WISHLIST

Architect Development Wish List

$Id$

Are you interested in getting started on Power*Architect
development, but don't know where to begin?

We're glad you asked. :)

This is a wish list of stuff we would absolutely love to
do ourselves, but haven't (yet?) found the time to tackle.
If you're itching to get your hands dirty, take a look at
this list.  If a solution springs to mind, just go for it
and post a patch to the developers mailing list.  If
something on this list appeals to you, but you don't know
where to begin, post a note to the mailing list and someone
will be happy to point you in the right direction.

Before tackling anything on this list, please read the
DEVELOPERS file, which includes important instructions about
how to check out the latest copy of the code from our source
code repository, how to use the Architect's build system,
and other development bootstrapping information.

Now, on to the list:


Code Cleanup and Refactoring

* CPD (the copy-paste detector) reveals a number of places
  that need a common superclass factored out.  Run the
  pmd-cpd target in build.xml for a report, then pick one
  and go for it!
  
* The PMD basic ruleset points out a number of potential
  programming problems in the Architect.  Pick your favourite
  and propose a fix on the developers list.  Run the pmd
  target in build.xml to generate a current copy of the report.

* The DDL generator package is itching for a refactoring.
  The current approach requires a concrete class per supported
  database platform, and most of the code in each class is
  just String literals.  Something else that's tempting to
  look at is the DDL generator from the Jakarta project (part
  of DBUtils, iirc).  If you're interested in tackling this
  one, post to the list and we'll hash out a plan.

* As much fun as the spring layout in the Architect is (and
  we certainly wouldn't want to dump it completely.. BOOOIINNG)
  there are some other, more advanced, layout algorithms out
  there that we'd like to support as well.  If graph theory
  and general all-around hard core math is something you love,
  drop us a note. We even know of a few papers we can point you
  to as a starting point. :)


Bugs, bugs, bugs

* Even if you're not up for contributing code (or you simply
  don't have time), high-quality bug reports are one of the
  best contributions you can make to the project.  What makes
  a high-quality bug report? In brief, the best bug reports
  involve a simple, detailed set of instructions that anyone
  can follow to reproduce a bug reliably. Such a bug report
  will necessarily include information such as the specific
  version of the Architect the bug is reported against, your
  JVM vendor and version number, and your operating system
  version.

* For those inclined to dig in and contribute code, there is
  no shortage of stuff in our bug repository.  Take a gander
  and see if there's anything in there that you're interested
  in tackling.  For bugs, the best way to start is to create
  a new test case which exposes the bug, and post it to the
  developers list.

* Ad-hoc testing is a really important part of quality
  control, too.  If you just don't think there's anything
  interesting in the bug database already, please tell us
  what you're smoking, and where to get some. Then, you can
  always try to find new issues by using the app yourself.


New Features

* We're always interested in supporting new database
  platforms, and in improving support for the ones we already
  handle.  If the Architect's support for your favourite
  database isn't up to par (or doesn't exist at all...), we
  can show you how to jump in and make things better.

* Is there something you'd like the Architect to do that it
  doesn't do already? Bring it up on the developers mailing
  list, and we'll be happy to discuss it with you.