[Server-devel] EduBlog Revised Project Plan

Greg Smith (gregmsmi) gregmsmi at cisco.com
Fri Jun 6 12:15:13 EDT 2008


Hi Martin,

I appreciate your flexibility. However, a key requirement is to include
the app in a future XS build when customer demand is proven. Nothing
goes on the XS without your OK so let's keep talking until we reach
agreement.

My top concern with requiring Moodle for August delivery is that no one
has Moodle yet. Do you know of any plan to install Moodle in
Ceibal/Uruguay? Of course, no one has EduBlog either. Maybe we can do
the Internet hosted version (AKA Tony's box) with Moodle and declare
Phase 1 success that way. We need a final OS + XS build to install by
mid-July latest.

I want to hear Tarun's evaluation of Moodle integration and code re-use.
The primary motivation for the project is to simplify posting to
blogger.com. If I don't nail that in August we haven't shown
responsiveness to the customer. 

They also want to interface to other blog tools and Moodle is high on
the list. Just not sure it will be closed by August.

My secondary concern is that many programmers know how to build Apache +
Script + DB Web Apps (LAMP if you will). If we can say "LAMP skills is
all you need to build dynamic XS hosted web sites for XO" that's a big
plus. Its tougher if we add "must know, install and configure Moodle" or
worst case "must modify Moodle source". Better if we recommend and doc
sharing resources with Moodle (e.g. DB and auth) but otherwise build
your own web app.

That's my thinking but I'm not a code designer/architect. I'll get out
of the way and let's see what Tarun thinks he needs to meet the defined
requirements.

I still need a simple front end GUI to help me promote the core idea but
I can wait if we're making progress in other areas.

I have to focus on customer side for a while so have at it and let me
know what you think is the best way to satisfy the requirements:
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Blog_Educativo_Plan_del_Proyecto#Requirements_
English

Thanks,

Greg S

-----Original Message-----
From: Martin Langhoff [mailto:martin.langhoff at gmail.com] 
Sent: Friday, June 06, 2008 10:42 AM
To: Greg Smith (gregmsmi)
Cc: server-devel at lists.laptop.org
Subject: Re: [Server-devel] EduBlog Revised Project Plan

Hi Greg!

On Fri, Jun 6, 2008 at 9:05 AM, Greg Smith (gregmsmi)
<gregmsmi at cisco.com> wrote:
> Thanks to Wad and Martin for uncovering the OS problem!

Yes - that's a pretty important thing. And leads into a second thing
that is tricky - if you want Edublog to work on both infrastructures
(Ceibal's school server and the standard XS) we need some coordination.
Otherwise you'll end up with htings that work only on one.

> 1 - Tarun gets the three main GUI pages proto-typed and posted for 
> comment. Focus on Apache + PHP then XML/RPC call from EduBlog to Blog 
> host. Don't worry about the DB right now.

If you go down this path you are turning your back on my
recommendations. I can't really help much, and it will be *much* harder
to get it on the XS.

You are doing some fantastic thinking on the product side of Edublog -
perhaps you could get the programmers discussing the technical aspects
on this list, with me directly? I am more than happy to mentor and help.

> 3 - Greg will focus on getting in technical synch with Ceibal.

We need to sort out the very tricky  technical details of identity
management on XS and the Ceibal school server. We can all discuss it via
email with the Ceibal team, I would not want it to be mediated (in other
words - don't try to mediate on technical matters unless you are the
programmer writing the code! :-) )

> Re-proofing the customer need, lining up beta testers, and looking for

> backup target customers.

Yes yes and yes to all that.

> Here are the 3 key milestones.
...
> Purpose
> - This will prove the concept of taking an Internet tool (blogger.com)

> and making it usable by kids and manageable by teachers. It will also 
> show how to build a "web app" for deployment on  the XS.

And here you have your XS architect telling you: you don't write new web
apps for the XS. To build a "web app" you add take something that
exists, is secure, scalable, solid, maintainable, etc, and you extend it
or tweak it.

Want it *really* easy? Turn this plan into

 - install moodle (trivial!)
 - read through the code of the blog facility
 - add a "forward blog post" feature to moodle's blog (there, you are
ready for early deployments)
 - simplify UI a bit (which we have to do anyway)
 - profit!

the "forward blog post" feature, if well done, can get integrated
upstream. And it's a simple thing - all the needed facilities are in
place, at most we'll need an additional column in a table.

One of the most common rookie programmer errors is to write your own
thing. Easy to get started, impossible to reach the goals. Don't make
this mistake - what we want here is to reach the goal. The "easy start"
is only apparently easy.

In any case, you still want to do it your way, well. I can't stop you,
but my experience is that the end result is very unlikely to meet the
requirements for inclusion on the XS :-/

cheers,



m
--
 martin.langhoff at gmail.com
 martin at laptop.org -- School Server Architect
 - ask interesting questions
 - don't get distracted with shiny stuff - working code first
 - http://wiki.laptop.org/go/User:Martinlanghoff


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