David,
> So, what about virtual/variant products like the Giant Widget? What is the
> reason those won't work?
I have literally millions of configurations for a configurable product like PC001. I'd have
millions of variants (though just a single virtual product) to create if I go the variant way.
> BTW, just so you know (and this is my opinion ONLY), but the "I'll contribute
> back" argument to get people to help you out, especially ASAP, is pretty
> weak. This is nothing personal and obviously a trend never has anything to do
> with one person, but I don't think that anyone (in the OFBiz world anyway)
> who has come in, guns blazing, promising to help out and contribute a lot if
> only they can get past these few problems or if only someone can help them
> get started, has actually remained involved with the open source project for
> very long, let alone become regular or significant contributor. Wow, that
> turned out to be a long sentence... I'll have to keep thinking about how to
> express that better.
Time will tell if I'm one of those leeches. :) We (who have been playing in opensource arenas)
have all been hit by those. Sounds like you've been bitten more than twice, and I'm not surprised
if that is so.
Of course the "I'll contribute back" carrot is pretty weak. It's like saying "Gimme your money
first, I promise I'll give you your goods".
But I hope you notice clear distinctions in my behavior apart from leeches. I've already shown my
willingness to "meet the community more than halfway" (aka do my homework). I don't just ask for
help. If nobody has the info I need, I go out to trace through codes and then feedback my research
to the mailing list.
Now that you mention this "leech" issue, I guess I'll just drop certain bad "false humility"
habits. I DO unassumingly help to flesh out certain topics that have long been left undocumented
(check out the many cross-references I post to the mailing list in a bid to consolidate info).
It's not that I don't entirely know what I'm talking about (if I know anything at all, ie). It's
just a habit I have in speaking like I "don't quite know it all". It's a journalistic instinct.
Yup, I'm not from the IT industry originally (which is probably why I need so much help?).
Ultimately, I do want you and the community to know that I'm here to help and contribute. Did I
lose my senses? No. My current boss will tell you I'm an altruistic person (even towards my
boss/clients) with a strong sense fairness. Pragmatically speaking, contributing to the community
helps make future upgrades easier, helps my boss' ERP system keep in step with OFBiz enhancements
and updates.
(And I like communities. I'm a social person. I envision a time when the concept of "work" is
obsolete, where everyone just contributes for exploration and advancement, and nobody is in need
or want.)
As for this thread, I'm serious about having to implement the "rule-based config ID generation"
for Configurable Products. Don't mind telling you, it's a make or break factor. Well, of course,
if OFBiz/OpenTaps had been comprehensively documented to say there's no such feature, my boss
would've broken away from OFBiz/OT sooner. I'd guess more than a few folks had ventured into OFBiz
and been more than a bit miffed with "unfulfilled promises", probably caused by poor documentation
plus unspecified limitations. Especially if the complaint is: "I thought the paid consultants said
it's so feature-strong!". Whatever the case is, I am still STRONGLY CONVINCED that OFBiz is a
solid framework to build just about anything, even if the existing applications don't meet his
requirements (yes, he's listening in. :P).
So, again, I do need suggestions, instructions, guidelines to direct my development of this
feature. Why? Because it's in my utmost interest to have the community track this feature in the
consolidated SVN. I don't wanna create a feature that breaks existing codes.
You could say that I need the community's blessings in my development of this
feature.
Jonathon
