Forums : Feedback Forum

Maybe something somewhere, anywhere on the site could explain what a stack is.

Or if there already is something explaining it, maybe it could be easier to find. (Like, say, be in the FAQ.)

Maybe it's some cool hip current hacker jargon that I'm not down with, but if so, neither is wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stack -- compare http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_%28metadata%29

Also, forum search would be nice. I'm sure somebody's already mentioned that one, but I can't search to check.

nothings over 16 years ago

Hi nothings,

Thanks for the feedback. I will add 'stack' to the FAQ, and we will look at putting some help text on the stack page.

You can search the forums, but I guess it's not obvious. The search box at the top of the page takes you to project search by default, but once you reach the project search results page there are links to take you to search results for people and posts categories. Or you can search posts directly at this page.

We're in the midst of a bit of a site redesign. Your input helps!

Robin Luckey over 16 years ago

Thank you!

nothings over 16 years ago

Btw - a little historical info: we chose the term 'stack' because we couldn't come up with anything better. Better suggestions are appreciated, although we've grown somewhat attached to Stack by now...

Jason Allen over 16 years ago

So, um, in lieu of actually UPDATING the FAQ to define Stack (rather than just tell us how to add them), could you maybe define it here, where the question was asked?

gabriel rosenko... over 16 years ago

To clarify, I believe that you mean one of two things by stack. I think you either mean:

• I use OpenOffice.org to edit documents.
• I use memcached as a integral part of a software project I'm working on.

Which is it?

Would the second meaning actually make more sense as a Project's Stack rather than a Person's? (As near as I can tell, Projects haven't got Stacks and one could make the argument that integrated code would be detectable, but I'm not so sure it would if a project uses, say, memory overflow checkers or has simply completely imported the code and reworked it a bit.)

gabriel rosenko... over 16 years ago

Hehe, yes, I had this same thought last night after I posted my first reply :-)

It's even worse because some bizarre web site troubles are preventing us from editing the FAQ. Don't ask.

Our meaning for stack is simply the collection of all the software you personally use, from the operating system to the browser.

It's not a term we pulled out of thin air. The term stack is used in enterprise development to refer to a platform or specific bundle of software. You can even read about it on Wikipedia, so you know it's true. We've generalized the term a bit from its common meaning.

We've had requests to allow people to define multiple stacks: one for their web server, one for their development tools, etc, and this would bring us closer to the common meaning of the term.

Robin Luckey over 16 years ago

Hi gabriel, it looks like we were posting at the same time. Let me answer you more specifically.

Projects don't have stacks on Ohloh, at least not yet. It is something we have thought about, and yes, an automated determination of some kind would be very clever.

We're pretty broad about stacks, and we are really only asking if you use a piece of software at all. We use this data to determine the popularity of software. We also use the stack data of other Ohloh members to make recommendations to you about software you might be interested in. Of course, people who visit your public account profile page can view your stack to see what software you are using.

So given what we're using it for, perhaps that will help you decide what to put in your stack.

Robin Luckey over 16 years ago

I'd really like the ability to define a project's dependencies. I think that seems like a more specific and useful concept than a project's stack. The latter could include the software that runs the wiki, mailing list, web server, and version control system. While useful, it seems far less concrete than dependencies.

Even better, allow a project to have a related set of projects, with a reason associated with each relationship; the reason should come from a fixed list (not freeform text): Dependency, Optional Dependency, or Infrastructure.

Josh Triplett over 16 years ago

A related thread

dartar over 16 years ago

Hey Josh - a huge thanks for the great suggestions you sent us. You have a great sense of app design.

Jason Allen over 16 years ago

It's not a term we pulled out of thin air. The termstackis used in enterprise development to refer to a platform or specific bundle of software.

But the way you use the term is completely different from the way it's used in software development. A stack in that sense is a (usually layered) set of software components (frameworks, libraries, middleware, OS, storage, etc.) that are combined to provide the technical infrastructure for an application.

You're using it to mean any software a user might use for any purpose.

So, I might put Hibernate and TopLink in my stack because they are both good projects and I would use them in different situations. However, I'd never use them together in the same project, so they would never be in the same stack in it's conventional sense.

I'd like to be able to see different stacks (in the conventional sense) that people would use to solve problems what they use them for. And vice versa, I'd like to be able to create and describe stacks like that. To me, that's far more useful than a general grab-bag of uncategorised software.

npryce over 16 years ago

hi npryce,

You're right - we're guilty of stretching the term. We just couldn't come up with a better alternative. Suggestions are appreciated.

What might help mitigate your current complaint is that we're planning on expanding this feature soon whereby people can create multiple, possibly categorized stacks (dev tools, productivity apps, production server, etc..). I realize it doesn't address the strict enterprise-only nature of the word stack, but it would help segregate the random-ness of today's stacks (where I might include Vim and MySQL).

Jason Allen over 16 years ago