User`s manual

13 ABOUT XCSOAR
• Data integrity Airspace and waypoint files need to be kept up to date, and it often takes people
with local knowledge to do this.
• Promotion The more users the software has, the better the product will be. As more people use
the software and give feedback, bugs are found more easily and improvements can occur
at a greater pace. You can help here, for example, by showing the software to others and
by conducting demonstration and training sessions in your club.
• Documentation You are encouraged to add and edit text on the XCSoar homepage, which is
set up as a ‘Wiki’. All you need to do is to register for edit access.
13.3 Open source philosophy
There are several benefits to having software like XCSoar open source:
• Firstly, it is free so pilots can try out the software at no cost and decide if it is suitable for
their needs; and pilots are free to copy the program onto whatever Pocket PC device, PC or
EFIS they like without charge.
• You have access to the source code so you are free to change the software or use pieces
of it in new free programs.
• Having the source code available on the Internet means that it is subject to wide scrutiny
and therefore bugs are easily and quickly fixed.
• A large group of developers are available to help in troubleshooting and quickly implement
new features upon request.
• Open source software under the GNU public license cannot at a later date be made closed-
source; so by using this software you will not be locked in to unspecified software costs in
the future.
The full terms of the licensing agreement for XCSoar is given in Appendix A.
The development of XCSoar since its open source release has been entirely a volunteer effort.
This does not preclude individual developers or organisations from offering commercial support
services. The spirit of the project however suggests that in such cases the commercial services
are encouraged to produce some flow-on benefit back to the wider community of users.
13.4 Development process
We try to incorporate new features as quickly as possible. This has to be balanced by the needs
to not change substantially the interface without appropriate warnings so users that upgrade do
not get a shock. This means that when we introduced the new button menu system in version 4.5,
it was necessary to also distribute a file that allowed users to have the buttons assigned to their
‘legacy’ function.
XCSoar, being used in flight, is a special kind of software because it can be regarded as ‘mission-
critical’, and is a real-time system. This has placed a very high emphasis on developers to perform
a great deal of testing before releasing changes to the public.
The software developers all keep in contact with each other through the SourceForge developer’s
mailing list
XCSoar Manual (Altair version) • XCSoar-A-EN 122