Forum OpenACS Development: Re: OpenACS: the core and the packages/plugins

7: Re: OpenACS: the core and the packages/plugins (response to 1)

Posted by Jon Griffin on 01/04/21 03:55 PM

I have a contacts package that I wrote long ago for a client. It should be fairly international, but it is from 2000 or so right after I worked for ArsDigita. If you are interested in looking at it, let me know. You will need to update it, but it should be fairly easy.

I also wrote the Reference Data packages originally and believe that I used them on contacts-lite (what I called the package).

I don't use OACS at all anymore except for one client who is moving away after 21 years to another system.

8: Re: OpenACS: the core and the packages/plugins (response to 7)

Posted by Carl Lemp on 01/04/21 08:35 PM

Hi Jon,
Thank you for offering the package. I will start with the existing Contacts package and see how that goes. If I run into too many issues, then I may give up on it and fall back to contacts-lite. I don't think I need all the flexibility of AMS that underlies Contacts but I don't know that for sure yet so I can invest a little time and see if it provides any benefit for my application.

Thanks again,
Carl

10: Re: OpenACS: the core and the packages/plugins (response to 7)

Posted by Gustaf Neumann on 01/05/21 10:03 AM

Hi Jon!

Nice to hear from you! Do you have your package somewhere on a public repository? If not, please send it to me.... it would be nice to have your package on the list of OpenACS packages in the public repository.

We have currently just 100 packages maintained. Would you have the resources to maintain your package further? But even if not, having this package would be a useful resource.

all the best
-g

19: Re: OpenACS: the core and the packages/plugins (response to 10)

Posted by Jon Griffin on 01/05/21 04:27 PM

Hi Gustaf,

I can upload, but let me look through it first to make sure nothing proprietary is in it. I'll also write some docs up.

I don't have any current OACS sites, so maintaining would be difficult. I guess I could spin up a site for testing, but hopefully not.

17: Re: OpenACS: the core and the packages/plugins (response to 10)

Posted by Carl Lemp on 01/05/21 05:36 PM

Hi Jon,
If the offer to provide the contacts-lite package is still open I would like to evaluate it for my project. It did not take me long to figure out that using the Contacts package will be a burden I can't afford.

I'll document the issues I found with the Contacts package here for anyone else who might be evaluating it in the future:

Contacts Package Issues in 2021
Changes were required just to install it and those changes were made by others. But, after it was installed, I found:

1. It pulls in an additional 5 packages that are not on the 5.10 branch (AMS, Postal-Address, Telecom-Number, Organization, and Mail-Tracking). As Gustaf pointed out, Contacts and those packages will need to be maintained by the project using them. In my case 49 out of the 50 other packages I think I need are all on the 5.10 branch already so adding 6 unmaintained packages would be a burden.

2. There are a large number of configurable parameters and some of them point to folders and portlet files used to build the UI. As installed, the referenced folders do not exist so the data is not always displayed. The help text for the parameters is not helpful in determining what folders these parameters should reference now.

3. Going through the screens to figure it out, some screens of data can't be submitted because of missing data. Attempting to add the missing data through other screens can throw errors. These may be due to item 2 above but maybe not.

4. Adding a person through AMS breaks the Members package.

5. Everything is based on flexible lists of parameters in AMS but understanding the intent of the lists is not easy since language translation keys are missing so the names of the list are somewhat obfuscated.

27: Re: OpenACS: the core and the packages/plugins (response to 10)

Posted by Jon Griffin on 01/08/21 10:34 PM

I appear to have no access to CVS. The error is no smtp configured.

I can send these to someone by email if you want. I also found a few more packages that may be of interest. Meeting Minutes and module development (MDEV, I think it was part of what I did right after ArsDigita and when I was working at LAUSD).

There is also a mini-contacts which I have but doesn't seem to be something I used.

I don't have an easy way to setup a server since my servers all run apache and I don't want to add a whole other dev stack. Maybe I'll setup a local dev on my windows box, but again, I really don't use OACS anymore for any projects.

32: Re: OpenACS: the core and the packages/plugins (response to 27)

Posted by Jon Griffin on 01/14/21 11:28 PM

I'm guessing no one is interested in these. I will hold on the the tarballs for a bit, but no guarantees of when I may just do a cleanup.

33: Re: OpenACS: the core and the packages/plugins (response to 32)

Posted by Carl Lemp on 01/15/21 12:32 AM

Hi Jon,
I'm definitely interested in at least the mini-contacts package since I'm trying to put together a prototype and need to manage some contact information. I did not want to answer for OpenACS since I am not associated with the OpenACS project and have no way to add it to their public repository even if I work with Maurizio to bring it up to date.
I will however, gladly use it as a starting point if you can send it or upload to a shared location somewhere. Thank you.

35: Re: OpenACS: the core and the packages/plugins (response to 32)

Posted by Gustaf Neumann on 01/15/21 10:47 AM

Jon, i just missed your posting due to the stupid tree display. As mentioned above, please send the tar ball to me via mail, or put it one some public server where i can access it.

Many thanks!