Mark apps where the source is gone in the index and make them obvious to the end user

Currently, the No Source Since: field isn't included with the index. As a user I would like to be warned if an app I'm about to install is very unlikely to receive future updates (as it is the case with the source gone). By default, I'd assume this not to be the case, so I might miss to check the Source Code: link – especially when on a mobile device with a not-so-big screen.

As from a user's view it is sufficient to know that at least there's no code for any future versions, it's sufficient to show the fact of its disappearance. So comparable to the KnownVuln AntiFeature, I'd suggest a new AntiFeature SourceGone to be triggered automatically if the Metadata of an app raised the No Source Since. I consider this an AntiFeature as potential security issues wouldn't be fixed and the app might stop working with a newer Android version due to some incompatibilities, which then wouldn't be fixed either.

Implementing this would include:

  • adding the AntiFeature to the FieldValidator in fdroidserver/metadata.py
  • checking for NoSourceSince and tagging the AntiFeature in fdroidserver/update.py, in def scan_apk (where the KnownVuln is set) or in def process_apk (again a place where KnownVuln is set) – or rather in def translate_per_build_anti_features
  • having the wiki reflecting that (in fdroidserver/update.py, include it with def update_wiki). Already done via NoSourceSince, but if we make this an AntiFeature we might wish to show that here explicitly as well.
  • include the description for that AntiFeature (couldn't find that in fdroidserver)
  • propagate it to fdroidclient and website

If there's consensus on this, I'd volunteer to do my part of the implementation. First bullet point should be easy, guess I could also figure the second (hints on how to access that metadata field and where to do that would be welcome for this). Looks like the third doesn't need modification as it's picking up automatically – though the AntiFeatures section in the Metadata reference would need an update as well. No idea how I could help with the last 2 bullet-points, though.

Reference in fdroiddata: What shall we do with the apps where the source is gone?

Edited by Izzy