“Winks” (flash animations as they were smileys), online gamįA: What did the protocol change made by Microsoft mean to the project?Ī: It was a little problem for every non-official MSN clients. It was one of the most required features and we consider it is very interesting. For instance, Tkcximage for PNG image support (tcl/tk does not include it by default) and other formats, webcam capture support, systray icon, etc.įA: AMSN is one of the most featured messaging client… Even webcam support.Ī: Yes, in the latest version it is supported and we are adding rather improvements for AMSN 0.96. AMSN should work in every architecture supported by Tcl/Tk although in latest releases there are specific parts, written as modules, that need to be compiled. If an important problem happens it is usually fixed very fast.įA: AMSN is available for many architectures, is this one of your main strengths?Ī: The portability of AMSN is the result of its development with Tcl/Tk, that is available for many platforms. So it is rather stable and it incorporates the latest features. In general, we recommend to use the CVS version (development version updated every day) because this is the version that developers use day by day. We have suggested several times to keep a “stable” branch to release versions more often to fix bugs or to add little features, and other “unstable” branch to make the major changes. When we estimate the new version is stable enough, we prepare it and it is released. Then it is the moment to fix unresolved bugs. There is a moment when this creative brainstorming comes to a standstill. When we start a new version, we add new features. We also provide a Wiki to document some parts of the project, trackers for bugs, tasks, etc and an automatic bug delivery system when an error occurs while running the application.Ībout versions, we have no fixed periods. If it is not funny, it makes no sense to do it :). Nobody pays for our work, so we do it to learn and to fulfill. Some veteran developers perform organization and task assignment functions, but it is not mandatory. Changes are viewed by others in the mail list to verify that everything is ok. Developers have full access to CVS (version control) to modify code at their own. We can say that everything is based on reliability and merits. And all this not counting the translators for more than 40 available languages.įA: Which development model do you use and how long do you take for a new release?Ī: We don’t use any specific model. The fact is that some of them are inactive (nowadays I spend not much time on it), but several others help us by means of mail lists, forums, patches, etc. We registered the project at SourceForge, and we continued the development from there.įA: How many people is involved in the project?Ī: Officially, there are 19 registered developers in the project, at Sourceforge. The program collected quite success, and soon other people that had written modifications for ccmsn got in contact with me to join our efforts. I renamed it “Alvaro’s Messenger” (AMSN), a tribute to the original Compu’s Messenger (Compu is the nick name of the author). So I published the modified program in a web site (I included the source code, of course, that in this case it is the program itself since it is interpreted). I sent the modifications to the program’s author to be included on it, but he never answered and we have no news about him from then. While I used it I learnt a bit of tcl/tk and I worked to fix bugs and to add new features. Making a search, I found a tcl/tk based program named ccmsn (Compu’s Messenger), which was an MSN Messenger clone for Windows, rather simple, and I started to use it. In those days Gaim was the instant messaging tool par excellence, but I wasn’t completely sure about it. Other of my hobbies are the motor world and karting.Ī: 5 years ago, in my second year at university, I already used Linux for all my tasks, but I needed to communicate with my partners with MSN Messenger to develop a project. These days, apart from AMSN, I’m developing some webs for mobile devices and dealing with a Nokia 770 that has been just given to me. In my little free time, I’m still developing and learning with my computer. Álvaro: I’m currently working for a software development company, but I’m not very happy, I’m searching for better opportunities :). Iradier, founder and lead developer of AMSN (Alvaro’s Messenger), a full-featured MSN compatible client, written in tcl/tk.įernando Apesteguía: Álvaro, tell us about your background, your work, what do you do in your free time. We bring to you an interview with Alvaro J.
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