Hi, I'm sending this e-mail to the JabRef devel list as well as a couple of people who are distributing plugins for JabRef.
I have some thoughts on how we could make it easier to discover and install important plugins for JabRef. The next JabRef version (2.5) will have a plugin manager that simplifies installation of plugins - basically it lets you install and remove plugins from the GUI instead of users having to manually put them in the right place. The next step could be to add a list of "known" plugins that could be presented to the user for download, and the user could get notified whenever there were upgrades to one of those plugins (if installed). This would be fairly simple to implement, but it would require the plugin distributors to make appropriate preparations on their end. The plugin home page would need to have a specific file (named currentversion or something like that) containing information about the latest version, the release date and the file name of the plugin. JabRef's plugin manager would simply need to read this file in order to find the current version, and determine if an upgrade is available. It would also be possible to download a descriptive HTML page about the plugin. The advantages to such a system should be obvious - instead of relying on Google or links from the JabRef home page, a plugin could be featured in the plugin manager, making it easy for users to find it. Updates would also become easier to distribute. This will of course not be a hindrance to the use of all non-listed plugins, just an improvement for those that are listed. Any opinions on this? Suggestions for what features this mechanism should have? Is this a reasonable distribution model, or would it be better to centralize the plugin repository so all listed plugins are stored in one place? -- Morten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Register Now for Creativity and Technology (CaT), June 3rd, NYC. CaT is a gathering of tech-side developers & brand creativity professionals. Meet the minds behind Google Creative Lab, Visual Complexity, Processing, & iPhoneDevCamp asthey present alongside digital heavyweights like Barbarian Group, R/GA, & Big Spaceship. http://www.creativitycat.com _______________________________________________ Jabref-devel mailing list Jabref-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/jabref-devel
