2019-03-18 - Re: [GRASE-Hotspot] Expecting updates

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From: Tim <ti***8@gmail.com>
Message Hash: 25b77da3e4b9d3ff1dddd5148c4d063a94796c27ad3e12a3d344a36521a693c2
Message ID: <CAESLx0LPqunSpkR54ErTSB8aikmapE4986HrKg4HW+_WQ9z0bA@mail.gmail.com>
Reply To: <42f1c553-0115-4efa-b1bd-da8b97b1c7a7@grasehotspot.org>
UTC Datetime: 2019-03-18 14:05:07 UTC
Raw Date: Tue, 19 Mar 2019 07:05:07 +1000

Raw message 

Hi All

I have previously explained this, and will explain it again. The reason for
the delay in updates, is PHP7. Both Ubuntu and Debian moved on to PHP7,
which is a great thing. However, the Grase Hotspot started > 10 years ago
(it was in SVN, then BZR then git, hence the git commits only go back to
2010). PHP7 might not have seen like a big deal, and my plan in 2016 was to
make the minor changes to move to PHP7, how hard could it be, I'd worked on
projects at work that did exactly that.... We'll, as it would turn out, we
had used a pear database library, and also the legacy mysql_ PHP functions.
Neither of which could be dragged kicking and screaming into PHP7 land.

I'd also like to point out, that in 2016, when trying to do this, PHP7
hadn't landed in Debian at this stage, that didn't happen until 2017.
Trying to keep this running on Debian and Ubuntu simultaneously shouldn't
be hard, they are so similar, but the releases cycles make it a pain! The
good news is, moving forward we'll have different repositories for
Debian/Ubuntu and for each LTS version of them, so we can continue updating
the different branches as required, moving forward on Ubuntu without having
to wait for the next Debian release, and then when the next Debian release
comes out, it can be up to date with the latest Ubuntu etc. I want to
support both Debian and Ubuntu, Debian as a more solid platform, and Ubuntu
because it's actually used by lots of organisations as their base image,
and lots of newer users are familiar enough with getting it running.

So, PHP7 and legacy mysql. How to best attack this? There are 2 options,
one is to hack fix around the issues. Replace all mysql_ with mysqli_
functions. But then the pear database library, that also needed replacing.
What to replace it with.... The second option, rewrite the core
functionality on a modern framework (these didn't exist when the project
started), which will not only bring us to PHP7, it'll also give us a much
cleaner and secure code base that hopefully others can contribute on.

As you may guess, I choose the better of the 2 options, at the risk of it
taking longer to get the next major version released. Rewriting the core
functionality. You can watch the progress at
https://github.com/GraseHotspot/grase-www-portal/tree/symfony4

As an open source project, my development is always on display. You can see
exactly how much or how little I'm getting done. This is great news for you
all. If you think the project is dead, (by your measurement), then it's
dead, and you can go find a replacement. If however, you want this project
to continue, you can contribute financially or with code, and you can also
watch the progress (however slow it may be). If no one shows interest in
the project, I'll kill it. I've asked on the list a few times if people
still are interested in it, and the response I get is a yes.

Now why, even with people donating, is it still taking time? As explained
before, I have a family, and I have a full time job. These both take time,
and yes, they are both more important to me than the Grase Hotspot. I'm not
a code monkey churning out code for peanuts, I'm a human that loves his
family, and has a job to support his family. I also love spending time with
my family, and will choose to do that before I work on the Grase Hotspot.
If you don't like that, feel free to use an alternative project out there
instead of this.
There really is only so much work I can do on the train during my commute,
and on my weekends. I'm not sure how it is for other parts of the world, or
jobs, but by the time I come home in the evening, and spend time with my
family, getting the kids fed and into bed, I don't have a lot of time until
I have to sleep and start it again the next day! And weekends get pretty
busy with family, life, house maintenance etc as well. This is life. I'm
not a teenager with piles of time on my hands that I spend gaming or
coding. I'm an adult with the responsibilities of life, and as much as I
wish I could just code, I can't.

So why the donations you ask? Firstly, to show that there are people who
want this project to live, and are willing to contribute somehow to see
that happen. Secondly, to hopefully get to a stage where I can work at my
full time job less (say part time) and dedicate some days a month to the
Grase Hotspot. Realistically, that's the only way to see significant
development happen.
Lastly, the donations help keep the servers on. For years, I have paid for
the server hosting myself, domain names, etc. It's not much, but it adds
up. The servers are mostly paid for by a few other clients I host websites
for. However, I don't actively seek hosting clients, I only do it for a few
small not for profits that approached me needing a better webhost than they
were getting. Because of this, there has always been a shortfall in the
cost of the servers that I pay and to me that shortfall is the "Grase
Hotspot" hosting costs. Believe it or not, my web hosting "business" hasn't
turned a profit in many years and that's ok.

Please, if you wish to see this project get updated, find a way to
contribute. Either with code, donations, write documentation, or even just
helping on the mailing list when people have problems. Previously people
have also contributed with translations (both of the website and the code),
this will be something that's needed again further down the track once we
are closer to a release.

Again, if you believe this project is dead, that's ok. Please find an
alternative. If everyone believes it's dead, then we can kill it, but until
then, I'll keep working on it when I can, for those people who believe in
it.

To all the contributors out there, yes, even those who just help on the
mailing list, thank you, without you this project would be dead. I hope
you'll continue supporting me so we can release a new version.

Regards

Tim

On Mon, 18 Mar 2019 at 17:09, shirish bandarkar <sh***r@gmail.com>
wrote:

> Dear Tim
>
> January 10, 2016 was the last update of Grase. Whooping three years....
>
> With the fast evolving technologies such delayed updates are not good.
>
> Request you to look into the development and add new features like MAC
> binding, multiple WAN support, etc...
>
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>

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