Re: [Bitpim-devel] Phonebook/Calendar sync w/external programs?

[Steven P. <n9...@n9...>]

On Dec 18, 2003, at 10:27 PM, Roger Binns wrote:
>> I haven't seen any hints of beginnings of
>> code in bitpim to deal with this.
>
> Look harder :-)  There is a module named importexport almost
> 500 lines long and a whole bunch of code in phonebook.py!

  I did find that, sorry for not referencing it. I was looking for 
beginnings of integration with your WAB code into bitpim, which I 
didn't find. That's easy, it's not there. ;-) Given the roadmap for the 
project, it makes sense, I guess I'm just jumping the gun a little bit 
trying to get too much in too quickly. Roll over, Crawl, Walk, Run... 
That's it. :-)

> The intention is for 0.7 to have the ability to import.  (This isn't
> the same thing as synchronization, but is an important first step).

  Yes, I agree. For now, then, I will focus on a convenient way that 
enables users to pull the AddressBook/iCal information into bitpim.

> If anyone actually wants to design synchronization then that would
> be a good idea.  The actual process would have to recognising changes
> in various data sources and applying them to others.  Overall trivial
> big picture but really difficult when you get down to nuts and bolts.
> It is also an absolute prerequisite that it isn't stupid.  I would
> rather not have the feature at all, than have one that magically
> duplicates data.

  Indeed. The MacOS AddressBook and iCal program have (as I suspect do 
most others) UID's attached to the main entries. In the case of the 
address book, for a given name you can have, of course, multiple 
addresses, and bits of contact information. Each address has it's own 
UID, as does each piece of contact information (phone number, email, 
Instant Messenger handle, URL, etc...). Each iCal event also has a UID.

  Obviously, this is a careful line to walk... I see the bits to store 
serial numbers and source in bitpim. It would take careful work, 
though, to deal with entries created on the phone v computer, as well 
as created on one device, modified on the other, etc... And that is 
only assuming one device and one source of each type of data on the 
computer.

  This is where I often tend to go for a certain base level of 
functionality and call it "good enough" for me. That's the difference 
between programming something becuase YOU want it versus trying to meet 
the (real or perceived) needs of users.

> Anyway, let us know what tickles your fancy. #2 (both gui and 
> mechanism)
> is what needs to be completed for the 0.7 release.  Everything else
> can be later.

  I'll ponder the list and soak up the code a bit. Since my Python 
skills are still being formed, I'm leary of doing a whole lot just 
yet... No reason to put a bunch of shoddy code in there until I grok 
the "Pythonic way" to do things. I'm much more comfortable at this 
point with making the Mac version well supported and integrated in it's 
own right. I enjoyed the libusb stuff and packaging up a distribution, 
and my current work on getting data out of the other programs on the 
Mac.

  Thanks again, Roger, for a great program. It's nice to be able to do 
even a little bit to help.

-. ----. -.-- - -.--
Steve Palm - n9...@n9...
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