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This page contains a number of common questions and their answers. 1. Platform issuesWhat about platform X?We are aware that our list of platforms is not all-inclusive (although we feel it does contain all of the major platforms). We need to refrain from allowing arbitrary platforms into the contest, because we are resource-constrained: We need to fit all of the people into one big room (and so must limit the number of teams) and will spend a significant amount of time into the evaluation of each individual solution. On the other hand, we need three solutions for each platform in order to allow for a reliable comparison of the platforms. Thus, platform X, if it is not currently on the list, cannot participate in Plat_Forms -- at least this time: We hope to repeat a similar contest in the future. Why was Perl initially not in the list of platforms?This was a mistake by Lutz Prechelt. He was simply not aware of the recent developments in the Perl web frameworks and erroneously believed that too little professional web development was being done in Perl. This is not true, as the Perl community quickly explained and so we have corrected our mistake. Can we use the closed-source framework/component/library X?Yes, you can. If the underlying base technology is one of the intended platforms, you may use any and all pre-existing software as a building block. For closed-source building blocks we will ask you to provide sufficient documentation that we can fully understand your source code during the analysis phase. It is not required to release such closed-source or otherwise proprietary components under an open source license in the way we require you to release the source code that you actually create during the contest. You must release any extensions or modifications you make to the proprietary building block, though. 2. Team issuesMust our "home organization" be a company?No, not strictly. We would expect that the well-gelled (well-rehearsed) teams we are looking for normally will have worked together professionally and that this would normally have happened in the context of some company, but if you believe you qualify for some other reason, we are happy to receive your request for admittance. However, each team should legitimately refer to some identifiable "home organization". For instance, an Open Source project or a club/association would be acceptable. 3. Organizational, legal, and money issuesDo I really have to travel to Nürnberg to participate?Yes. (The alternative would be to allow remote submissions. But we do not do this.) There are two reasons: 1. The aim of Plat_Forms is a comparison that is scientifically sound. Therefore, all teams must work under comparable conditions. In particular, we must rule out the possibility that a team has more than three people. This is impossible if teams work remotely. They must be all in one place so folks can look them over the shoulder. 2. We want to describe and compare not just the resulting software, but also the development process. In order to make observations of process, we need all teams in one place, too. Does Plat_Forms issue travel grants?Sorry, no. We do not have sufficient financial resources to sponsor the costs of participation for some or all of the teams. If you are pennyless and want to participate, you will need to find a sponsor yourself. |
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