DrDankWD Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 I have a rather large application that has been developed over the past couple years using a single coder. I am looking to introduce another coder into the application to help with some new features, however I do now want to give the coder full access to the all the files of the application. I would like to be able to specify what files and folders a particular developer can manipulate. Anyone know of some options to accomplish this? Mods - Sorry if this is in the wrong forum, feel free to move if it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trq Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 Just lock the directory the files are sitting in so that the user in question cannot access it or its contents. You failed to mention your OS, but it doesn't really matter. Linux, Mac & Windows all have this ability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDankWD Posted May 26, 2009 Author Share Posted May 26, 2009 Thanks for the quick answer! The OS is linux with cpanel/whm. What exactly do you mean by locking the files? Would this be done using chmod or is there a better way. The issue with chmod that worries me is the developer could just upload a little script to chmod all the files back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbo Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 If you're that worried about this developer doing something malicious then perhaps you need to find a new developer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken2k7 Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 Or change the dev permissions so the dev doesn't have access to the directory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDankWD Posted May 26, 2009 Author Share Posted May 26, 2009 If you're that worried about this developer doing something malicious then perhaps you need to find a new developer? Its not this developer in particular I am concerned about, but my intentions are to continue to add more developers to support this application as it continues to grow. It just seems like a smart idea to try to protect the application as best as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbo Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 I'm not suggesting you don't. Make backups, use version control such as Subversion (SVN) and make each developer leverage their own source files only committing changes to the master that have been validated. That protects your source code. Worried that they're going to steal intellectual property? That's what non-disclosure agreements are for (NDA), patents, trademarks, etc. Again, take measures and be smart about it but if you have concerns then you're dealing with the wrong individuals. I don't think this is a problem you want to try and handle through technology b/c you're going to pull your hair out and thwart productivity. Furthermore, your ability to restrict access is further limited by your host b/c it sounds like you're on some sort of a hosting environment that you don't fully control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken2k7 Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 Just create a SVN branch for the other devs and if you don't tell them where to merge to, they can't merge to your production sites. Even if they do, you can roll back and then fire the dev who disobeyed you by merging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel0 Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 That's what non-disclosure agreements are for (NDA), patents, trademarks, etc. Software patents are one of the most moronic ideas ever. You have undoubtedly infringed numerous patents already. Image previews is a valid patent for instance. http://webshop.ffii.org/ - All of those mundane things are still valid patents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbo Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 That's what non-disclosure agreements are for (NDA), patents, trademarks, etc. Software patents are one of the most moronic ideas ever. You have undoubtedly infringed numerous patents already. Image previews is a valid patent for instance. http://webshop.ffii.org/ - All of those mundane things are still valid patents. What's your point? I'm not a fan of software patents either but they do give you grounds to take legal action if you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel0 Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 My point is that suggesting patents as a form of protection is a bad idea because overall they do more bad than good. Maybe not to the patent holder, but to the community in general. All software patents should just be invalidated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbo Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 If someone's plan is to protect their intellectual property (for better or worse...) how else do you suggest they do this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel0 Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Copyright, which is automatic and free. It's fair that you can sue people if they blatantly steal your code and rip you off. Patenting ideas such as progress bars is completely retarded. It's virtually impossible to know if you infringe a software patent, but it's not impossible to know if you copy code someone else wrote and put it in your application. If you write a script it's automatically copyrighted to you and people aren't allowed to copy it unless you give them explicit permission to do so. Copyright is a tool against bad people, but patenting is a tool against honest people. It's a tool to control market share. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbo Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I see your point and I agree with your philosophy. How about IBM trying to patent using regular expressions to validate user input such as social security numbers? Good stuff... prior art out the wazoo. http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/05/26/159249 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel0 Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Right, and that patent application illustrates the stupidity of modern software patents. Moreover, IT is a fast paced industry, so even if you patent something which seems brilliant today, it will quickly become rather mundane before the patent expires 20 years later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDankWD Posted May 27, 2009 Author Share Posted May 27, 2009 Thanks everyone, I appreciate all the input. So it looks like there is no foolproof way to protect myself from one of my devs stealing this application if they so choose. If my only recourse after the fact would be sueing for copyright, it would make sense then to avoid letting any developer have access that is located in a country that doesn't adhere to copyright laws... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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