On Tue, Feb 17, 2009 at 12:18:24PM -0500, Damien Katz wrote:
>
> comments below
>
>
> On Feb 17, 2009, at 6:53 AM, Jan Lehnardt wrote:
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> index.html: A portal page. At the moment, the first thing you see in
>> Futon is
>> the list of databases. I'd like to see (as an replacement or an
>> addition needs
>> to be discussed), a "welcome" page, a portal if you will, that will
>> show the
>> first time user a little more information about where he is and what
>> he can do.
>> Something like?
>>
>> 1.) Validate Your Installation [link to the test suite]
>> (if it fails, look at [link to troubleshooting wiki page]).
>
> I like this idea.
>
>>
>>
>> 2.) Learn CouchDB [link to the docs].
>>
>> 3.) Use CouchDB [link to list of DBs].
>>
>> Just as a general idea, details can vary. The idea is to show the
>> first most
>> likely actions a user wants to take and permanent links to the
>> documentation,
>> user mailing list, issue tracker (with BOLD LETTERS that for general
>> questions,
>> user@ should be used).
>>
>> Thinking of it, the 'validate your installation' step should not show
>> up after
>> it has been run E.g. runtime config could set a new flag:
>>
>> [futon]
>> tests_passed = true
>
> Nah, no need to do that. Validating the install is something people will
> want do at other times, as a sanity check.
>
>>
>>
>> You see, a lot of the details need refinement, I hope to kick this off
>> here.
>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> News Feed. The Futon home page should display an RSS/Atom feed
>> containing
>> latest news items for CouchDB, like announcements of new versions, or
>> security
>> issues and the like. Whether this should be an opt-in or opt-out
>> thing, needs to be
>> decided, I can see reasons for both, but I think users should be able
>> to disable
>> it, again runtime config to the rescue.
>
> I don't like this idea, other software products do this and I've never
> found it useful. I think I learn to block it out and never actually
> notice things I might be interested in. Maybe it's just me.
>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> List of installed apps. With CouchApps shaping up, Futon could show a
>> list of
>> installed applications alongside created databases. The way to detect
>> CouchApps
>> is not yet defined, though there are sensible proposals.
>
> I don't dislike this idea, but this seems more like an end user feature?
> Like a start menu for CouchApps? I think most end users (as opposed to
> devs and admins) should never need to use Futon.
>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> More pluggable architecture. Hey, it might even be easy to add new
>> pages to
>> Futon already, but I'm sure we can im prove that. The idea is that
>> users can
>> write add-ons to Futon that are not of interest for all users but only
>> those who
>> use CouchDB for a specific purpose (see next item). Futon then
>> wouldn't have to
>> include all features for everybody but we'd have a repository of Futon
>> plugins
>> that people can install. The repository of plugins should be a CouchDB
>> database
>> that users can just replicate the plugins they like from.
>
> I like this idea.
>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Cluster management plugin. CouchDB will be deployed in clusters of
>> CouchDB
>> nodes. It'd be really cool if we had a Futon plugin that allows you to
>> do all
>> sorts of neat things with that cluster. Like monitoring how it is
>> behaving or
>> restructuring the cluster at runtime.
>>
>
> Yes.
>
>> --
>>
>> Insert your plugin idea here.
>>
>> --
>>
>>
>> Again, I don't see how feasible all this is, but I've been carrying
>> these ideas
>> in my head for about a year now and I really like to see something to
>> get done
>> about it, even if it just getting shot down for being silly :)
>
>
> In my opinion, Futon should remain an admin and utility client for admin
> and developers. End users really shouldn't be using Futon, applications
> should provide all the UI necessary for users. Not just to make it easier
> for users but so they don't go fiddling with the wrong things.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I agree.
~M
>
> Also, I worry a little that it will expand into some sort of big IDE
> like environment, like a web-based Eclipse. Not that I think that's a
> bad idea, I think it's a really interesting idea. But I think it
> shouldn't be Futon, but rather a separate sub project. The Futon core
> should remain small and focus on making common admin tasks simple. Being
> able to use it from a wide range of browsers (like from a phone) is a big
> benefit to admins.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I agree.
~M
>
> My 2 cents.
>
> -Damien
>
>
>
--
Michael McDaniel
Portland, Oregon, USA
http://autosys.us
http://mmcdaniel.com/erlview
