[maemo-developers] ... and QA of closed source applications?

[From: Quim Gil]

This deserves a separate thread.

In the "QA from extras-devel to extras-testing" thread we are discussing
 a community quality process that relies heavily on the fact that the
source code of an application and its dependencies is available. But
happens with the closed source applications?

The commercial developers signing contracts with Nokia go to a blessed
nokia.com repository, but what about all the rest? There have been very
popular and even community friendly apps that were not open source, like
Mauku or Canola. We can expect more in the future: free as in beer but
not as in freedom.

Currently the situation explained at
http://wiki.maemo.org/Extras#About_Extras is

"non-free applications are usually closed, binary only and their quality
and security must be taken on trust"

It's not good to have a free extras repo with good QA next to a non-free
extras repo equally offered to end users with no QA control. But what to
do? Some options come to mind.

- Don't distribute closed source, binary-only packages through
maemo.org. This will only help the proliferation of repos again, though.

- Keep the same QA process where availability of source code is not
determinant,

- Same as above but making the extras-testing hurdle higher to be more
on the safe side. For instance requiring more OK testers and/or a
dedicated OK from someone qualified e.g. the debmaster + bugmaster.

- ...

-- 
Quim Gil
open source advocate
Maemo Software @ Nokia