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Software quality is an important measure, but it is difficult to quantify. By assessing how others are interacting with the software, we can make assessments of its usage, as a proxy for quality. We use several indicators (read from GitHub) for this category:
1. Software releases are an indication of the stability of the system; frequent software releases enable a system to recover and respond to changes in an agile manner.
- N/A = 0 releases (*Note, this could indicate that the software is not using GitHub for tracking their releases)
- Low (Releases = 1)
- Medium (Releases 2-9)
- High (Releases = 10 or more)
2. Downloads - downloads are a good proxy to indicate usage of a tool and demonstrates that a project is successfully converting an audience and attracting the right audience.
- Low = less than 9 downloads
- Medium = 10-99 downloads
- High = 100+ downloads
3. Stars - GitHub stars can help show how many people have noticed the project, as an indication for its popularity, its usefulness, or as a product of the product team’s efforts in promotion and communications.
- Low = 99 or less stars
- Medium = 100-999 stars
- High = 1000+ stars
4. Forks - a project fork happens when developers start independent development on a software package, creating a distinct and separate piece of software. In the case of development forks, there are positive reasons for forking, such as to revive a discontinued software or to meet varying user needs. However, forking can also imply a separation of the developer community.
- Low = 49 or less forks
- Medium = 50-99 forks
- High = 100+ forks
5. Watchers - watchers are Github users who have asked to be notified of activity in a repository, but have not become collaborators. It demonstrates their interest in the project.
- Low = 49 or less watchers
- Medium = 50-99 watchers
- High = 100+ watchers
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Community Health |
Explanatory text
A software that can attract contributors means the tool being supported by a healthy community.
The score is calculated by reading number of contributors and commits from GitHub and by using the following ranges:
1. Contributors - number of contributors indicates that they perceive the tool as a way to help them improve their coding skills, gain experience, increase community and peer recognition, for greater job prospects, and to improve a tool that they use themselves.
- Low (2 or less)
- Medium (2-10)
- High (more than 10)
2. The number of “commits” indicates how often a developer is revising their code and engaging with the software. Committing often allows developers to share their work more frequently with others to avoid having to merge conflicts.
- Low = Commits 49 or less
- Medium = Commits 50-999
- High = Commits 1000+
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Code review helps developers learn the code base, as well as help them learn new technologies and techniques that grow their skill sets. This score is calculated by with a number of indicators: 1) does the software use a top 25 language? 2) Is it containerized, 3) Does it have a readme, 4) Does it have a valid license file, 5) does it have API documentation?
1. Top 25 language - Using a common programming language means that there will be a large pool of developers, tools, and support, ensuring that the project will be able to be maintained into the future.
The scores are calculated using the following ranges:
- Low (Language less than 29)
- Medium (Language = 11-25)
- High (Language greater than 25)
2. Containerization allows developers to write applications once and run them everywhere. That level of portability is essential in terms of developing process and vendor compatibility. It also has other benefits, for example, fault isolation, security and ease of management.
This score uses the following ranges:is calculated as a binary:
Yes = 1
No = 0
3. Since ReadMe files are usually the first item users interact with in a repository, it is important that ReadMe files provide users with the information needed to engage with the corresponding repository.
This score uses the following ranges:is calculated as a binary:
Yes = 1
No = 0
4. An up-to-date software license and copyright helps determine the legal maturity of a product. Without an open source license, the software component is unusable by others, even if it has been publicly posted on GitHub. Each open source license states what users are permitted to do with the software components, their obligations, and what they cannot do as per the terms and conditions.
This score uses the following ranges:is calculated as a binary:
Yes = 1
No = 0
5. An open API is a valuable type of technology for developers. It provides standards for how software programs communicate with each other. With an open API, developers have to write less code to make different software programs work together seamlessly.
This score uses the following ranges:is calculated as a binary:
Yes = 1
No = 0
Digital Square Indicators (only for those products that have been vetted by Dig Sq.)
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