Re: [libreplanet-discuss] [fossil-users] [OT] Who's interested in project management & collaboration tools? And...

[Miles Fidelman]

Thomas Harding wrote:
> On 07/08/2012 01:54, Miles Fidelman wrote:
> > Hence the project :-)
> >
> > Seriously, this started with some work on distribution of military 
> > operations orders - currently distributed largely as text and 
> > attachments, by email - and asking if we could simplify handling of 
> > follow-up messages by sending HTML+JavaScript messages that could 
> > update themselves by pulling follow-up messages out of the mail 
> > stream and applying changes.
>
> Forces/NATO has ACP127 with an XML version of, and there is stuff to 
> send such ACP127 format accross applications built on SGBD with large 
> databases
> Text/ACP127 attachments mainly distribute that orders in an (almost) 
> human-readable form
> having such a text/ACP127 plus XML/ACP127 as multipart allows to 
> inject the last in any appliance
>
> So, having such an xml+human readable ACP127-like format adapted to 
> Free Software developpement project (through xslt) would do the drill, 
> no matter the transport is (NNTP, SMTP, XMPP, SCP...). Adding 
> multipart to e-g SLRN would be trivial, and you can authenticate too 
> and/or use SSL+key pairs.

That's kind of what I've been thinking - though using common 
microformats where they apply, rather than ACP127.  Makes it easier to 
interoperate with common tools (notably calendars and to-do lists).  I'm 
thinking Atom as a basic encoding, with bindings for transmission over 
multiple protocols.
> A good setup in case of SMTP would be use "submission" port (ISPs 
> genarally blocks 25), thera are enough mailing-list possibilities to 
> propagate :)

Big issue is that there's no easy way to get JavaScript to talk to SMTP 
(or NNTP); easier to get to XMPP via BOSH.  Looking at using a simple 
translating proxy to push stuff out as Atom Publishing Protocol, and 
from there bind to multiple protocols.

> Also remember NNTP is perfect to propagate changes as you have 
> "control" and "pairs" -- chained.

NNTP is my all-time favorite protocol.  Netscape used to sell a 
collaboration server that added some identity services to NNTP and made 
it easier to create private newsgroups - unfortunately all that code 
seems to have disappeared.

HTML+JavaScript, distributed over NNTP, with identity services, crypto, 
and automatic newsgroup creation is sort of the touchstone in the back 
of my head.
> The "text editor" could be wsgi hosted (web) or standalone

editor is going to be embedded in the HTML+JavaScript documents

> > > So, are you thinking of this on laptops or on mobile devices
> > > or both?
> > Both.  Goal is to make everything run in a browser, with distribution 
> > via email, and updates/synchronization via either XMPP or Atom.  
> > Biggest stumbling blocks are saving files locally, particularly on 
> > iOS where there's no direct access to the file system.  Seeing how 
> > much we can do with browser storage. Alternative is to use a local 
> > server, access files via both DAV and the file system (again, an 
> > issue on iOS).
> who cares on iOS here ? a wsgi web host is enough for that piece of shit.

well... purpose is to support large scale collaboration - and an awful 
lot of folks carry iPhones and iPads

a particular audience for this is crisis response and other large scale 
applications where connectivity can be sketchy - so the intent is to 
support largely disconnected operations - all storage and intelligence 
at the endpoints, embedded in the "smart documents" - with servers only 
providing connectivity and in-transit storage (plus backup, directory 
services, and such - though for "purity" goal is ultimately to push this 
into distributed hash table mechanisms)

Miles






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In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice.
In practice, there is.   .... Yogi Berra