The rules of the FreeIRT Project

Community - Programers - Quality labels - Programs - Committy

Note

The "Program" are the generic name of a program: this concept concern the general idea of what can do the different versions of this program. A "Version" is a specific revision of this program, who improve or correct the preceeding version, and who can be replaced by a new version.

About the FreeIRT Community

  1. This association wellcomes all members with an interest in IRT. These members can be "programers" or "users". The members are the individuals who subscribe to the FreeIRT mailing list.
  2. The programers are members who propose programs and versions to the FreeIRT community. If these versions verify some rules (see above), they are integrated in the FreeIRT database.

About the Programers

  1. Members are free to modify programs and improve them in new versions, in selecting parts of them, in combining several small programs in a big one, or in using several programs in their own programs.
  2. The authors of one or several version(s) are free to take out them out of this project when they wish.

About the FreeIRT quality labels

  1. The FreeIRT give three quality labels to the accepted versions:
    • None quality label (or level 0) who correspond to the accepted versions who verify only the rules defined in 10
    • The quality label of level I who correspond to versions who verify global rules
    • The quality label of level II who can be obtained only if the version verify more specific rules and after a validation by at least two independent members
  2. The label correspond only to a given version of the program: if a new version is written, this one can receive a new label, but this one is not automatically given.
  3. Members can report difficulties in the using of a versions, or errors or imprecisions about a program on the mailing list of the FreeIRT project, or directly on the Website.
  4. If an error or a dysfunctioning is reported about a version by a user on the FreeIRT mailing list, none new version of this program can be stored in the FreeIRT database unless this error will be corrected. As long as the error is not corrected by a new version, user are informed of the reported error on all the page where the version can be downloadable.

About the programs

  1. The versions can be dowloaded directly from the FreeIRT website or the authors can indicate an URL where the versions can be downloaded.
  2. To be accepted in the FreeIRT database, the proposed versions must contain as comments a head (if not possible, all these informations must be indicated in the help file) who mention :
    • The number of the version (numbered by one, two or more digits [version 2, or version 2.1 for example])
    • The author(s) of the version
    • The date of the version
    • The historic (all the previous versions with their authors and dates) (if possible)
    • The email address of the main author
    • The names of the programs used in this program and the URL when they can be download
    • The URL of the FreeIRT project (if possible)
  3. To obtain a quality label of level I for a version, specific rules for the programmation must be used :
    • General rules:
      • No error about this program must be noted on the FreeIRT mailing list
      • A "noprint" or a "nodisplay" option is wellcome
      • The proposed version must be documented by a manual in a free format (pdf, ps, txt or html).
      • References are welcome.
    • For SAS macro-programs:
      • For the temporary datasets, the prefix _tmp must be used and all these dataset must be deleted at the end of the file
      • The output can be printed in the output and/or saved in one or several datasets with a prefix choose by the user (option of the macro-program)
      • A short description of the macro-program must be appear after the head of the file, with the main options of the version
    • For Stata programs (modules):
      • A hlp file is needed
      • Only temporary files, scalars and matrix are authorized in the versions
      • Return ou eruturn options are welcome
  4. To obtain a quality label of level II for a version, more specific rules for the programmation must be used :
    • General rules:
      • All the rules for the quality label of level I must be respected
      • A "noprint" or a "nodisplay" option
      • A manual in LaTeX who respect the outlines defined by the FreeIRT Committee (the framework of a such file can be downloaded on this web site)
      • Complete references
      • No problems with the missing values
      • Detection of bad "validity" of the data
      • Explicit errors messages
      • Correct outputs who can be used in a following procedure
      • Possibility to use list of variables as item1-item10
      • Possibility to automatically save the graphical representations in a graphical file (pdf or eps)
    • For Stata programs (modules):
      • Return ou eruturn outputs.
      • An "if" option

About the FreeIRT Committee

  1. The FreeIRT project is managed by the FreeIRT committee composed of the foundators of the project, and of all the co-opted members by this committee. The list of the members of this commitee is available on the web site of the FreeIRT project.
  2. These rules can be modify by the FreeIRT committee.