[TYPO3-ect] Groupware project - enterprise level

[Elmar Hinz]

Hello community,

a MVC library is on it's way. Now it's time to come back to a central theme
of ECT. Some may call it groupware other may call it community tools,
depending on the target groups.

One of the definitions of TYPO3 is to be a web content management system
that is targeted for enterprise level customers. We still can't say the
same for the TYPO3 extensions.

There are a lot of extensions available that belong into the range of
groupware, collaboration or community extensios. They are of different
quality standard and not very well integrated. Most of them directly work
with the underlying SQL-database. Only few support standard protocols and
servers like LDAP, IMAP, NNTP, etc. One of the biggest "engines" on this
field is probably Jeff Segars.

The "Calendar Base" cal is a positive example of an extension that focuses
on a standard protocol iCal and can access data from different sources with
this protocol. The architecture is MVC.

It is time to gather those developers that have the vision of enterprise
level groupware components for TYPO3 that access real groupware servers
instead of (only) the SQL Databse. As examples we can name Kolab,
Open-Xchange, Opengroupware.

http://kolab.org/about-kolab-server.html
http://mirror.open-xchange.org/ox/EN/community/
http://www.opengroupware.org/

They mostly base on IMAP and LDAP servers and support DAV and iCal
protocol. A calendar server that compares with IMAP or LDAP is still not known.

Should we decide for one? Can we support them all?

We should add a possibiltiy to access synchronized news and mailing lists
by an forum like web interface (=> free choice between nntp, smtp, http
access).

We need to discuss ways to reach this.

* Programming it ourselfs?

* Working on common models with other projects (horde? egroupware? ...) and
only adding a TYPO3 view?

* Taking other projects and make a TYPO3 branch (the way of cal)?


Who is interested to join this kind of groupware project?

Who can bring in which knowlage?

Who has contatct to other projects that are of interest?

Who likes to work on the concept of integration?

Who likes to work on special extension components?

Who can set up a project homepage?


Follow ups to typo3.teams.extension-coordination.


Regards

Elmar