[TYPO3-dev] Import Extension from TER

[Jeff Segars]

Hey Francois,
Thanks for the testing!

>  > This behavior was introduced in changeset 2643, which adds user
>  > function support in the Constants Editor.
> 
> Could you outline the advantages of those user functions? 

In Calendar Base, we have a variety of Typoscript contants for 
specifying pages to save data to and retrieve data from.  Using user 
function support inside the Constant Editor, we can add the standard 
link wizard popup from TCEForms so that a backend user doesn't have to 
figure out the PID on their own.

We also allow the backend users to pick both frontend users and groups 
that are allowed to use the frontend editing features. With user 
function support, we can render a listbox with the actual usernames and 
group names rather than making the backend user enter a comma separated 
list of UIDs.

The last example that comes to mind is choosing what extensions to use 
for locations and organizers within Calendar Base.  We support a variety 
of data sources for this data (tt_address, partner, frontend users, and 
our own internal table).  Adding user function support allows us to only 
display the data sources that are available on the system rather than 
showing all possible data sources and having the user define a bad 
configuration.

> Why is it necessary that the extension be installed first, since the 
> source code is available anyway (as Masi already pointed out).

I wasn't involved in this portion of the code orginally, but I don't 
think there's any technical limitation that says it has to be this way. 
  It's a non-trivial change very late in the release process though, so 
I certainly understand Ingo's hesitation.

 From the viewpoint of a developer implementing a user function, things 
could certainly get more complicated if the extension isn't installed.

> The net result is that the options are not displayed right away after 
> extension installation anymore. I think this is really bad for 
> usability, so I would like to know if the advantages of this new feature 
> really outweigh the usability loss it introduced.

Good question :) Usability is certainly worse for whoever installs the 
extension, but user functions have the potential to greatly improve 
usability for those using the Constant Editor.

I don't know how much the feature will actually be used by developers, 
but it does have a lot of potential benefit when it is used.

Thanks,
jeff