[Website introduction]
SourceForge.net is the largest discrete place for open source projects. It will select one from thousands of SourceForge.net projects every month to grant the honor of the best recommendation items per month. The purpose of doing this is to work hard to promote the valuable projects of open source development. The best recommendation items this month are awStats.
【Project Introduction】
Site administrators need a clear understanding of their daily access traffic. There are many available (most free) log file analysis software, but most of them cannot combine statistical analysis and data charts. AWSTATS, as the best recommendation project in June 2004, is a cross-platform, open source log analysis software, which provides statistics needed by all site managers, timelyly give professional, dynamic reports. Take a little about this project's online demonstration, you can know why there will be so many website professionals download and configure this software. Since SF.NET released in August 2000, it has been downloaded more than 400,000 times. AWSTATS is also a well-deserved to become the best recommendation item for SF.NET in June 2004.
AWSTATS is a simplified version of the advanced site analysis. It is a free, powerful, multi-function tool that produces a statistics with a chart-based website (FTP, Email) server. The log analyzer works in the form of a CGI script or command line, and then provides you with all the information contained in your log in a web page containing graphics. It uses a "local information data file" to frequently process large-capacity log files. It can analyze log files from almost all web, mail servers, and some FTP servers. You can use it in the way you like - real-time, dynamic or static pages; make a report for multiple sites or do multiple reports for a site; use the CGI script or command line; on the local or remote server; Wait a variety of different ways.
AWSTATS is released under the GPL license. Since it is a tool written by Perl, it can work on almost all operating systems and hardware.
【about the author】
Laurent Destailleur Profile:
Age: 32 years old
Occupation or experience: 8 years computer engineer
Educational experience: IT degree in France School
[Author interview]
Below is a personal interview with SF.NET compiled by 9CBS to Laurent Destailleur.
What is the reason you start writing awStats, how do you start?
I originally wrote AWSTATS code, in order to give our company's website, which is much better than I can look from Webalizer or Analog. When I learned how log analysis work, I noticed that the assessment report generated through the old build tool seems not correct, so I decided to use my own algorithm to reduce the error rate. Seeing many projects on sf.net, I decided to add this tool to the sf.net directory, just because of interest. AWSTATS is increasingly successful (feedback from Email) encourages me to continue to upgrade AWSTATS.
When a large French media wants to use a more effective tool, they invite my rewrite code (3.x and 4.x version) to support high visits and add plugins. I wrote the 5.x version support to support these features, and it also cleans the code. I also added support for FTP and mail log files.
At the beginning of this year, I started writing 6.x version, it has more functions, plugins, and AWSTATS has faster speed, higher accuracy, more features and stronger adaptability.
What particular users have?
An administrator of all mail, FTP, web server. AWSTATS can also establish a valid professional report for marketing services.
How many people do you think is using your software?
After 2000, after I developed the name of the project, I was searched with Google "awStats" without any results. Before the 5.x version, you can search the online statistics page generated by this software with Google. Search "awStats" in 2002 returned 200,000 results, most of them were online statistics reports (200,000 speculated users). In the past two years, AWSTATS makes Google can't search for the report page it generated, so now the 400,000 search results are discussions about AWSTATS, not the statistical report it produce (not only 400,000 users, It is not just twice the past). However, this year, our downloads and click quantities on our official website are five times the 2002, so I guess that the number of users is probably five times. This means that there may be millions of people to use awStats to analyze their website. Can you mention two examples show how people use your software?
Most of the website owners provide AWSTATS statistics for their customers.
What makes you realize that the project becomes more and more successful?
For me is the number of Google search results and the number of feedback messages that hold affirmative attitudes.
What is the most unexpected surprise?
I am very happy to see awStats. I am very happy to use it on Linux.
What big challenges have been encountered?
Rewrite 5.x version is a headache. For large websites (mented monthly visits), the 4.x version of the algorithm takes up too much memory and CPU time. I think the 5.x version of the algorithm (6.x is also use), it should be able to take a long time, because in the face of how big websites and logs, it guarantees high efficiency, and its code is stable and Easy to modify.
Why do you think everyone has accepted your project?
The use and configuration of awStats are very simple. Can provide accurate and clear statistical reports. It has many different ways of use, which adapts to the needs of each user.
How do you think your project will develop?
It seems that more and more users replace their old Webalizer, Analog and commercial products to awStats. I hope this situation can continue.
What development plan is there for your project?
A new direction of development of awStats is to generate the statistics to the XML file. It is already possible to generate an XHTML file, but the database of AWSTATS is still stored in the text format, with an index of different parts. If the data is saved in XML format, you can use XSL, Ocoon, third-party tool software, etc., to establish a report. Put the AWSTATS database in related DBMS is also the next plan.
What is your most proud?
Not only is commercial products, but to keep AWSTATS open source and free.
If you can make some changes to your project, what will you change?
I don't know, but I know what I will never change is: using Perl development awStats is a good idea, even if I still don't understand Perl. It allows me to add functions and change algorithms in a short time. If C or Java development is used, the development of AWSTATS may be stagnant when the 2.x version.
How do you coordinate this project?
AWSTATS is mainly written by one person, so I have no detailed task or debug allocation. Some developers help me in response to my needs, or send some emails, this is always surprised. Translation (39 languages) Of course, it is also sent to me via email. I will complete the necessary functional upgrades, error debugging, and tasks I plan to complete via SourceForge.net. I created my own test case and tool for the regression test (what language, of course, is Perl).
Do you have a full-time action, or have other work?
I have a full-time job for computer engineers in Paris.
If you are part-time for this project, how much time you spend every week?
When I have a lot of time, I spent 16 hours a week on awstats. Now I spend 4 hours a week. It takes not much to spend 4 hours, but don't forget, awStats is written with Perl, so you can develop a new feature within an hour, and you may need 5 or 10 hours in other languages.
What kind of development environment do you like?
A simple text editor is enough, as long as it can build tools written with Perl.
What is the turning point?
I have added a function. A new version is generated when there is enough new feature. In most cases, a new version with two, three main new features and some secondary functions are introduced every three months.
What can other people do?
There is a very important feature, I want to add it but there is no time, it is a graphic with a colorful world map to display the Java program of the web visitor hometown. Such code already exists in the geotools project, but sample code is running independent Java program (and I need Applet programs) and the data used by the color map should be read from the DBF file. I need a Applet program that reads the value from the Java Applet program parameter. If anyone can provide such an applet program, I will pay him 20 euros.
[Source code download]
http://sourceforge.net/projects/awstats/
