Frequently Asked Questions

What is the relationship between thee tools?
RED is the base, REDO implements most of RED's editing capabilities for mobile, online, collaborative editing (but leaves the more advanced features out), and RedCloud is a sharing platform where RED users can collaborate in a more structured and less ad hoc way. Thus, the three tools complement each other.
How are the tools integrated
RED and RedCloud are integrated. RED and REDO are currently not integrated. We are lacking a JSON import feature in RED to make that happen.
I want to be part of this project. How can I join?
You should probably talk to one who's already on the project, possibly Harald Störrle. We are particularly looking for people with Eclipse expertise.
Anything else I can do to help?
Sure! Give feedback, spread the word, retweet, ... bring us cookies! :-)

Is RED open source?
Yes, RED is open source under the Apache 2.0 license. That means that all usage, including commercial, is free, and all contributions, from code nippets, error reports, or ideas up to major pieces of code, are implicitly also licensed the same way. As far as using the application is concerned, there are no restrictions: commercial usage is fine.
Why do you not support OS X, Linux, ...?
That has always been the plan. However, we have very limited resources, and some of the issues on those platforms are out of our jurisdiction. so we're settling for one platform first.
Is there a sample project I could use to get to know RED a little better?
Indeed - we just haven't published it yet. Will do as soon as time permits. If you're in a hurry, get in touch with Harald.

Is RedCloud open source?
Not yet. We are working on completing and testing RedCloud at this time, and hope that by late summer 2016, it is stable and complete enough to be published. We would need a hosting provider for it, though, to be really useful.
I don't get it. What do you need RedCloud for?
Imagine a cross between GitHub, a workflow engine, and MS project. RED users work offline with RED, doing whatever they are doing in a distributed fashion with clearly split responsibilities. Every now and then, they are done with a task and submit their work back to the server. This not only creates the respective document for other team members to download and integrate with their own stuff, it also updates the visual work plan accordingly. If you'd use only RED together with SVN, GIT or something like that, you'd be missing the workflow aspect and the visualisation.

Is REDO open source?
Not yet. We are working on completing and testing REDO at this time, and hope that by late spring 2016, it is stable and complete enough to be published. We would need a hosting provider for it, though, to be really useful.
So you have RED and RedCloud, but what do you need RedCloud for?
RED with RedCloud works fine in a highly structured environment, with loosely coupled teams that are largely working independently, and that know what they are doing. Sometimes, however, the situation is much more dynamic, requires tighter integration, and the structure is hindering more than helping. In those cases, REDO is just what you need. It is not intended to replace RED (and it lacks many of the more interesting features), but it complements RED it for some usage scenarios where RED is to heavy-weight.
How are REDO and RED integrated?
RED and REDO are currently not integrated. We are lacking a JSON import feature in RED to make that happen. However, REDO and RedCloud are integrated: there is nothing stopping you from uploading JSON to RedCloud instead of RED's native .red file-format.

Can I have the PPTX instead of the PDF?
Not at this time. We're not yet quite satisfied with the material, and only hand out slides from previous years to give teachers a taster, and tool users some additional information. Releasing the slides as open source will come in due course.
What textbook do you use/recommend?
We don't like the existing textbooks very much, therefore we don't use them. In fact, I'm in the process of producing my own.
If there is so much groupwork, how do you grade students individually?
I award grades partly on the groupwork result, and partly on an individual oral exam.
What kind of questions are you asking in the exam?
I will publish the "standard" exam questions in due course, as soon as I find time for it.
If you publish the questions, will people not just learn the answers by heart?
...but I'm not publishing the answers! Plus I can always come up with new and unexpected questions on the fly to "Turing Test" students.