You should write a book, man! > -----Original Message----- > From: Leif Madsen [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: February 2, 2006 11:25 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Cc: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [on-asterisk] I'd like to start a holy war, please > > On 2/2/06, Michael Cottenden <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > As someone new to *, with limited Linux experience, trying to > > implement in a corporate office, I'll throw in my two cents... > > > > I can pretty much manage the administration of the system > via good old > > conf editing. I've spent time with [EMAIL PROTECTED] and AMP and like AMP, > > but I > > wanted to get my hands dirty and understand exactly what > the heck is > > going on in the dialplan, etc. Having said that, my > implementation is > > going much, much slower than if I used AMP, but I'm > learning so much > > along the way! :) > > > > But, to follow on Lee's point - * needs a simple interface for the > > user to access all the features of the system they should > be able to > > change. And the receptionist needs an app to control > incoming calls, transfer, etc. > > > > From my perspective, the user interface is more critical - if the * > > community wants to see Asterisk adopted in the corporate > PBX market. > > Having a great interface for the administrator to configure > the system > > is just not as important. In my case, managing a couple > hundred users > > - once the system is in and working, the system changes are pretty > > trivial to manage. I don't need a brilliant interface to do > that. (But > > if there was one, I would use > > it!) > > When I started the Asterisk Documentation Project, my > ORIGINAL plan was to develop a GUI for Asterisk. After simply > doing some brainstorming, I decided documentation was a MUCH > better idea because all a GUI does is confiscate the > underlying power of the system. > > OK -- we've all heard that argument before, but I HEAR you. I > know what you mean. HOWEVER -- I don't think you're going to > see a GUI from the main people who develop Asterisk for a > very long time (ever?) because those people know everything > about Asterisk. They have absolutely no use for a GUI, and if > you think they are going to build one for you (us), then > you're probably dreaming :) > > The only GUI you are going to find are the ones created by > the user community (not often), or if you build your own. At > least for the time being. Maybe some time in the future > Digium will see that it is advantageous to devote resources > to writing a GUI for Asterisk, but I have a feeling that will > be FAR into the future. Since I work with Asterisk every day > directly, have even looked at some of the code, work on the > bug tracker and just have generally been using it for a long > time, I can see all the little things that need to be "fixed". > Others can see these too. > > The problem with creating a general purpose GUI is that it > does too much, and not enough of what you want. Also, AMP is > not a good way > (IMHO) to learn Asterisk because the dialplans and > configurations it creates can look very messy. While it may > take longer to get over the learning curve by actually > learning Asterisk, you will be in better shape to manage a > system and quickly fix things if they break; and if its not > quickly, at least you'll have an idea where to start instead > of learning Asterisk only after something breaks on you. > > GUIs are a very personal thing. While AMP is probably great > for someone who simply wants to run a small PBX at home > (you're going to be seeing home PBXs advertised in less than > 12 months on TV on a regular basis I imagine), as soon as you > start to run it in a company, the dynamic of the system > totally changes and you need to be able to get to the guts a > lot easier. > > After saying all that, I can actually envisage what a > standard SOHO PBX GUI would look like and have been planning > on developing something for people who come up to me and want > to purchase a PBX from me, but who can't afford a full custom > PBX, but want all the "basic" features, and would be willing > to pay for "advanced" features. The system would obviously > have to be modular, and you'd have to be able to go in and > add your own custom dialplan logic without upsetting or > confusing the GUI. I can already start to see the complexity > in building such a system, and this is just for small business. > > While I'm not anti-GUI by any means (this is what I do -- > build GUIs for Asterisk to allow me to manage a VSP) -- I'm a > firm believer in building small, task specific systems. If > you don't, you're going to end up trying to build the > impossible. If a GUI is *really* important for a company, > that's probably going to be the one thing they are either > going to have to develop in house, or purchase. Asterisk is > not free. Its a great tool kit, but it still costs you either > in man hours, or in development costs -- just like all good > open-source software should. It keeps people like me employed > and fed :) (and you!). > > -- > Leif Madsen. > http://www.leifmadsen.com > http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/asterisk > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For > additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 267.15.0/248 - Release > Date: 01/02/2006 > >
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