Re: [gDesklets] about category

[Lauri Kainulainen <lauri sokkelo net>]

Bjoern Koch wrote:
>> What would be the best for USERS, would be to have one single file that
>> is installed by moving it to a folder where it can be found. 
> 
> Well, maybe you should take this approach and adjust the website's
> structure accordingly.
> For a (normal) USER it doesn't really matter how things are done (as
> long as they get installed in an easy way). The User doesn't care about
> desklets and controls, he is basically just looking for (working)
> display files.
> So maybe it is a good idea to see a desklet as what it is and basically
> has always been: an archive which contains display files and - if needed
> - controls (or only controls without display files...).
> In this case you would need to offer (or better: focus on) a display
> file browser on the webpage.
> So, when submitting a desklet (archive file) you would have to browse
> through the included display files and controls and fill the database
> with their information. (One category per display file and no worries
> there, too.)
> The User would be searching for e.g. SideCandy-Network and then be
> downloading the SideCandy-Desklet archive (including all the other
> display files in there). Everything he needs (like Controls) would be
> included, running "out of the box".
> I guess this would be a more intuitive approach from the User's point of
> view.

This is basically what the Desklet control is aiming for. Except that it
installs the controls separately from the site taking into account the
needed version numbers.

>> But what would be good for DEVELS (IMHO) is to have a listing of
>> controls, so that they don't need to reinvent the wheel and using
>> bundling might kill the need to submit controls separately.
> 
> Well, any control included in a desklet archive would find its way into
> the database, too. So browsing for controls wouldn't be too hard either.
> 
> But talking about controls... they definitively could use some kind of
> meta-tags and (improved) versioning system, too. The manifest file is a
> move into the right direction but I guess a minimum set of meta tagss
> which has to be filled out/in might be a better solution (btw.: same for
> the display files).

Meta-tags? The controls are just python files, so therefore I think that
using a MANIFEST file is more appropriate. Also it has the advantage of
being much more easier to parse :). And displays have meta-tags. We
should just make them obligatory.

I like your ideas, but making the submission work by just uploading one
file which the webserver then unpacks, parses for display files and
controls, parses those files for meta information, repacks the files (at
least controls and display files) into separate packages and submits
into the site would be quite a lot of code (and bugs :) ).

All in all I think that the approach most normal users will take is to
install gD through their package manager and then install a gD-extra
package that contains a bunch of the best desklets. Then if they are
interested they might be willing to download more. In my view the
desklet control + appropriate display is the thing they will be using
for that purpose and then they will only have to click on the ones they
want to install/activate them.

In my view the site is *mostly* for us - developers and other
contributors. Developers can share controls and we can pick the best
desklets to be included in the "official package".


br,
lauri
-- 
------------------------------
  Lauri Kainulainen
   lauri(at)sokkelo(dot)net
   +358 40722 5101
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