Re: [Evolution-hackers] Interface Spec for PIM component interoperability

[Srinivasa Ragavan <sragavan novell com>]

On Wed, 2008-08-20 at 14:14 +0200, Holger Berndt wrote:
> Hello Evolution hackers,
> 
> I just subscribed to the list, and browsing the archives this message
> may or may not have an overlap with the recent thread about EDS D-Bus
> interface in "Future of eds bindings".
> 
> I am a supporter of the desktop independant, GTK+ based MUA Claws Mail.
> Its (few) developers are pretty evenly split between between being KDE,
> GNOME, and XFCE users.
> 
> I've thought many times that it would be great to have a
> (maybe freedesktop.org) standard for PIM component access and
> interaction. Ideally, this would allow for all PIM components
> implementing this spec to be interchangable without loosing
> integration, so the user could choose calendar, addressbook, mailer etc
> independantly, and still have a nicely integrated PIM suite. This could
> be achieved by defining a "common language" for popular PIM tasks
> involving multiple components (by "PIM component", I mean MUA,
> calendar, addressbook, notes application etc).

Sure, a valid requirement. Evolution gets used by quite a few KDE users,
I have received feedbacks from such users on the similar lines.

> 
> Let me give a few examples of such tasks:
> What a MUA could request:
> - dear addressbook, whoever you might be, please add the following 
> contact: John Doe <john doe tld org>
> - dear addressbook, please give me a list of all contacts
> - dear addressbook, please open up contact xy for editing. Or just show 
> me your main window.
> - dear calendar, whoever you might be, I just received a meeting 
> invitation via email. Please insert that event into my calendar
> 
> Basically, it would be necessary to define a set of interfaces
> (possibly D-Bus services) along the lines of
>  org.freedesktop.pim.addressbook.storage
>  org.freedesktop.pim.addressbook.ui
>  org.freedesktop.pim.calendar.storage
>  org.freedesktop.pim.calendar.ui
>  org.freedesktop.pim.mua.storage
>  org.freedesktop.pim.mua.ui
> etc, where in the case of GNOME Evolution could provide the *.ui
> interfaces and EDS could provide the *.storage interfaces.
> 

Infact, I'm open to have some defined common interfaces that multiple
apps (Mail, Calendar) can interface with the PIM daemons (EDS, Akonadi,
etc). Infact, starting next week (planning bits atm), I'm gonna work on
moving mail to  e-d-s to make EDS complete. Then defining common
standards/interfaces (across Mail, Contacts Calendars) would help apps
to operate transparently, independent of the desktops. 
 
-Srini.