[FR-devel] Moving Towards a First Release

[Curt Hibbs]

With the incredible work that Laurent has done on FreeRIDE lately, I would
say we are getting close to having something we could release as an early
alpha.

Here's what I think need to be done before we can make such a release (feel
free to add your own opinion):

Must Have:
- Syntax highlighting
- Integrate Nishio Mizuho's source browser
- Fix the Window's threading problem
- Thorough testing

Should Have:
- Debugger
- Add unit tests to the source code

Would be Nice:
- A simple "gettext" like facility for
  rudimentary internationalization.

The reason I include the source browser in the Must Have category is that
this is a feature that will really set FreeRIDE apart from the competition.
Nishio, is the source browser in state where we can use it?

We need some more people to jump in and take on some of this work. I'm
working, initially, on solving the Windows threading problem. If that goes
quickly, then I will pick up some other well, or update the documentation on
the wiki (as I had promised several weeks ago).

After our initial release, I would see some of us working on basic IDE
features while others work on the higher-end stuff (like refactoring
support, pair programming support, etc).

Curt