[BiO BB] Hosting a bioinformatics project

[J.W. Bizzaro]

Hi Kevin.

Bioinformatics.Org currently runs an earlier version of the SourceForge 
system.  Other than specific differences in features, Bioinformatics.Org 
distinguishes itself in the following ways:

1. Our focus is on bioinformatics, with bioinformatic open labs (like 
foundries) coming.

2. We host web-based, server-side executables, including Perl, Python 
and CGI support.

3. We host web-based databases, including MySQL and Postgres support.

4. Project members have shell-level access to CVS, crontab and other
resources.

5. Shell account use is not limited to software development.

6. Storage has no hard limit.

7. Users have IMAP4 access to e-mail (soon to be Web-based and POP3).

8. We can accommodate special needs, because we're smaller (150+ 
projects vs. 80,000 at SF) and can keep track of members more easily 
(has the president of VA Software ever contacted you personally? ;-)).

9. Bioinformatics.Org is non-profit, and even our resources are open
source (vs. SF, which places commercial banners on project pages and has
a commercial-only license for its current version).

10. Project members can give a presentation about their project at 
Organization meetings, and the presenter attends for free.  Travel and 
other grants for project administrators are on the horizon.

We're actually migrating to the GForge system, which is an open source 
fork of SF, by original SF developer Tim Perdue.  It's very competitive 
with commercial SourceForge.  Check out our system under development 
(sneak peek):

   http://groups.bioinformatics.org/
   (caveat: under development!)

We're currently running GForge 3.1 and will update to the latest (3.3+) 
before going live.

This page has a good comparison of some of the hosts out there (not 
including us):
http://www.ibiblio.org/fosphost/exhost.htm

If you have any more questions, please ask.

Cheers.
Jeff



Kevin Murphy wrote:
> What are the pros and cons of hosting a project at bioinformatics.org as 
> opposed to sourceforge?  I have a project 
> (http://genome.chop.edu/mePCR/) that I'd like to have hosted.
> 
> Thanks,
> Kevin
> 
> 


-- 
J.W. Bizzaro                                jeff at bioinformatics.org
President, Bioinformatics.Org       http://bioinformatics.org/~jeff
"As we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we
should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention
of ours; and this we should do freely and generously."
                    -- Benjamin Franklin
--