[HC Evolution] evolution brain-dump

["Matt Loper" <matt helixcode com>]

Evolution is on its way! There's a lot of code left to work on, though, and
a lot of design issues yet to consider. These include:

  * Contact Manager stuff
  * Calendar stuff
  * Mailer stuff
  * Documentation
  * MS Exchange Integration

I've listed a little bit about each of the above, below.
Also, if you need the big picture on anything below, you should check out
the techie papers at the following address:
http://www.helixcode.com/tech/

Contact Manager
---------------

        There are a few things that need some work here...

        - The file-based backend needs to be filled out; this shouldn't
        take long. It means working with the file
          "addressbook/backend/pas/pas-backend-file.c" to get it
          implemented.

        - A "query" search function should be added to the
        e-book. This means that you could send an SQL query through
        the Evolution:Book CORBA interface, and get notifications on
        found cards. I think this would mean adding a "query"
        function to Evolution:Book (in addressbook.idl), and adding
        a few lines to the following files:

              e-book.[ch]
              pas-book.[ch]
                pas-backend-file.[ch]

        We'll need helper functions to assist in doing the actual
        SQL query.

      - ecard.c needs some work in implementing the vCard
        specification.

Calendar
--------

        The Calendar's lookin' good! Here are a few of the things that
        could be done without too much trouble...

        - The main notebook widget in Gnomecal needs to be turned into
        a Bonobo component, such that it can be housed in the shell.

        - Since files were copied from gnome-pim/gncal modules to
        evolution, some updates in the gnome-pim/gncal modules
        haven't been brought over to Evolution. Federico will
        eventually get to this, but if someone wants to send
        patches, they will be appreciated.

        - The event editor dialog should be redone and made prettier,
        using Glade.

        - We need a nice editor for categories.

        - The calendar should be able to build properly :-)

        There's a lot in progress going on right now with the
        calendar; Seth and Federico are making the GUI client use the
        CalClient to talk to the PCS (instead of directly manipulating
        the store). Seth is doing some iCalendar work, but could use
        some help if you know iCalendar well. Russell is working on
        timezone support. Damon just committed a bunch of new widgets
        for the calendar. And finally, Eskil is looking into finishing
        support for Pilot syncing; this is basically missing deletion
        support, which Federico thinks he has a solution for.

The Mailer
----------

        The mailer needs a number of things.

      First, in the camel/providers directory, you'll notice that we
      have a number of sources via which mail can be read from. The
      "mbox" provider is the closest to being done, and includes
      derived versions of a number of classes (CamelMboxFolder
      derives from CamelFolder, CamelMboxStore derives from
      CamelStore, etc.). Using this as an example, we'll also need
      both a pop provider (which should only take a day or so) and
      and IMAP provider (which could take closer to a week). We'll
      also need a vFolder provider at some point.

      The folder summary also needs some work; instead of returning
      arrays (which could be really large), it should really return
      an iterator object.

      Some more substantial tasks include work on the composer,
      integration with the contact manager, and possibly folding
      camel into a "personal mail server" -- which would share
      process space with the "personal calendar server" (the PCS)
      and the "personal addressbook server" (the PAS).

Documentation
-------------

        Documenting a system is one of the best ways to learn it, and
      Evolution definitely needs more docs. The gtk-doc framework
      needs to be set up for Evolution; this should be an
      afternoon's work.  Please contact Federico
      (federico helixcode com) if you want to do this.

Microsoft Exchange Integration
------------------------------

        Evolution is intended to eventually interoperate with MS
        Exchange. But we need more info about how our backend designs
        map to the MS Exchange object model and supported
        protocols. Fortunately, a freely-downloadable, Exchange-compatible
      server is available in the form of HP's OpenMail:
      http://www.ice.hp.com/cyc/om/00/
      If you know Exchange pretty well, and you have an idea of how we
      can map our PAS/PCS architecture to Exchange, let your ideas be
      heard!!

I think that about covers it. Again, there's a lot to do, but there's a lot
of talent on this list!

Comments and corrections welcome :)

-Matt