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#1 2009-10-09 13:01:12

colak
Admin
From: Cyprus
Registered: 2004-11-20
Posts: 9,007
Website GitHub Mastodon Twitter

plugin patches

It would be very useful if there was a section/category on textpattern.org/com or the textbook where unofficial corrective patches to orphan plugins could be kept.

There is already a service similar to this on Makks’ textpattern.org.ua with what I understand are makss’ amendments.

From the 3 official sites I would think that the textbook would be the one which could provide a home to these as well as read/write access to the community.

As always, this is just an idea, so it is very much open to discussion.


Yiannis
——————————
NeMe | hblack.art | EMAP | A Sea change | Toolkit of Care
I do my best editing after I click on the submit button.

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#2 2009-10-09 18:18:16

ruud
Developer Emeritus
From: a galaxy far far away
Registered: 2006-06-04
Posts: 5,068
Website

Re: plugin patches

If people patch orphan plugins, can’t they just take over maintenance of those plugins?

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#3 2009-10-09 18:40:30

masa
Member
From: Asturias, Spain
Registered: 2005-11-25
Posts: 1,091

Re: plugin patches

ruud wrote:

If people patch orphan plugins, can’t they just take over maintenance of those plugins?

I think that would be preferable to keep things organised. I wouldn’t want to hunt down patches from elsewhere to make a plugin work.

It would also be good, if authors who take over a plugin, could get access to its listing on textpattern.org

Eric recently fixed ako_write_page_email to work with 4.0.8 and newer, but the link on textpattern.org still points to the broken version on Adrian’s website.

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#4 2009-10-10 05:36:58

colak
Admin
From: Cyprus
Registered: 2004-11-20
Posts: 9,007
Website GitHub Mastodon Twitter

Re: plugin patches

ruud wrote:

If people patch orphan plugins, can’t they just take over maintenance of those plugins?

I wish that was the case but unfortunately most of the times, a patch a is provided but the plugin is not adopted.


Yiannis
——————————
NeMe | hblack.art | EMAP | A Sea change | Toolkit of Care
I do my best editing after I click on the submit button.

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#5 2009-10-10 07:07:13

ruud
Developer Emeritus
From: a galaxy far far away
Registered: 2006-06-04
Posts: 5,068
Website

Re: plugin patches

If people officially take over maintenance of a plugin, they can get access to the listing on TXP.org. They’d just have to ask someone who has proper access on TXP.org. But this does require that the original maintainer officially orphans his/her plugins.

At least one of the patches (I only see 2 patches there) that Makks has listed is for one of Mary’s plugins. She’s still active here (or did I miss something), so he could submit the patch to her. Plugins should also have a topic here on the forum. Patches can be posted there as well (and they are). Adding Textbook to this just makes it harder to find the patches.

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#6 2009-10-10 08:19:18

makss
Plugin Author
From: Ukraine
Registered: 2008-10-21
Posts: 355
Website

Re: plugin patches

It is two different questions:

1. Take over maintenance of a orphan plugin. (It’s a simple question)
2. Collect and store all unofficial patches for all plugins (alive or orphan). Possible unofficial TxP hack need store too.

If people officially take over maintenance of a plugin, they can get access to the listing on TXP.org. They’d just have to ask someone who has proper access on TXP.org. But this does require that the original maintainer officially orphans his/her plugins.

I collected and adapted patches for rss_unlimited_categories (Possible it’s sample as collect patches, but this bad sample. :)
Now I develop it’s plugin.

At least one of the patches (I only see 2 patches there) that Makks has listed is for one of Mary’s plugins. She’s still active here (or did I miss something), so he could submit the patch to her. Plugins should also have a topic here on the forum. Patches can be posted there as well (and they are). Adding Textbook to this just makes it harder to find the patches.

This a second question: Collect and store all unofficial patches for all plugins (alive or orphan). Possible unofficial TxP hack need store too.

Last edited by makss (2009-10-10 08:39:09)


aks_cron : Cron inside Textpattern | aks_article : extended article_custom tag
aks_cache : cache for TxP | aks_dragdrop : Drag&Drop categories (article, link, image, file)

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#7 2009-10-10 10:37:23

ruud
Developer Emeritus
From: a galaxy far far away
Registered: 2006-06-04
Posts: 5,068
Website

Re: plugin patches

The problem with patches for a plugin that’s still supported by it’s author is unless the author adds the patches to the official plugin, it’s very hard to support people that use a modified plugin. That is definitely something to consider when creating an official repository for patches.

My vote would go to one of these options in that order:
  1. ask the original plugin author to include the patch
  2. take over maintenance of orphaned plugin and apply the patch
  3. fork the plugin if the original author doesn’t want to include the patch (please do change the plugin prefix!)
  4. keep the patch private (and don’t complain if your plugin doesn’t work)

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#8 2009-10-10 13:58:37

colak
Admin
From: Cyprus
Registered: 2004-11-20
Posts: 9,007
Website GitHub Mastodon Twitter

Re: plugin patches

ruud, in principle I agree with you. But what happens with those plugins which are not maintained by their original authors or by anybody else but various php gurus submit patches to:

  • maintain functionality as txp evolves
  • fix bugs

Although adoption of orphaned plugins is encouraged, there are still many plugins out there which are functioning just because of the community and not because of one plugin author. It is those community maintained plugins I am referring to.


Yiannis
——————————
NeMe | hblack.art | EMAP | A Sea change | Toolkit of Care
I do my best editing after I click on the submit button.

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#9 2009-10-10 18:30:09

ruud
Developer Emeritus
From: a galaxy far far away
Registered: 2006-06-04
Posts: 5,068
Website

Re: plugin patches

Shouldn’t we then focus more on encouraging people to adopt such plugins. All a plugin maintainer has to do is apply bug fixes and patches that the community has tested and approved. That doesn’t require a lot of programming skills. If you can apply a patch, you can probably maintain a plugin as well. It’s not rocket science, although perhaps a set of guidelines would help (like not FUBAR-ing a plugin).

Keeping a patch repository assumes that the majority of users knows how to apply patches. For a simple plugin that just needs a one line change, that’s probably true, but for larger plugins or larger, more complex changesets, I doubt the average user can apply the patch (and it’s not exactly user friendly).

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#10 2009-10-11 22:19:06

els
Moderator
From: The Netherlands
Registered: 2004-06-06
Posts: 7,458

Re: plugin patches

makss wrote:

Collect and store all unofficial patches for all plugins (alive or orphan).

As to patches for plugins that are still being maintained by their original authors, I agree with what Ruud said in this post.

Re patches for orphaned plugins: I agree with Ruud:

… focus more on encouraging people to adopt such plugins.

makss, what is the reason you don’t officially adopt rss_unlimited_categories and start a new forum thread?

Possible unofficial TxP hack need store too.

I don’t know which ‘hacks’ you’ve got in mind, but storing a hack on an ‘official’ Txp site doesn’t make much sense to me ;)
I also doubt if offering plugins and their patches and fixes from an ‘official’ location (with exception of the forum) is such a good idea. Ruud, to what extent is textpattern.org an ‘official’ site? If it is, I think it has way too much outdated content.

(edited: typos)

Last edited by els (2009-10-11 22:23:07)

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