The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source How open source saved htop (Interview)
Sep 24, 2020
Hisham Muhammad, the creator of htop and a dedicated maintainer for over 15 years, discusses the evolution of htop from a solo project to a collaborative effort after handing it over to new maintainers. He shares the emotional journey of maintaining open source software and the relief he felt during its transition. The conversation touches on community engagement, the importance of clear communication, and the human element in open source collaboration, emphasizing kindness and support among contributors.
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Surprise Htop Release
- Hisham Muhammad was surprised by the announcement of Htop 3.0, a release he didn't create.
- He learned about it via Twitter, which mentioned a takeover by new maintainers.
Broken Feedback Loop
- Hisham's email filter, designed to help manage Htop correspondence, unintentionally broke the feedback loop.
- This made it harder for community members and potential collaborators to reach him.
AIX Support Patch
- Hisham received a large, intrusive patch for IBM AIX support for Htop, but he couldn't test it.
- Due to maintainability concerns and lacking testing resources, he didn't merge the patch.