To get started with Launchpad, you need to sign up for an account on
Launchpad (see Figure 41.1). Launchpad is an infrastructure created to
simplify communication, collaboration, and processes within software
development. It was developed and is supported by Canonical, the company
that supports the Ubuntu community, but it is used by many software projects,
including several that are not a part of the Ubuntu community.
FIGURE 41.1 Launchpad is the place to start for development in Ubuntu.
Launchpad is where most Ubuntu development takes place, although some
has moved to Git. It integrates Bazaar, the version control system introduced
earlier, to make keeping track of changes to software code much simpler and
to permit those changes to be reverted when necessary while tracking who is
performing the actions. Launchpad also incorporates Soyuz, which is a
distribution and archive management software that handles automatic package
builds within Launchpad.
For developers using Launchpad, this means that the process has become a bit
simpler. They can concentrate on writing and editing their code and let
Launchpad deal with keeping track of the changes and creating their
packages. This is useful for active developers who write and maintain big
projects that need source code version control and so on. Launchpad also
hosts bug reporting and tracking, mailing lists, software interface translation,
and much more. Most of this is beyond the scope of this chapter but of great
interest to serious developers.