I’ve been meaning to start a library of reusable code snippets for a while and never seem to get round to it. At the moment I just tend to have some transient classes/files that I drag out of old projects.
I think my main problems are:
-
Where to start. What structure should
my repository take? Should it be a
compiled library (where appropriate)
or just classes/files I can drop into
any project? Or a library project
that can be included? What are the
licencing implications of that? -
In my experience, a built/minified
library will quickly become out of
date and the source will get lost. So
I’m leaning towards source that I can
export from SVN and include in any
project. -
Intellectual property. I am
employeed, so a lot of the code I
write is not my IP. How can I ensure
that I don’t give my own IP away
using it on projects in work and at
home? I’m thinking the best way would
be to licence my library with an open
source licence and make sure I only
add to it in my own time using my own
equipment and therefore making sure
that if I use it in a work project
the same rules apply as if I was
using a third party library. -
I write in many different languages
and often would require two or more
parts of this library. -
Should I look at implementing a few
template projects and a core project
for each of my chosen reusable
components and languages?
Has anyone else got this sort of library and how do you organise and update it?
Rule number one. If you want to use it for yourself, don’t use it at work and don’t work on it at work. Even under those conditions some employers will think they own it even if you worked on it during the time period (calendar time) you worked for them. Some may even be more ridiculous than that. So don’t even mention that it exists.
Having said that, putting it under a BSD license on sourceforge may allow you to use it with you NEXT employer provided you clarify the ground rules upfront – tell them you’re grabbing such a library and possibly that you wrote it.
IANAL – I am not a lawyer. You may want to consult with one.
I prefer to work on my stuff on my time and my machines and just never mention it. Then when companies ask me to sign one of those “we own all your stuff” I make sure it doesn’t apply to stuff at home – this has required getting it amended in some cases. Even in that case, if I wanted to use the code at work I’d worry that I may lose ownership because some of those lines have been blurred.
Don’t worry about reinventing the wheel. They pay you to write software. And when life really kicks in you’ll have less time for hobby programming anyway 😉