A ruby framework for tracking shipments for a variety of distribution platforms (FedEx, DHL, etc).
There are some values that we wish to embrace during the development of wheaties.
- Simplification & ease of use.
The interface should be simple and it should be easy to use. The documentation should be simple and clear. At no point should this framework get in the way of the projects of the people who are using it.
- Reliability.
Companies will be using this to build products so it should be reliable. Errors and outages cost companies money, and many of the companies using this will be small businesses (often run by only a few people) and saving them money so they can rapidly build products is the primary goal.
- Compatibility.
One of the biggest motivators to make shipulous was that carriers are not compatible with each other. They offer different APIs, different data, and exist to compete with each other. It is our goal to make them compatible by unifying access to them for our own projects.
- Kindness, recognition and collaboration.
Developers should be treated with respect. They should be kind to each other, even when conflict arises. Additionally, efforts made should be recognized and rewarded. Collaboration is the heart of the experience, allowing a quality framework to rise and grow over time.
Yes, we want your help.
But how can you help?
- Donate.
This is the easiest way to help. You can contribute to the development fund, which will help us continue development on this framework instead of taking on paid contracts. It will let us hire other people to help too.
- Submit bug fixes and small enhancements.
This is the second easiest way to help. See an Issue that needs fixing? Jump in, fork the repository, fix the bug, and submit a Pull Request. It will benefit everyone. Also, any kind of small enhancement or improvement is also a great way to help out. Perhaps there needs to be an additional option, or some parsed data is missing that is useful. Fork the repository, add it in, and submit a Pull Request.
- Submit more significant features.
As they say... it takes a village.
Want to see quality testing? Jump in and add/improve the rspec specs. Want to see a new merchant? Jump in and mimmic the foundations of the other carrier interfaces. Want to make the code more reusable? Find commonalities, extract and refactor.
- Tell others.
This is a free framework (with exception to donations perhaps), and so ultimately we're not in the game of self-promotion. But if you'd like to see this framework proliferate, telling others about it will certainly help with that. Let your favorite mailing list know about the project, and it will give it a boost in terms of community interest (and hopefully contributions to bug fixing and feature support).
- What carriers will you support?
Initially we will support FedEx, UPS, and DHL. Afterwards, we will add additional carriers on a case-by-case basis based on demand.