Collaboration Using OSSmole: A repository of FLOSS data and analyses

Abstract:

This paper introduces a collaborative project OSSmole designed to collect, share, and store comparable data and analyses of free, libre and open source software (FLOSS) development for research purposes. The project is designed to be a clearinghouse for data from the ongoing collection and analysis efforts of many disparate research groups. A collaborative data repository will reduce duplication and promote compatibility both across sources of FLOSS data and across research groups and analyses. The primary objective of OSSmole is to mine FLOSS source code repositories and provide the resulting data and summary analyses as open source products. However, the OSSmole data model additionally supports donated raw and summary data from a variety of open source researchers and other software repositories. The paper first outlines current difficulties with the typical quantitative FLOSS research process and uses these to develop requirements for such a collaborative data repository. Finally, the design of the OSSmole system is presented, as well as examples of current research and analyses using OSSmole.