Re: [Phpgroupware-users] Anouncement: eGroupWare fork of phpGroupWare

[Alex Borges]

> We do not plan to break compatibility on purpose, so I think it will be 
> possible to run phpGW apps in eGW. The opposite will be not as easy, as 
> one of our targets is higher usability eg. by employing several 
> java-script classes (like the popup-calendar jsCalendar) which will not 
> be in the phpGW api.

....Because it is illegal to use under copyright law in most contries
(most probably europe too).....

I think yes. Egroupware stuff is beter treated there.

Anyhow. Usability is a MAJOR concern in phpgroupware right now. I would
like users to give us feedback on usability and hard UI guidelines. Most
have, and they are being addressed. 

Phpgroupware has major corporate backing, has been in use by major
corporations of as much as 4000 employees with direct access to the
applications. It is most certaintly the api what makes it powerfull and
the major concern right now is to make it scriptable so it will be even
easyer to do applications in it. It is also bound to be tested and used
as an elearning (with major applications and modifications that we are
making) tool for major universities in Mexico, some go as far as 120,000
students.

Phpgroupware will use javascript where its needed as it is a perfectly
acceptable language for UI side scripting. We only want to make it
compatible amongst all browsers and users as we can.

The important part here is that phpgw is not js unfriendly, we most
welcome javascript as a UI usability tool and we even have a new js api
which has also been 'adopted' by egroupware


As to modules that will be mantained in phpgroupware, we cannot say who
will mantain applications in it because that is for the CT to say, but
I, eald, jarg and medik (newcomer) will be doing a lot of work  in
calendar, email and infolog. Also making this last one a more powerfull
tool to link unstructured data amongst all phpgroupware applications.

Feel free to report bugs as they will be quickly fixed by our
developers, including me.


> Again, please ask these (and more ;-) ) questions on our lists, as I 
> dont want to start a new fight.

I second this.

> 
> Ralf

Finally, i want users to be relaxed in this issue. Noone will purposly
break the api so it is incompatible between both branches. Phpgw will
certaintly not do that, we simply have a roadmap and follow it. And to
be truthfull is not much different at all the egroupware proposition
except that we are protecting the project from legal problems.

This is not, has never been, and will never be a technicall divission.
When the egw crew were here they were allways welcome to code, share and
implement their ideas, it is only when they decided that their clients
were more important than keeping the project protected from legal issues
that this whole issue came to be. I dont critizice their business from
making a risky choice using illegal software, but this is a risk to be
taken by businesses, in internal branches, and not in a public CVS where
other developers also work.

No serious distribution (redhat, debian) will ever take them if the
issue of that badly licenced code is raised by the FSF which most
certaintly HAVE expressed its opinion on the matter and it favors
Phpgroupware's stance.

Egroupware crowd. Please do not reply to this email here, but on your
own list or privatly to me, this is my opinion's not the project's. 

This is the past for phpgroupware, lets not keep trying to damage each
other.

Alex Borges (LEX)
Software Engineer
Step One Group