Fantastic thread. I could actually see something like Dropbox working as an always up to date thing, but only if there's a way for each tool owner to provide read-only access into some sort of central "hub." So you'd see all the tools together, but each would be managed by one person. And for stability, I'd assume people would make copies of that repo if they're worried about stuff changing.
It might be too complex for it to actually happen, but more along the lines of a package system, I would recommend that we first figure out how to put all these tools into a code repository, not unlike how most studios manage their tools. Something like git would probably be ideal (though I know people sometimes get scared off by the complexity). The great thing about working this way is that if people make improvements to the tools, there's a way to push the improvements back up to the main code repository in a controlled way. It's really not any different from other open source software. Something I do think is missing, though, is a way of managing plugins that fills the gap between workgroups and "loose" scripts. I think Addons were really meant to be this, but apart from installing and uninstalling them, they can be somewhat difficult to manage. It would be great if we had a really slick way to create a workgroup consisting of only our deployed addons, which would let us perform upgrades and such very easily. For example, inside the workgroup, you could have some metadata that lists locations where addons can be pulled from (like how rpm databases work), and would let you search for things and install/uninstall/upgrade them. So there would be two parts -- source checkin/checkout, and package installation/management. Another thought is that it would be wise to separate tools that are instantaneous (like gui scripts, etc) and tools that create dependencies, and which need to be deployed elsewhere once the tool is used. The former always has fewer strings attached, so it's easier to carry it around like a "bag of tricks." On Fri, Jan 18, 2013 at 9:35 PM, Jason S <[email protected]> wrote: > ** > Jason S wrote: > > I there are any conflicts, could it make any permanent changes to which > just disconnecting from the workgroup wouln't resolve? Or can just > connecting to a workgroup possibly execute code? > > By the way, what happens when connecting to a workgoup with things that > are already locally installed? > > In the same vein, what happens when installing an addon with various > extensions which includes things that are already installed? > are those things overwritten? or display popups? > > So many questions sorry :) > > > Found some answers to my many question from the good ol' manual :) > > *Resolving Plug-in Conflicts* > > Plug-in conflicts occur when Softimage finds multiple versions of the same > self-installing plug-in. > > Softimage can resolve a plug-in conflict in either of two ways: > > • Versioning: > Softimage loads the most recent version of the plug-in. > > • Origin Ordering: > Softimage loads the plug-in from the location with the highest precedence. > > By default, Softimage tries to load the most recent version of a > self-installing plug-in. > > For example, if your User location contains version 1.2 of a plug-in, > and a workgroup contains 1.3, then Softimage loads version 1.3. > > If all copies of a plug-in are the same version, then Softimage uses > origin ordering to resolve the conflict. > > You can change how Softimage resolves conflicts by setting the Plug-in > Manager preference named Conflict Resolution. > > > For non-self-installing plug-ins and other customizations (Addons), > Softimage uses origin ordering and loads the first copy of the plug-in > that it finds in the following order: > > 1. Custom locations. > Custom locations are the paths specified by the XSI_PLUGINS environment > variable. > > 2. User location. > Add-ons in the User location are loaded after any other plug-ins found in > the User location (for example, plug-ins in > %XSI_USERHOME%\Application\Plugins are loaded before plug-ins > in%XSI_USERHOME%\Addons). > > 3. Workgroups. > Softimage searches workgroups in the order they are listed in the Plug-in > Manager > (so the first workgroup in the list takes precedence). > > Add-ons in a workgroup are loaded after any other plug-ins found in the > workgroup > (for example, plug-ins in MyWorkgroup\Application\Plugins are loaded > before plug-ins in MyWorkgroup\Addons). > > 4. Factory location. > This is the directory in which Softimage is installed. > > > > >
