Stack Overflow (website)
Encyclopedia
Stack Overflow is a website
, part of the Stack Exchange Network
, featuring questions and answers on a wide range of topics in computer programming
.
The website features the ability for users to ask and answer questions, and, through membership and active participation, to vote questions and answers up or down and edit questions and answers in a wiki
fashion. Users of Stack Overflow can earn reputation points
and "badges"; for example, a person is awarded 10 reputation points for receiving an "up" vote on an answer given to a question, and can receive badges for their valued contributions, which represents a kind of gamification
of the traditional Q&A site or forum. All user generated content is licensed under a Creative Commons
license.
, Stack Overflow has about 771,000 registered users, and more than 2,000,000 questions. Based on tags
assigned to the questions, the most common topics on the site are C#, Java
, PHP
, JavaScript
, jQuery
, and iPhone
.
and Joel Spolsky
in 2008 as a more open alternative to earlier forums such as Experts Exchange. The name for the website was chosen by voting in April 2008 by readers of Coding Horror, Atwood's popular programming blog. The design of the Stack Overflow logo was also put to a vote. On July 31, 2008, Jeff Atwood sent out invitations encouraging his subscribers to take part in the private beta of the new website, limiting its use to those willing to test out the new software. On September 15, 2008 it was announced the public beta version was in session and that the general public was now able to use it to seek assistance on programming related issues.
On May 3, 2010 it was announced that Stack Overflow had raised $6 million in venture capital from a group of investors led by Union Square Ventures
.
) framework. Unregistered users have access to most of the site's functionality, while users that sign in using the OpenID
service can gain access to more functionality, such as establishing a profile and being able to earn reputation to allow functionality like re-tagging questions or voting to close a question.
s", rather than just programmers or system administrators, entered a "semi-private beta" in July 2009 and was launched publicly on August 18, 2009.
and libraries developed for the API.
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
, part of the Stack Exchange Network
Stack Exchange Network
The Stack Exchange Network is a network of websites featuring questions and answers on a wide range of topics in different fields, owned and operated by Stack Exchange, Inc....
, featuring questions and answers on a wide range of topics in computer programming
Computer programming
Computer programming is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in one or more programming languages. The purpose of programming is to create a program that performs specific operations or exhibits a...
.
The website features the ability for users to ask and answer questions, and, through membership and active participation, to vote questions and answers up or down and edit questions and answers in a wiki
Wiki
A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
fashion. Users of Stack Overflow can earn reputation points
Trust metric
In psychology and sociology, a trust metric is a measurement of the degree to which one social actor trusts another social actor...
and "badges"; for example, a person is awarded 10 reputation points for receiving an "up" vote on an answer given to a question, and can receive badges for their valued contributions, which represents a kind of gamification
Gamification
Gamification is the use of game design techniques and mechanics to solve problems and engage audiences. Typically gamification applies to non-game applications and processes , in order to encourage people to adopt them...
of the traditional Q&A site or forum. All user generated content is licensed under a Creative Commons
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
license.
, Stack Overflow has about 771,000 registered users, and more than 2,000,000 questions. Based on tags
Tag (metadata)
In online computer systems terminology, a tag is a non-hierarchical keyword or term assigned to a piece of information . This kind of metadata helps describe an item and allows it to be found again by browsing or searching...
assigned to the questions, the most common topics on the site are C#, Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
, PHP
PHP
PHP is a general-purpose server-side scripting language originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages. For this purpose, PHP code is embedded into the HTML source document and interpreted by a web server with a PHP processor module, which generates the web page document...
, JavaScript
JavaScript
JavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
, jQuery
JQuery
jQuery is a cross-browser JavaScript library designed to simplify the client-side scripting of HTML. It was released in January 2006 at BarCamp NYC by John Resig...
, and iPhone
IPhone SDK
The iOS SDK is a software development kit developed by Apple Inc. and released in February 2008 to develop native applications for iOS.-History:...
.
History
The website was created by Jeff AtwoodJeff Atwood
Jeff Atwood is a software developer, book author, podcaster and writer of the popular blog Coding Horror. Together with Joel Spolsky, he founded the question-and-answer website network Stack Exchange, which includes Stack Overflow for programmers, Server Fault for system administrators, and Super...
and Joel Spolsky
Joel Spolsky
Avram Joel Spolsky is a software engineer and writer. He is the author of Joel on Software, a blog on software development. He was a Program Manager on the Microsoft Excel team between 1991 and 1994. He later founded Fog Creek Software in 2000 and launched the Joel on Software blog...
in 2008 as a more open alternative to earlier forums such as Experts Exchange. The name for the website was chosen by voting in April 2008 by readers of Coding Horror, Atwood's popular programming blog. The design of the Stack Overflow logo was also put to a vote. On July 31, 2008, Jeff Atwood sent out invitations encouraging his subscribers to take part in the private beta of the new website, limiting its use to those willing to test out the new software. On September 15, 2008 it was announced the public beta version was in session and that the general public was now able to use it to seek assistance on programming related issues.
On May 3, 2010 it was announced that Stack Overflow had raised $6 million in venture capital from a group of investors led by Union Square Ventures
Union Square Ventures
Union Square Ventures is a venture capital firm based in New York City, New York, United States.The firm was founded by Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham in 2004...
.
Technology
Stack Overflow is written in ASP.NET 3.5 using the ASP.NET MVC (Model-View-ControllerModel-view-controller
Model–view–controller is a software architecture, currently considered an architectural pattern used in software engineering. The pattern isolates "domain logic" from the user interface , permitting independent development, testing and maintenance of each .Model View Controller...
) framework. Unregistered users have access to most of the site's functionality, while users that sign in using the OpenID
OpenID
OpenID is an open standard that describes how users can be authenticated in a decentralized manner, eliminating the need for services to provide their own ad hoc systems and allowing users to consolidate their digital identities...
service can gain access to more functionality, such as establishing a profile and being able to earn reputation to allow functionality like re-tagging questions or voting to close a question.
Server Fault
In April 2009, the owners of Stack Overflow began a private beta for Server Fault, a sister site. The site deals exclusively with questions and answers related to the field of system administration.Super User
Super User, a sister site dedicated to questions from all computer "power userPower user
A power user is a user of a personal computer who has the ability to use advanced features of programs which are beyond the abilities of "normal" users, but is not necessarily capable of programming and system administration...
s", rather than just programmers or system administrators, entered a "semi-private beta" in July 2009 and was launched publicly on August 18, 2009.
Meta Stack Overflow
Meta Stack Overflow became the site for questions about the sister sites themselves and various other meta-level discussions. Most support, feature-request and bug report entries were moved from stackoverflow.uservoice.com in July 2009.Area 51
Area 51 is a "New Site Stage Zone". This is intended for anybody to create their own Q&A site on any topic, using similar software.Careers
Careers, located at careers.stackoverflow.com, is a new undertaking by the Stack Overflow team. The goal of the careers site is to create a job-seeking service aimed at companies that are seeking top quality programmers. Careers allows Stack Overflow members to link their Stack Overflow profile with their online CV created on the careers site, allowing employers to browse their contribution history to Stack Overflow. Initially job-seekers had to pay a fee in order to file their resume, i.e. the resume will be searchable by employers, but now it is free for job-seekers.Stack Apps
The Stack Overflow team has recently begun the creation of an API for accessing the data contained on the other sites. Discussion on Stack Apps centers around the API, although users are encouraged to list appsApplication software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
and libraries developed for the API.
User Reputation
Over the course of a user's experience on Stack Overflow they can earn Reputation. Reputation can be earned from asking questions, providing answers, suggesting edits(capped to a maximum amount of 1000 Rep). The more reputation a user obtains the more trusted they are on the site, and the more privileges they are given. The privileges that are earnable are as followed:- trusted user
- protect questions
- access to moderator tools
- approve tag wiki edits
- cast close and reopen votes
- create tag synonyms
- edit questions and answers
- create tags
- create gallery chat rooms
- established user
- retag questions
- view close votes
- reduce ads
- vote down
- create chat rooms
- edit community wiki
- set bounties
- comment everywhere
- talk in chat
- flag posts
- vote up
- create wiki posts
- remove new user restrictions
- participate in meta
- create posts
Criticism
In April, 2009 Stack Exchange implemented a policy of "timed suspension", in order to curtail users who either show "No effort to learn and improve over time" or engage in "Disruptive Behavior" and become a nuisance. Criticism surrounding this new feature has focused on the broad nature of such definitions and claim it is contrary to the open nature of the website. Critics also point to the authoritarian tone and punitive nature set by the new policy and the arbitrary judgement it allows. Any person who is not "a potentially valuable and contributing member of the community" may be suspended for a period of time based on a moderator's judgement. Suspension usually starts with a small time increment, usually 1-7 days. If the user continues to show inappropriate behaviour they could be suspended again with increasing time intervals. The suspension is accompanied by a temporary removal of the user's reputation score and a public announcement on the user's profile page informing the community of the suspension and general reason.See also
- Ask UbuntuAsk UbuntuAsk Ubuntu is a community driven Question and Answer website for the Ubuntu operating system. It is part of the Stack Exchange Network, running the same software as Stack Overflow....
- OSQAOSQAOSQA is an open source question-answer system written in Python. with Django. The data layer relies on MySQL, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server or Sqlite.-External links:*...
- ShapadoShapadoShapado is an open source question-answer system written in Ruby, Mongomapper and MongoDB.-Sites using Shapado:* Debian on ask.debian.net* AutoCAD on autocad.shapado.com...