Feb 30th 2002 (c) Angelo 'Archie' Amoruso
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| F.A.Q. : Frequently Asked Questions and their Answers |
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Questions... 1) Why I cannot decompress your modules? gunzip reports me some errors! 2) Wow! You're writing an Innd module! Can I beta test it? 3) What systems are you using for module development? 4) Module license, gifts and so on ... 5) How often you relase new versions? 6) EMails to the author... 7) Can I suggest a new module/function? 8) Are your systems really Windows(c) free? 9) I cannot use your module under Apache. Why? 10) I really want to write a Webmin module too. How? 11) What program do you use to create your icons? 12) Are you using add-on perl libraries, like Net:: or SMTP:: ? 13) Your module foo trashed all my configuration files! You're responsible for it! 14) Modules development... 15) What is your favourite software? Answers... 1) Why I cannot decompress your modules? gunzip reports me some errors! is available with Webmin v0.90 and greater. (I've discovered it using 0.90, but maybe is available of older versions too... ;-) Maybe you're using an old gzip/gunzip version. Please upgrade and try again. Anyway, try using a different browser or wget to download modules. 2) Wow! You're writing an Innd module! Can I beta test it? Sure ... when ready ;-). I'm using the man pages as development guide and so I've completed 6 of out nearly 10 option sections so far. Innd is really an awesome beast and it's full of parameters configuration files, etc. Some file use a strange syntax so reading/writing by a program is not really so easy. I'm checking Innd source code in order to fully handle such files. Note: If you are running a working Innd system, can you be so kind to send me your configuration data (with sensible data modified!) in order to check my code on ? Thanks for your cooperation. 3) What systems are you using for module development? I own 5 pcs. Only 3 are actually available for development
4) Module license, gifts and so on ... 4.1) Are all these modules free? They are GPL licensed. For further details on GPL license, surf to www.gnu.org . Anyway, if you are using them in a commercial environment (private companies, private schools, ISPs, etc.) some form of "gift" is "morally requested", appreciated from you, expecially if you're asking some new features. Good ideas for gifts can be found on : gifts list Email me for my shipping address, further arrangements or other Gift ideas. 4.2) I've sent you a gift, now you should bug fix module "Foo" / add the following function If your requests are interesting, I'll surely put them on my todo list. Hopefully I'll start working on them soon. 4.3) How often do "expect" gifts, when using your modules in a commercial environment? I leave it to your will! 5) How often you relase new versions? As stated in the Bug Report page, I usually start creating new versions a few days after than your bug report/requests. Or after I got some interesting idea for a new module or for an addon. Since writing Webmin modules is not (sadly) my first occupation, sometimes you'd have to wait a couple of weeks or longer. I'm used to check my email daily and usually answer quickly. Don't worry if you don't get an answer in a few days: I read all Webmin users email and answer to them. 6) EMails to the author... 6.1) Why are you telling me to don't use email in HTML format? I really do not like html formatted emails, expecially ones created by Outlook or similar brain-damaged programs. I cannot understand why to use a such big space waster format, which supports colors and so on, for just writing a monochrome flat email message! ;-)) 6.2) Why are you telling me to don't use the "M$ Outlook" (c) mail program? From Outlook users I often receive virus-generated emails with huge .exe/.pif/.bat/.scr attached files, which are infected themselves (obvious!). Those emails quickly fill my mailbox and I'm tired of deleting them! Note: if I receive emails with a virus attached, I put the sender email address on a personal "black list". I take the address reported on the "Return-Path:" header line, not the "From:" one, because viruses are known to fake the "From:" address when spreading infected emails. 99% of all viruses I receive by email are from people using Outlook! 6.3) Why are you telling me to quote properly? Because exists some email writing rules (aka "Netiquette") which say that on a reply answer text should go *below*, and original text above. Please quote only needed text, not it all. 7) Can I suggest a new module/function? Yes, but please read the Bug Report page first. It will speed-up the coding process! 8) Are your systems really Windows(c) free? Yes! As stated in answer 2), my systems are proudly M$ free! I'm using Linux based software for all my needs: net surfing, email writing, software development. I'm using Linux at work too! As reported above, Bee, Cray are equipped with Linux! 9) I cannot use your module under Apache. Why? All Webmin modules (not only mines) are written for the Webmin system administration tool as plug-ins. You need to install Webmin first, then using the Webmin Configuration panel you can add the modules one by one. 10) I really want to write a Webmin module too. How? Webmin modules are written in plain Perl (v5) language. You need to be familiar with Perl, anyway learning it is a simple task if you have some experience of high level languages like C or Pascal. You also need some HTML and CGI basis. Hint: use the Internet as your reference !!! You should write some CGI programs in Perl, aided by the Webmin environment which gives you some useful pre-built routines to handle the common tasks. The required tools are: a Linux machine, a text editor and a Web Browser. For graphic creation (icons) you can use "The GIMP". No more. No less ;-)) 11) What program do you use to create your icons? I use "The GIMP" only. I start from a large .jpg image, then using GIMP I create a text logo and put alltogether. Finally I resize the image to 48x48, gif format. I rename it to "icon.gif" according to Webmin specifications. As you can see, no need of Windoze(c) programs! ;-) 12) Are you using add-on perl libraries, like Net:: or SMTP:: ? Do I need to install some libreries off CPAN ? No. As long as I can I don't use additional Perl libraries than those shipped via standard Redhat 7.2 full install system. You'll only need to install the appropriate my Webmin module and you're ready to go. Of course, if you're installing a module e.g. for NTP administration, you need to install the NTP server software! Modules are intended as an aid for configuration/viewing of software configuration/output files. I know that trying to find and install the correct Perl library sometimes is a boring and unhappy experience. expecially with strange Linux distributions! 13) Your module foo trashed all my configuration files! You're responsible for it! I'm sorry for that, but I'm neither responsible for such damages nor for loss of profit, suitably to specific needs and so on. No way. You're using the modules at your risk! If you're not sure, you can always check the sources! Anyway I'm used to double-check modules behaviour and do intensive statical code inspections in order to reduce to minimum the chance of data loss, trashing or other sorts of bugs. 14) Modules development... 14.1) What development approach are you using? I'm using the Evolutive-like one: Modules are actually in "beta" stage, since I'm used to add new features each time, with bugfixes. This approach allows faster development cycle, quick response to user's requests. The bad fact is there's no "stable" version. 14.2) What the version number means? It's like Linux's one? The version number is simply composed by: V.XX.Y I add +1 to the Y component each time I release the module to the public. When Y should be 10, I reset it to 1 and add +1 to XX and so on for V. 15) What is your favourite software? I often use these programs:
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