Re: [phpGroupWare-developers] Introduction and possible plans

[Dave Hall]

Hi Shane,

On Fri, 2007-09-07 at 17:14 -0700, Shane Lilge wrote:
> Hello all,
> 
> I'm newb to phpGroupWare (stable branch) with a couple of days of use
> under my belt.  The basics of the app fit what I was looking for and
> run quite nicely on my shared hosting.  
> 
> There are a few features I have in mind for it to be very useful for
> my company.  Much is interoperability with some basic additions.  I
> would like to start making changes right away and I thought it best to
> provide an idea of those changes with the hopes that some may be
> helpful to the project.  I'd like some guidance on the best way to
> work within the community without disrupting it.  I was chatting in
> IRC and skwashd suggests someone could act as a mentor.

I think having some kind of formal mentoring process for new developers
would help everyone involved.  I think it has worked pretty well with
Johan's syncml project.  I have also seen it work well elsewhere.

> 
> Following is a draft of changes I'd like to do.  This is a general
> plan which will change and mature over time as I get to know the
> application and code.  I was informed that InfoLog had some potential
> issues and considering that I'm currently looking at doing changes on
> ToDo and Notes with a new ActionLog module.  Any comments and
> suggestions are welcome. 

At this stage I don't think revriting infolog is necessarily the best
way to go.  I will comment on the rest below.

> phpGroupWare Modifications
> Initial considerations for possible changes / additions / modules
> 
> >>> Mail:
> - Functions to tag or move a specific email to:
>     - A Task - Possibly ToDo, Call, Project 

This is a great idea.  I use evolution a lot, and one of the options it
has is "Convert to ToDo".  Implementing this in phpgw would be
relatively easy.  We already have a hooks system.  Having 2 hooks would
do it, one to be added to the "convert to" list and another to handle
the form submission for the conversion.  Spec'ing this up should be
pretty easy to do.  Maybe others would want to throw in their 0.02EUR
too :)

>     - Information - FAQ, Newsletters, Wiki

I am not sure what you mean by this one.

>     - Archives - In DB?

IMO acrhiving mail into a database is really the job of the gateway.  I
understand this doesn't fit well with shared hosting.  If this was
implemented we could support "POP3 folders"

>     - Ownership/Logging - To an entry in address book (client),
> inventory and phpGW user (salesperson/rep)
> - Mailing lists - can import from address book 

Have you looked at the javascript addressbook in email?  Some
enhancements here should mean that you can achieve this.

> - IMAP libs that work on shared hosts with imap_mod - not a priority

Our email app already does this.  If your shared host doesn't provide
php-imap support then I would look for another host.

>     
> 
> >>> Action Log (Like InfoLog):
> - Logging on incoming/outgoing calls, emails, faxes, meetings 
> - Log action attached to person/organization in address book,
> inventory item, notes, todo, projects, files and phpGW user 
> - Definable reports/sorting/filters on log entries
> - Reports viewable in Action Log and where attached (such as InfoLog
> showing in address book)

I will leave this one for now, as I don't think infolog is quite ready
to be taken out the back and given a couple of rounds between the eyes.

> 
> >>> TO DO
> - Attached/assigned to phpGW user(s) or group, address book entry
> (individual and/or organization), inventory item, notes 
> - Definable reports/sorting/filters - in ToDo and where attached
> - ToDo type - definable list - Call, email, fax, meeting, general
> task, etc.
> - ToDo status - definable list - On hold, active, complete - possibly
> a status for each type 
> 
> 
> >>> Notes
> - Attached to phpGW user, address book entry (individual and/or
> organization), inventory item, project, ToDo
> - Definable reports/sorting/filters - in ToDo and where attached
> - Notes type - definable list - Comment, information, complaint, etc -
> Another way to categorize and sort 

I think notes should be kept pretty simple.  It has one job, to keep
little notes.

> >>> Address Book
> - Person/Organization viewable to specific user group(s)
> - Customized display/report screens (seems like there is the basics
> there but I haven't figured out how to work it)
> - Clearer visual/accessible connection between Organizations and
> Persons
> - Change owner or have a general owner
> - Show creation date and last contact date (would be taken from an
> action most likely)

These should all be relatively straight forward to implement.

> - Type of contact - Definable list - can be added for each category of
> contact - buyer, seller, associate, etc 
> - Industry - Definable list - Another way to categorize contacts
> - Contact status - Definable list - New, Registered, etc
> - Contact status2 - Definable list - Active, Uncertain, Dead, etc
> - Contact rating - Definable list - Good, bad, fair, untrustworthy,
> etc. 
> - Relationship association - definable list (owner, partner,
> subsidiary, manager, etc) assigned/linked to other contact entity

Just about all of this can be done using custom fields.

> >>> Bookmarks
> - Viewable to a specific user group(s)

There is already ACL support.

> - Import from Address Book 
> - Attach to ToDo, notes, projects, etc

There has been discussion about a linking API for sharing data between
apps for a long time.  Property has one which could be moved into the
API.  

> >>> Others - Various Importance
> - Would eventually integrate other media and module types to assign to
> various people/things.  For example a news item/RSS feed attached to
> an organization. 
> - Most likely a marketing campaigns in future - Could tie in with
> mailing lists, calling logs, etc
> - Very likely the same type of changes/additions would be done to
> assign files to various entities
> - Integration with Firefox/Mozilla for at least adding contacts 

I would suggest picking one thing that you are really interested in.
Spec it up we can take it from there.  Most of the stuff above sounds
really good, but it is also a lot of work to implement it all properly.
One step at a time :)

Cheers

Dave
-- 
Dave Hall (aka skwashd)
API Coordinator
phpGroupWare
e address@hidden
w phpgroupware.org
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