The Cosmos wants you!

[Legorol]

We are looking for some new recruits, some fresh blood to liven up our coding team. If you ever thought of modding WoW's interface with a bunch of friendly hobbyist coders, then come join the party, especially if you think you know where Cosmos should be heading and want to be a part of it! A new, creative and motivated guy (or gal) would be a valuable asset in our continuing mission to seek out new planets and... er... code them.

Anyone with programming experience is invited to apply. Previous experience with WoW's interface or Lua a plus but not required. You can learn all the black magic you need to know from our experienced code monkeys! Your missions should you choose to accept them:
* Writing new AddOns
* Maintaining and expanding existing AddOns
* Helping with integrating 3rd party AddOns
* Bug fixing and troubleshooting
* Doing some customer support
* Coping with overzealous, demanding users breathing down our neck
* Hackling the rest of the team

If you want to be part of the team responsible for one of the most prominent WoW UI modification packages, then post in this thread. Please give details about:
* Previous coding experience
* Coding experience in Lua, with WoW's UI or with AddOns, if any (not required)
* One new thing you think Cosmos needs
* One existing thing you think Cosmos doesn't need
* To code, or not to code?

Once you posted, send your email address in a Private Message via the forums to Karlkfi or Legorol.

[Cysgodi]

Wow, there's not nearly as much competition as I expected. Anyway, getting to the main point - I've already taken a course for C++, and I'm currently in the middle of a Java class. I know a little bit of JavaScript, CSS, HTML, and XHTML which I taught myself in my spare time.

The closest I've ever come to Lua/Wow's UI/AddOns are in-game macros, but I've been looking for an excuse to learn the others.

One thing that I think would benefit Cosmos is a 'Smart' setting for people who are just starting to play around with addons that looks at class and race and chooses the best addons and settings to turn on/off - sort of an extension of the beginner setting that's already there.

I really can't think of anything that should be taken out of Cosmos because, while there are some addons that I turn off, I know plenty of other people who use them. On the flip side, I know a lot of people who don't get why I use certain addons, too, so I don't think anything really needs to be removed.

My answer for the last part is definitely 'to code'. I like to do coding for different projects that I make up for myself in my spare time, so if I'm helping somebody else out while I'm doing it, all the better.

[KJee85]

Well my name is Kyle, I'm fairly new to World of Warcraft (Lvl 52 Hunter) but that really does not matter, I have been using Cosmos almost as long as I have WoW and I really think its an amazing addon.

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My Coding Experience:

HTML w/ Photoshop CS2 - Web Design
TrueBasic
Starting Java in school
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My Coding Experience With WoW UI:

Not much but I'm the kind of person where if I get example and just from looking at some things you have posted around I have started to understand it
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One New Thing I Think Cosmos Needs:

Well, as Cysgodi said, I think there should be some setting for newer users to help them understand this mass of addons being thrown at them. The rest of the things I think it needs are just minor techincal fixes etc...
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One Thing I Think Cosmos Does Not Need:

I think that there is an addon for everyone in cosmos, and since you can disable them there is not reason to take them out unless they are extremely redundant. Its better to have more then necessary for super techincal people then not enough
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To Code or Not to Code?

To Code! I'm one of those people who enjoys coding. I have wrote mutiple fun programs in my spare time in my Computer Programming Class at school like a prime number calculator among other things.
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Contact Info:

Email- kgetty10@comcast.net
AIM- KJee8
WoW Char- BurningHell (Durotan)

I will also send my email in a PM as specified.

Thanks for your time.

[Morac]

Since I seem to have made a habit of finding and fixing bugs in Cosmos (http://cosmosui.org/forums/search.php?search_author=Morac), I figure I might as well make it official.

* Previous coding experience *

I have 10 years real world (ie: job) coding experience with a variety of langauges ranging from Jovial and CMS-2 to Ada to C++ to Java. I worked on UOX3 (http://www.uox3.org/history/updates1.txt) (an Ultima Online server emulator) back in the day. Recently I've written/modified a Firefox extension (http://ymnotifier.mozdev.org/). Most of my other coding has been work related.


* Coding experience in Lua, with WoW's UI or with AddOns, if any (not required) *

I haven't written any Addons and pretty much all my experience with Lua has come from looking at code in Cosmos and other addons. While I'm still a novice with lua, it seems pretty easy to pick up. My knowledge of other scripting programing languages like Javascript and VBScript definately helps.


* One new thing you think Cosmos needs *

Better documentation. The wowwiki pages (http://www.wowwiki.com/Cosmos) are a good start, but it would be nice to know exactly what will change the moment you install Cosmos. I can say from experience that after installing Cosmos I was quite lost. It took me many hours fiddingling with settings to figure out what they all did.
It is also a good idea to document (or update the list of (http://cosmosui.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9674)) all the current major bugs in the release version since I see questions regarding "known bugs'' come up again and again in the forums.

* One existing thing you think Cosmos doesn't need *

Cosmos doesn't always know best. Ideally Cosmos shouldn't make any changes that the user doesn't specifically ask for or, at the very least, is told about. Archaeologist is a good example, where the hp and mana is automatically changed to percentages when Cosmos is installed even if Archaeologist is disabled in Khaos (but not in Wow). This has led to a number of support questions asking how to restore default functionality. I'm not saying to get rid of Archaeologist, I'm just saying Cosmos shouldn't automatically assume people want certain default WOW settings things changed.

* To code, or not to code? *

I make my livelyhood coding so you would think my response would be "to code" and for the most part you would be correct. I enjoy coding which is why I can come home after 10 hours of looking at code at work and then look at code at home for fun. Still in my line of work sometimes the response is "not to code". Many times the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" applies.

[Stabity]

Hi!

* Previous coding experience:
Some univeristy courses in Html, C, Java, Assembly for Palm7800, VHDL, Maple;

* Coding experience in Lua, with WoW's UI or with AddOns
All I did is some /script stuff for macros. Seems pretty easy and intuitive, so I'm sure I'll learn it fast.

* One new thing you think Cosmos needs
More user friendly interface of addons and modifications. Right now it's too cryptic for a person that is not familiar with internal structure of Cosmos.

* One existing thing you think Cosmos doesn't need
To be honest I have no idea. I love cosmos because it's rich in various addons and small things that make wow so much more enjoyable. I dont use them all myself, but I see every single one of them as useful in some cases.

* To code, or not to code?
To code ofcourse! There is nothing better than the warm fuzzy feeling you get after running your code for the first time, and it turns out to work fine and help lots of ppl.

[revulas]

Hey. I'm just gonna go ahead and follow the order of questions like everyone else:

Previous coding experience:
Currently a third year computer science : software engineering specialist, and working with languages such as C / C++, Java, Python, DB2, XML, XHTML, Javascript, and some light PHP and Scheme work (not that scheme is really used anymore)

Coding experience in Lua, with WoW's UI or with AddOns, if any (not required) :
At the moment I have none. This is why I would like to join the team, as I am very open to gaining experience in this area.

One new thing you think Cosmos needs:
Compatibility issues arise here. I currently have a GeForce 6800 video card, and for some reason no one likes releasing drives that are stable under windows. So after crashing a million times, I decided to wipe windows from my computer. I now run WoW under Gentoo (linux). The only thing with this is that now addons (including yours) are now a little more unstable, and some don't even work. As I am sick of constantly crashing in the middle of instances, I gave up addons completely. I will still be trying to get cosmos to work as time goes by, because for one, when you look up anything on thotbot, its all coordinates, and two, i really REALLY like the AllInOneInventory. With this said, I think that cosmos needs a little more stability for us linux users. If these issues have been fixed by now, then I take it back. Its just that I've been playing with addons turned off for the past bit to minimize the crashing.

Although to be honest, I'm not even sure if this is an issue due to the addon or due to the game being run under linux... but if it IS the addon, it'd be nice to be able to work on that.


One existing thing you think Cosmos doesn't need:
Morac said it best: "Cosmos shouldn't make any changes that the user doesn't specifically ask for". Other than that, I really don't have any complaints.

To code, or not to code? :
DAMN STRAIGHT TO CODE!!! WOOOO!!! Yeah... I love coding, you can do SO much for SO many different things... it just tickles my fancy :P

[gralex]

I was in the process of creating my own add-on but would rather do it with a team than solo. I've been developing for about 20yrs and can code is most languages. Would love to contribute or just help debug code. Let me know how i can help.

Gralex

[KarlKFI]

First step for all of you is to make yourself known on the irc channel. Introduce yourself to AnduinLothar (me) and we can get things moving. Otherwise I will send you an email when time allows.

[jonchang]

^Sorry I'm late by a week or so, I didn't notice this until today since I only visit the site occasionally (I use the patcher)

* Previous coding experience

Perl. Lots of Perl. I have a examples of my work if you want them. Also the standard stuff (HTML, CSS etc)

* Coding experience in Lua, with WoW's UI or with AddOns, if any (not required)

Not much, I understand the language from what I've seen in other mods (it's pretty self-explanatory) and I can work around an annoying bug or two in some mods. In any case Lua can't be much more cryptic than Perl.

* One new thing you think Cosmos needs

More addons. With each patch there are a number of great mods that always get discontinued or their owners vanish or go to college or whatever. If all these mods could find a new owner in Cosmos, then that's all the better for the users.

* One existing thing you think Cosmos doesn't need

If i'd have to choose one, I'd say it's the "difficulty" system. It's only confusing and hiding options is never a good idea (unless the options are hidden in tabs, but at least that way they're easily visible). I remember that when I first upgraded from Cosmos to Khaos, I was baffled at where all the options went. While I did eventually figure it out on my own, I think it's just the one thing that confuses new users the most. If anything, the difficulty levels should be reduced to "standard" and "debugging" levels.

* To code, or not to code?

This is certainly an odd question. I suppose the answer would be to code, since otherwise nothing would get done.

[Rjop455]

My name is Robert. I love anything that has to do with programing. I pick up programming languages every quickly. Here is my application:



Programming Experience:
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HTML
XML
Scar (A Runescape botting program)
Javascript (Runescape Private Severs :P)
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My Coding Experience With WoW UI:
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None, but as I said before I learn every quickly.
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One New Thing I Think Cosmos Needs:
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I play battle grounds a lot, and I think a cool thing would to be able to see your kills, how many times you've got the flag, your honor, and showing what place your in. This would we handy because other wise your pressing (H) all the time or clicking the score tab.
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One New Thing I Think Cosmos Doesn't Needs:
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Personal I like it all.
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To code or Not to code
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Programming is my favorite hobby. Yes I didn't have school I would code all day. :D
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My Email: Rjop455@hotmail.com
I also sent it to Karlkfi.

Thanks for your time.

[OverFlow636]

* Previous coding experience
7 years basic web html/javascript/flash
3 years php/mysql/java/vb6/java
2 years assembly
1 year c++,asp
* Coding experience in Lua, with WoW's UI or with AddOns, if any (not required)
mostly mod current mods to fit my needs
* One new thing you think Cosmos needs
more integration with thottbot
* One existing thing you think Cosmos doesn't need
every addon default state to enabled
* To code, or not to code?
code

edit:
Email: OverFlow636@gmail.com

[CamHart]

* Previous coding experience
I once coded for an autobot for a game called runescape. All i did was script for it, but it got me to know the basic knowledge and functions of programming. If this isn't enough i understand. I'll show you some of my work if you want. I think i can safely say im one of the top ten scripters for the autobot i scripted for.
* Coding experience in Lua, with WoW's UI or with AddOns, if any (not required)
None whatsoever, though im messing with Macros right now
* One new thing you think Cosmos needs
Well it's pretty full as it is, though i see only one macro added. Although i see a lot of macro's posted freely on this site. Also with the clock addon, make something like /creset that resets the session.
* One existing thing you think Cosmos doesn't need
Theres some stuff i find useless, though im sure someone in the world uses one of each lol.
* To code, or not to code?
To code

Runescape (the game i scripted an auto for) banned my guy (they dont like cheaters) and i miss working on stuff for it. So this is just the thing i need. I plan on messing around with it whether you guys say so or not, I'll still be able to ask for help which is always nice. But just so you know, i taught myself all i know (im sure you probably did also), but im willing to learn.