(Sorry if you get two copies - repost from yesterday, I sent it before my
subscription request approval was received and don't know if it made it)
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Devs, All,
First post, long-time open-source/Linux dev. Recently I acquired an Ideapad
(Android 3.1) tablet which is my first Android device. Although the interface
took a bit of getting used to, I was happy to find a familiar filesystem
running underneath. After a day of integrating the tablet into our local
system, there were a few shortcomings that became apparent that I would like
to discuss and get a handle on the state of development.
The shortcomings being the lack of native ability to connect to CalDAV,
CardDAV (or groupdav for both) systems for seamless integration with calendar
and contact (notes, todos, etc..) systems. The primary open-source information
handling system I run into is eGroupWare which offers this functionality.
(see: http://community.egroupware.org/index.php?wikipage=GroupDAV) [Fn 1] On
IOS, the bidirectional communication with calendar, contact, note and todo
information via groupdav was nearly automatic as far back as 4.2.x. I would
like to see this capability in Android.
This bidirectional ability should be provided at the Android OS level as
opposed to at the application level. Calendar and contact management should
also not be limited to google calendar and contact functionality as there are
many professions governed by privacy and confidentiality laws that cannot be
satisfied by net based storage where server location may lay outside the
jurisdictional limits of the U.S. (attorney/client, physician/patient,
HIPAA/medical, etc...) That is why the ability to securely interface with
existing DAV installations is fundamental, and a necessary capability for
Android on mobile devices.
Currently from an application level, CardDAV-Sync free beta
(https://market.android.com/details?id=org.dmfs.carddav.sync) is the only
open-source contact application I could find for android that provides a
partial (read-only unidirectional) solution. It however doesn't seem to
provide a tested mechanism for contact entry on Android and update/sync of the
server backend of only contacts in the CardDav account created on the tablet.
(that is also a critical capability)
On the calendar side, I have found NO open-source calDAV implementation in
any calendar app in the market. There seem to be a few paid apps that
advertise CalDAV capability, but none that I have been able to test.
Additionally, the note/to-do list/info-log capabilities, that are usually
imap based, seem missing in Android 3.1. While this can be reached through a
browser application, the functionality should be native in Android OS. That is
what really adds a "polished" appearance to the mobile OS.
Since all the information for CalDAV, CardDAV (groupdav) and
notes/to-do/info-log is basic web-based communication, it seems that
implementation wouldn't be an insurmountable task.
Dont' get me wrong, I'm not complaining about Android, I think it is
fantastic, I'm simply trying to figure out what the current state of
implementing this functionality is, and what I may be able to do to help?
What say the experts on this stuff?
If needed, and if it will help, I have CalDAV and CardDAV backends I can
make available for testing and don't mind doing so. Just let me know what is
needed and I'll be glad to follow up. Great job with the OS so far!
Footnotes:
[Fn 1] See http://www.egroupware.org/forum#nabble-td3142052 for related
discussion of IOS/egroupware integration configs and development issues solved.
--
David C. Rankin, J.D., P.E.
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