Just created a diagram showing F-Droid process

[Nicolas RaoulMember]

Diagram: http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/272/fdroid.png

It is intended as an introduction to the concept, for people who use Android but are not necessarily developers.
Feedback is very welcome

Too bad I can’t generate the SVG… I would have loved to use Inkscape but could not find nice icons.
So I ended up using Cacoo, a proprietary app :’-(
See my logic here: http://askubuntu.com/q/16388

You can use this image as freely as you wish, but the icons are from Cacoo and the robot from who you know.

[pfalconMember]

Here’s some feedback:

When I do an ad for F-Droid, I specifically make clear that F-Droid doesn’t mimic Market, instead it draws from decades of experience of Unix/Linux package management. I also usually add that “markets” and “appstores” draw from the same source, except not keep to acknowledge that, and do that in simplified and marketing-driven approach. I do write those words lowercase and in quotes, to emphasize those are nothing but marketing names for (networked) package management which is common place on Linux for like 20 years (well, maybe not networked initially).

So, you may find it’s important to emphasize those things (or at least hint, as diagram doesn’t have room for more than just writing Market lowercase and in quotes), or maybe not.

[CiaranGMember]

I don’t like the word Market either. A market is where you go to trade in finite quantities of scarce goods. There is an INFINITE supply of bits and bytes available – enough for everybody. It’s also not a “Store”.

I realise, if you’re trying to communicate with “the public”, using the word Market helps them understand what it is. But please, at least, try not to call it the “F-Droid Market”.

Cool diagram. The actual process and infrastructure is a bit more involved than that (for the main F-Droid repository at least) but for your target audience what you have might be enough. I bet it’s not hard to find plenty of appropriate and freely licensed SVG icons that could replace the ones you’re using though. I would have a look now, but today is a very busy day. Maybe later…

[IldarMember]

Dear Nicholas,
1.
> Diagram: http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/272/fdroid.png
unavailable. Can you put it in some other place?
2.
>Too bad I can’t generate the SVG… I would have loved to use Inkscape but could not find nice icons.
Give graphviz a try!

[Nicolas RaoulMember]

Here is the final article:

http://aegif-labo.blogspot.jp/2012/03/android-f-droid.html

It includes the diagram stored on Google’s servers, so you should be able to see it.

Graphviz is cool, but the most difficult is to get a large set of reusable & good-looking I.T. icons.
If you know any such icons set I would be very glad to hear about it

Cheers!
Nicolas

[IldarMember]

Nicolas, OpenClipart, as always. It’s also integrated into Inkscape.

[IldarMember]

Nicolas, I’ve read the article (translated with Google). I comment here respecting the main language (en vs. jp).

The article is very general, no details. I guess it’s intentional.
What I miss there is “the actors view”: who or what does what. I.e. I don’t see what efforts it takes to build and share a new version as an example.

As the roadmap proposition, consider looking deeper at any Linux distro build service (ALTLinux hasher farm, Suse OBS, Debian etc.). These are fully automatized farm that get source packages as input (or even just references!) and put resulting binary packages into downloadable repos. This sounds like an ideal situation, right?

Thanks!

[CiaranGMember]

Maybe start here? http://f-droid.org/manual/

[daithib8Moderator]

Why not call it the Market? Google have abandoned the word so we could have it for ourselves. You can’t underestimate the attraction of a real world analogue. They’re baiting folk with wallets and passbooks, why shouldn’t we? We could easily call it the Market and nobody would call us out for being too flash because of the nostalgia excuse. The terms that GNU/Linux distros use, like Centre or Repository are rather dowdy but on the other hand, by calling it thus there is a clear link with tradition. Then again there’s already a Bazaar out there for dodgy Android Apk’s which also has a certain resonance. Personally I prefer a nice go around the car-boot sales, but that would be a weaker metaphor.

[daithib8Moderator]

Could we add this to the wiki?

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