap)

• working on it

Janet:

• worked on regression testing for Miro 3.5 on Windows
• worked on Miro 3.5 bug fix verification
• worked on Universal Subtitles testing

Ben:

• worked on Miro 3.5 bugs focusing on downloader-related bugs

Will:

• fixed Windows build box
• fixed libtorrent issue on Windows
• synced translations with Launchpad
• fixed Miro 3.5 bugs and did some bug triage
• helped thrillERboy land his first FLOSS patch

Paul:

• worked on Miro Community issues and development

Order of business

• Priority is being put on finishing development work on Miro 3.5. Any help with this would be huge. There are a series of bugs on the roadmap that need to be fixed. If you want to help out but don't know where to start, see http://getmiro.com/userguide/contributing.html
• If you can't contribute work, please consider contributing funding by donating. Your money goes directly to ongoing development of Miro and related projects.

Bugzilla stats for Miro:

• 14 bugs/feature-requests created
• 2 bugs marked DUPLICATE
• 10 bugs marked FIXED

There are two big hurdles to get through when starting on a bug before I'm in a position where I can fix it. I think the bulk of the time spent on most bugs is in getting through these two hurdles. If we could somehow reduce the amount of time and energy I spend on getting through the two hurdles, we can increase the speed that I can fix bugs.

Copyright 2008 Flickr user foxtongue

The first hurdle: what is the problem?

I think most people confuse the question "what is the problem" with "what's causing the problem". These are two distinct questions. The first one can only be answered by whoever reported the problem and this hurdle is a communication hurdle. I spend a lot of time trying to coach people into explaining the problem they have in a way that's coherent and complete.

It's not uncommon to get bug reports along the lines of "something's wrong and Miro doesn't work". I'm psyched someone has taken the time to report the issue, but there isn't enough detail here for me to do anything. In order for me to do something with this bug, I spend time walking the reporter through giving me enough details such that I have a good idea as to what the problem is. Because this requires communicating back and forth, this can take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks to transpire.

Because it takes so long and requires me to ask 20 questions, I'm pretty sure most bug reporters find this phase very frustrating. Some question and answer volleys are really frustrating for me, too. I want to help--I just don't know what the problem is.

Assuming we get past that hurdle, then the second hurdle comes into play....

The second hurdle: what is the cause of the problem?

This hurdle is sometimes difficult because I can't reproduce the problem. I may not have the right context (e.g. "Problem XYZ happens to all people in Ecuador") or the right equipment (e.g. "Problem XYZ happens to people using Windows XP SP2 with video card Foo"). I'll read through code and work with the reporter to try to figure out the cause. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't it's really frustrating.

Most bugs aren't like that, though. I'm able to either reproduce the context and equipment or I'm able to use a reasonable facsimile. Then figuring out the cause is entirely on my shoulders and I can work through it like I do most things: code spelunking, research, Google searches, talking with co-workers, talking with upstream developers, ....

How can you help?

The following helps a lot:

• use an email address that you respond to
• be as specific as you can in your bug report description
• attach your Miro log file
• be patient with me when I ask my 20 questions to figure out what the problem is
• be prompt with responses--the longer it takes to turn around a question and answer, the longer it takes to get the bug fixed
• thank people who help get your bug fixed: other people who comment on the bug providing additional details, people who worked on the bug, people who tested the bug fix--it takes a community to build an application

Guess what....

This isn't specific to me or Miro! This is true of all FLOSS applications that you use: we're all working hard to build the best applications ever. Doing the above helps everyone.

Miro 3.5 status (roadmap)

• working on fixing up video conversion issues
• working on fixing libcurl related issues

Miro Community 1.1 status (roadmap)

• working on it
• finishing up implementing playlist features

Janet:

• having problems with downloading using Windows build
• worked on Universal Subtitles test setup and testing

Ben:

• worked on bug 14037. created a test case that fails with gtk 2.20 and submitted the bug 625972 upstream
• working on creating an OSX build environment

Will:

• worked on Windows build environment issues
• downgraded us to gtk 2.16 which doesn't have client-side windows
• cleaned up and rebuilt the Windows build box to use the new environment
• started working on better community organization
• fixed http://planet.getmiro.com/
• upgraded the Miro User Manual to 3.0.3

Luc:

• working on video conversion problems in bug 13821
• worked on other complex video conversion problems

Paul:

• worked on playlists for MC 1.1
• worked on the Windows installer

Order of business

• The Windows build environment work is now done and we're using Python 2.6.5 and VC++ 9.0 (yay!).
• Priority is being put on finishing off this release. Any help with this would be huge. There are a series of bugs on the roadmap that need to be fixed. If you want to help out but don't know where to start, see http://getmiro.com/userguide/contributing.html
• If you can't contribute work, please consider contributing funding by donating. Your money goes directly to ongoing development of Miro and related projects.

Bugzilla stats for Miro:

• 10 bugs/feature-requests created
• 2 bugs marked FIXED
• 5 bugs marked WONTFIX
• 1 bugs marked WORKSFORME
• 5 bugs marked DUPLICATE
• 4 bugs marked INCOMPLETE

Miro 3.5 status (roadmap)

• renamed from Miro 3.1 to 3.5
• working on rebuilding the Windows build environment
• working on fixing up video conversion issues
• working on fixing libcurl related issues

Miro Community 1.1 status (roadmap)

• working on it
• implementing playlist features

Nick:

• Launched complete alpha version of the site with full workflow.

Paul:

• Worked on playlist feature for Miro Community.
• Worked on Twitter and Facebook logins.

Luc:

• Worked on Miro 3.1 bugs.
• Now hitting bugs that are hard to fix and take a long time.

Will:

• Fixed YouTube bug and pushed out 3.0.3.
• Fixed a bunch of Miro 3.1 bugs.
• Landed mostly working Windows build environment changes.

Janet:

• Spent most of her time on Universal Subtitles.
• Pushed out Miro 3.0.3.

Ben:

• Hi! I'm back!

Order of business

• We decided to rename Miro 3.1 to 3.5 on account of large changes.
• The following release is being renamed to 3.6 for now.
• Priority is being put on finishing off this release. Any help with this would be huge. There are a series of bugs on the roadmap that need to be fixed. If you want to help out but don't know where to start, see http://getmiro.com/userguide/contributing.html

Bugzilla stats for Miro:

• 10 bugs/feature-requests created
• 3 bugs marked DUPLICATE
• 8 bugs marked FIXED
• 2 bugs marked INVALID

Miro 3.1 status (roadmap)

• working on rebuilding the Windows build environment
• working on fixing up video conversion issues
• working on fixing libcurl related issues

Miro Community 1.1 status (roadmap)

• working on it

Paul:

• point release of Miro Community with video widget and fixes for Internet Explorer

Will:

• continued to work on the windows build environment changes
• fixed some minor bugs

Luc:

• worked on fixing small 3.1 issues
• waiting on git repository fixes to check them in

Janet:

• worked on testing things
• having problems with litmus test system after server died last week

Ben:

• boogie boarding

bugzilla:

• 3 bugs/feature-requests created
• 3 bugs marked FIXED
• 1 bugs marked WONTFIX
• 1 bugs marked WORKSFORME
• 5 bugs marked INCOMPLETE

I've been working at PCF for three years now. I think that officially makes me an old-timer. I can start sentences with, "I remember the day when..."

I mentioned that to Paul, who also just hit his three year anniversary, and he suggested the sentence, "I remember the day when ... we had an office."

I was thinking along the lines of, "I remember the day when to implement a ui change, you had to do it three times and on Windows, you had to do it in Python and then again in JavaScript."

Copyright 2006 flickr user jonwatson

Miro 3.1 status (roadmap)

• working on rebuilding the Windows build environment
• this release cycle has been pretty long; we're switching gears and going to focus on wrapping it up; help with this would be great, otherwise we'll get there as we get there.

Miro Community 1.0.1 status (roadmap)

• releasing soon

Janet:

• Universal Subtitles testing
• regression testing on Miro

Luc:

• continued working on Miro shutdown problems on OSX--problems with libtorrent
• worked on conversions preferences, but is going to put it aside for now because of complications

Paul:

• released Miro Community 1.0
• working on Miro Community 1.0.2 and 1.1

Will:

• worked on windows build environment stuff
• worked on Miro 3.1 bugs

bugzilla:

• 23 bugs/feature-requests created
• 1 bugs marked ---
• 3 bugs marked WONTFIX
• 10 bugs marked FIXED
• 5 bugs marked DUPLICATE
• 1 bugs marked INVALID

Miro 3.1 status (roadmap)

• working on rebuilding the Windows build environment

Miro Community 1.0.1 status (roadmap)

• releasing soon

Paul:

• continued working on MC server configuration and setup
• fixed some minor bugs for MC 1.0.1

Janet:

• tested universal subtitles project and other things

Luc:

• worked on conversion preferences
• worked on shutdown problem

Will:

• tweaked logging in the downloader
• got the downloader working in the new build environment
• spent an hour on agpl compliance for universal subtitles
• now working on getting VLC and XULRunner working

• 9 bugs/feature-requests created
• 1 bugs marked DUPLICATE
• 1 bugs marked FIXED
• 1 bugs marked WONTFIX
• 5 bugs marked INVALID

For Miro 3.0, a couple of us sat down and wrote a Miro User Manual. Links to the manual are on the getmiro.com web-site. In Miro, the Help -> Help menu item brings up the Help page on the getmiro.com web-site.

With all that linkage, though, I haven't heard anything regarding whether the Miro User Manual is useful or not, whether there are issues, whether there are bits that are unclear or missing, ...

I encourage you to take a moment to skim the Miro User Manual today. I'd appreciate any feedback--leave it in the comments here or send me an email at willkg at bluesock dot org.

Also let me know if you're interested in helping. I'm hoping to do MUM sprints prior to Miro release using PiratePad.