Re: [Dillo-dev]Dillo plans for 2002

[Eduardo M. <ma...@co...>]

I am still here!!! :)

	I had a very  late 2001 and am still having a
very turbulent early 2002 in Real Life(tm)... ranging
from getting through the bureaucracy of getting a
bank to finance an appartment to me, through moving
to the new appartment and more recently having a close
relative with a delicate health problem.

	I am still on forced "vacations" from almost all
my Free Software activities, but I can still help on the
move to cipsga, even if only to put you in touch
with the guys who can actively do it. :)

	I owe a new package of dillo to the familiar=20
distribution to the iPAQ... we are still in 0.6.2 there... :(

Regards,

Eduardo



On Tue, 29 Jan 2002 12:14:09 -0300 (CLST)
Jorge Arellano Cid <jc...@em...> wrote:

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> Hi there!
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>   I've  been  longing  to  write this email almost from the first
> week of this year, but I didn't know where (or how) to start, and
> sort a huge myriad of unrelated things.
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>   This  year  began  with  a  hectic pace for dillo. Although the
> mailing  list has show moderate traffic, my INBOX holds more than
> a hundred emails, and there're a lot of topics pending.
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>   The  only  way  to cope with all of them, would be to multiplex
> myself  (or  clonning ;), but as I'm not able (nor willing) to do
> either,  I'll use the well known "priority list" method to try to
> start  moving  it. Please note that this method has its flaws: as
> not being able to handle every task, the scheduling problems that
> arise  when  new,  very  important,  topics  spring-in  and  "non
> maskarable interrupts", to name a few.
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>   The  good  new  is  that I've munched the 100+ emails into a 30
> points  list,  and  I'll  try  to  start unrolling it. I say try,
> because  is  not  easy  to handle an issue to another person when
> he/she  is  not convinced of doing it. OTOH, it also happens that
> after a lot of discussion, that person convinces me his way!
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>   NOTE:  some  emails  will  be terribly procrastinated, and some
> others will remain unanswered. This is not the way I like it, but
> I  _can't_  answer all of them. This warning should be at the web
> site, but that task has a lower priority than this mail... :(
>   You have been warned.
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>   NOTE2: well thought, and informed emails (or posts), are easier
> to  answer (and strongly encouraged), because I don't have to dig
> for information the poster could have got alone.
>   Let me advice not to post your first thought on any matter, but
> to  inform  yourself,  consider  alternatives,  give  it a second
> analysis, and post back your well reasoned/backed ideas.
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>   NOTE3: There's plenty of information at the web site, and those
> asking  for  things already answered there (or in the docs), will
> not be answered.
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>                           ****************
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>   Let's start with these:
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>      * 0.6.4 release
>      * Move from SourceForge
>      * Simple plugins
>      * cookies
>      * SSL
>      * external viewers/programs/handlers
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>=20
> * 0.6.4 release ****
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>   Almost  ready!  It'll  be mainly a bugfix release (segfaults on
> imagemaps)  with  some  nice  additions (aligning, remembering of
> page-scrolling-position, ...).
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>   Most probably Jan 30.
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> * Move from SourceForge ****
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>   This  had  a  long  thread,  and  when it was about to be done,
> Eduardo  M.  Ma=E7an, vanished !? I made repeated attempts to reach
> him (yes, with intervals), but got no answer.
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>   Does anyone here know how to get in touch with him?
>   Eduardo: Cad=E9 voc=EA?
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> * Simple plugins ****
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>   Some time ago (long), Eric and I were working steadily on this.
> Simple  plugins  could  be  a  _very_  powerful  tool  for dillo,
> provided  careful design and a considerable amount of work is put
> on it.
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>   In  brief,  "simple  plugins" operate very much like a CGI, but
> without  a  web  server,  and  they  also provide a tiny API that
> broadens a bit their scope. They're _NOT_ like Netscape plugins.
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>   The  point  is  they  could handle bookmarks, preferences, FTP,
> downloads and extensibility in a customizable way.
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>   If it's so great why aren't you working on it?
>   Believe me, if I had a twin brother, he'd be working on it!
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>   In  practise,  a  lot of expertise and knowledge is required to
> contribute  here.  Mainly:  CGI/fastCGI,  HTML,  protocol design,
> interprocess comunnication, deep CCC knowledge, and general dillo
> UI knowledge.
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>   Suitable volunteers would be a bless.
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>   The  second  problem is that if I start working on this, all of
> my  other duties get stalled... I plan to move some high priority
> tasks first, and when they're going to restart the plugins.
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>   NOTE: human "context switches" take lots of time.
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>=20
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> * Cookies ****
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>   J=F6rgen  has  just  sent  me  the patch that solves almost every
> known problem for reviewing. Don't expect it on 0.6.4.
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>   Cookies  is  a very sensible topic in what regards to security,
> and privacy. So, appart form the quality/completeness/ review, it
> _must_ be tested against "cookie abuse".
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>   Those  of you using it, please test it thoroughly (a few google
> searches  will  bring  enough  material to get you started.), and
> report back your results.
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>=20
> * SSL ****
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>   This will be focused most probably after cookies.
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>   As  some perspicacious developers had noted, there were several
> tasks  aiming  to  prepare  dillo for SSL (mainly on HTML and URL
> parsing).
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>   It  becomes evident that when dillo is SSL enabled, people will
> start  to do some "sensible" work with it, and reliability starts
> to play a primary role.
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>   Currently, it's very easy to hack-in some SSL support, but when
> you start using it, you don't want a long and important "session"
> to suddenly end in a segfault, or submitting wrong values.
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>   Be careful.
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>   Also  bear  in mind that the first SSL-enabled dillo will set a
> major  milestone, and will generate a lot of feedback. Let's take
> our time and do it right!
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>=20
> * external viewers/programs/handlers ****
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>   I have at least three implementation ideas (with code) for such
> ad-hoc functionality waiting for a review.
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>   Please also note that the "official" idea is to handle all this
> stuff  with "simple-plugins", but considering that SPI has become
> a sort of highly-desirable-vaporware :), it may not be a bad idea
> to choose one of these for the interim.
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>                          ****************
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>    It's  been  more than two excellent years with full dedication
> to  dillo,  and God knows I'd love to keep leading and working it
> to new heights. The only problem is that I'm running out of money
> (as all the development had been at my expense), so now there's a
> dire need for rising funds for dillo project.
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>    It'd  be  great  to  have a way of keeping the main developers
> working  together,  and  boost  this  once-tiny-project  to a new
> organization basis that leverages its development.
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>    There're  lots  of plans, ideas, and a clean code base to work
> with.
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>    I'd  love  to see benefactor enterprises (or governments) that
> aware  of  all the beneffits they can get from dillo as a working
> tool  (fast,  reliable,  secure), commit themselves to sponsor us
> with  any  amount  the  desire.  After all, we don't need lots of
> money  to  keep  it going, but full time dedication from the core
> developers is a must.
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>    Those  of  you  with  any  information that can help make this
> happen,  please  don't  hesitate  to  contact  me. If we succeed,
> there'll be a great dillo for all of us to enjoy!
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>    Sincerely
>    Jorge.-
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> _______________________________________________
> Dillo-dev mailing list
> Dil...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/dillo-dev
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--=20
"If you have an apple and I have  an apple and we  exchange apples then y=
ou=20
 and I will still each have  one apple. But  if you have an idea and I ha=
ve=20
 an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas=
."
                                                        George Bernard Sh=
aw=20