Sprouted ~ Software that grows with you...

Sprouted Roadmap

What follows is a tentative roadmap for projects I am currently working on. I have intentionally overestimated the time I believe required to complete Journler 2.5.5 and 2.6. Previous estimates were always too optimistic, so I’m going in the other direction. Think Scotty in Star Trek, but don’t expect any miracles.

Journler

Journler 2.5.5 in 2 months
I would like to release Journler 2.5.5 within two months time or by the end of July. Journler 2.5.5 includes one or two new, minor features, but it is otherwise dedicated to bug fixes.

I had originally planned to focus on integrating a number of mostly finished translations but I no longer intend to do so. I have found that I am not capable of coordinating that work while I also code and manage user support. Instead, all new translations will be postponed until Journler 2.6.

Journler 2.6 in 6 months
I would like to release Journler 2.6 within six months, or by the end of December this year. I hope that I’ll actually release 2.5.5 earlier and so also 2.6, but I am giving myself that much time.

No iPhone support, syncing unlikely
A number of significant feature requests have been made for 2.6, notably iPhone integration and syncing. I consider both worthwhile features and would like to see them appear in Journler some day. Nevertheless, there are no immediate plans for iPhone integration. Syncing is a higher priority, but I do not expect syncing to be ready for Journler 2.6.

Plugin API, iCal and Mail
The single biggest change I have planned for 2.6 is the plugin interface. Rightly or wrongly I believe this change will benefit the most number of users, as it will enable myself and other interested parties to customize Journler’s interface and other behavior. I have dozens of other planned changes, including better iCal and Mail integration, but none are as significant.

I would absolutely love to have iPhone integration and syncing. Once again, however, I am simply not capable of programming and managing these features while also doing my other work.

Lex on hold

I am indefinitely delaying Lex until Journler 2.6 is released. I made the mistake of announcing the product and openly discussing it while it was in its earliest phases of development. While I have made some excellent progress on the application, as an individual I am not capable of working on a second major product. Coding aside — which is usually not difficult — I am certainly not capable of overseeing the testing, localization and support of Lex in addition to managing the same for Journler.

Parsers in 2 months

I would like to release Parsers 1.0 in two months time or by the end of July. Parsers is a tiny application with very little code and what I predict to be a small user support requirement. The application accomplishes a simple task and I anticipate few problems and little time required to maintain it.

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I understand that many of you may be disappointed with this roadmap. I’d like to say that I believe the decisions are the best I can make but I’m not sure that’s the case. I’ve erred before, focusing on Lex in the months before Leopard was released and then racing to fix Journler incompatibilities afterwards, producing a 2.5.4 update that took what seemed like an eternity to complete.

The decisions are if nothing else necessary. I am overwhelmed. I am halting Lex development because I simply cannot work on or maintain two major projects simultaneously. I’m having a hard enough time handling a single project as it is.

The same may be said of the major features which will not appear in Journler 2.6. Let me say again that I would absolutely love an iPhone app, syncing and even a re-appearance of blogging. They are excellent features which Journler deserves. But I cannot implement and support them alone and my financial condition continues to prohibit me from expanding the business to take on additional help.

[[ Crossposted to the Journler forum ]]
Please reply at the forum. It tends to better foster conversation.