Comments on: Thoughts on Deploying and Maintaining SMW Applications http://yergler.net/blog/2010/01/25/thoughts-on-deploying-and-maintaining-smw-applications/ Because eventually I'll be right. Theoretically. Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:14:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Jon Phillips http://yergler.net/blog/2010/01/25/thoughts-on-deploying-and-maintaining-smw-applications/comment-page-1/#comment-21790 Jon Phillips Sat, 01 May 2010 07:20:56 +0000 http://yergler.net/?p=1353#comment-21790 I'm finally getting around to adding this to my company wiki...so far so good. Thanks for the great writeups :) I’m finally getting around to adding this to my company wiki…so far so good.

Thanks for the great writeups :)

]]> By: Yaron Koren http://yergler.net/blog/2010/01/25/thoughts-on-deploying-and-maintaining-smw-applications/comment-page-1/#comment-17741 Yaron Koren Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:49:55 +0000 http://yergler.net/?p=1353#comment-17741 Alright. Out of curiosity, what's so hard about creating a new package? I've never done it myself, but isn't it just a matter of using Special:Export to make an XML file of all the relevant pages? Alright. Out of curiosity, what’s so hard about creating a new package? I’ve never done it myself, but isn’t it just a matter of using Special:Export to make an XML file of all the relevant pages?

]]> By: Nathan Yergler http://yergler.net/blog/2010/01/25/thoughts-on-deploying-and-maintaining-smw-applications/comment-page-1/#comment-17532 Nathan Yergler Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:25:02 +0000 http://yergler.net/?p=1353#comment-17532 I'm sympathetic to the idea that it's a little early to be thinking about this sort of thing, but I think it's necessary if we want to see Applications/Packages/Pagesets take off. One of the reasons CcTeamspace hasn't been updated is that the process for making a release and updating systems is so incredibly painful. Perhaps one of the reasons we don't see other sets of reusable pages is that people don't want to deal with the release and deployment process. As an example, right now the release available for download still uses the old SMW query syntax. That's something we've fixed on the internal installation, but the process of getting those changes out feels like it's not worth it (especially since there's not an easy way for the few people using the pages to update them). So we live with the embarrassment and reply to support emails when people write us. So I guess my response is that yes, it's early, and yes, there is room for improvement in the existing template/category/form[/filter] system, but that doesn't obviate the role for a deployment system. The two are orthogonal, and I think the development of one would benefit the other. I’m sympathetic to the idea that it’s a little early to be thinking about this sort of thing, but I think it’s necessary if we want to see Applications/Packages/Pagesets take off. One of the reasons CcTeamspace hasn’t been updated is that the process for making a release and updating systems is so incredibly painful. Perhaps one of the reasons we don’t see other sets of reusable pages is that people don’t want to deal with the release and deployment process.

As an example, right now the release available for download still uses the old SMW query syntax. That’s something we’ve fixed on the internal installation, but the process of getting those changes out feels like it’s not worth it (especially since there’s not an easy way for the few people using the pages to update them). So we live with the embarrassment and reply to support emails when people write us.

So I guess my response is that yes, it’s early, and yes, there is room for improvement in the existing template/category/form[/filter] system, but that doesn’t obviate the role for a deployment system. The two are orthogonal, and I think the development of one would benefit the other.

]]> By: Yaron Koren http://yergler.net/blog/2010/01/25/thoughts-on-deploying-and-maintaining-smw-applications/comment-page-1/#comment-17435 Yaron Koren Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:11:49 +0000 http://yergler.net/?p=1353#comment-17435 Perhaps it's too early in the life cycle of SMW to be talking about creating a framework for updating wiki pages? I think it might be so for a few reasons: first, the number of pre-generated sets of wiki pages (my preferred term for that is "packages") is still (unfortunately) just one: ccTeamspace. Second, the enter SMW "ecosystem" is still changing pretty rapidly. ccTeamspace, for instance, which is not that old, relies on one extension that's been obsolete for over a year (Semantic Calendar) and another that's currently unstable (Semantic Tasks). And it's hard to know what will remain and what will change, even a year or two from now. For instance, the current template/category/form/filter approach, though it works well when everything is set correctly, has problems with maintainability: it's hard to keep everything consistent internally, especially for non-experts (this actually ties in with some of the upgrade problems you talked about). It could be that, in a year or two, there'll be a new framework for all this stuff, one that lets you define all the functionality for a "class" in a single page. Who knows? Perhaps it’s too early in the life cycle of SMW to be talking about creating a framework for updating wiki pages? I think it might be so for a few reasons: first, the number of pre-generated sets of wiki pages (my preferred term for that is “packages”) is still (unfortunately) just one: ccTeamspace. Second, the enter SMW “ecosystem” is still changing pretty rapidly. ccTeamspace, for instance, which is not that old, relies on one extension that’s been obsolete for over a year (Semantic Calendar) and another that’s currently unstable (Semantic Tasks). And it’s hard to know what will remain and what will change, even a year or two from now. For instance, the current template/category/form/filter approach, though it works well when everything is set correctly, has problems with maintainability: it’s hard to keep everything consistent internally, especially for non-experts (this actually ties in with some of the upgrade problems you talked about). It could be that, in a year or two, there’ll be a new framework for all this stuff, one that lets you define all the functionality for a “class” in a single page. Who knows?

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