[TYPO3-50-general] Wild ideas, long before their time: GUI and dev tools

[Robert Lemke]

Hi Mathias,

Am 22.06.2008 um 12:54 schrieb Mathias Bolt Lesniak, liliO Design:

> Preface: FLOW3 looks like it is going to be great. I am getting the
> same feeling as when I tried out programming for the Mac in Cocoa and
> Objective-C: It's making all of my dreams about programming reality.
> Congrats to the developers, I can't wait to set up my first Typo3 v5
> installation!

I'm very happy to hear that!

> 1) INTERFACE BUILDER FOR TYPO3

> Problem:
> If you are programming for Typo3 today, you can't easily create your
> own user interface for your own extension. You are stuck with the
> limits of the TCA or you must go and make your own interface almost
> entirely from scratch. Some of the things I'm often missing are:
>
>     - Being able to place interface elements freely
>     - Use "advanced" elements like steppers, sliders, calendars and
> drag-and-drop
>     - Ajax interaction (data is saved on the server instantly, but
> not committed to the public version)
>     - Designing my own and expanding/combining interface elements.
>
> A lot of this can be achieved through third party extensions, but it's
> not really what Typo3 is designed for. Thus it only brings you so far.
>
> Solution:
> Why not let Typo3 v5 have an interface builder?

Believe it or not - that's what we have in mind for TYPO3 v5 already.
I started experimenting some months ago with ways of creating a  
configurable
GUI based on FLOW3 (that's what I created the Widget package for).

The current plan is to base the whole arrangement and combination of
widgets on a simple configuration (TypoScript to be honest). And of  
course
this configuration can be created, read and modified by a potential  
interface
builder, why not.

>     - You can drag-and-drop interface elements
>     - Drag-and-drop to assign actions to buttons and data to elements
>     - You can preconfigure formatting, special functions etc.
>     - You can generate new and analyze existing PHP view, model and
> controller class files and functions.
>     - You can save it all as objects or configuration files.
>
> I have tested some concepts in JavaScript, using Ajax, Prototype and
> Scriptaculous, and this seems fully possible.
>
> In the Mac OS X Interface Builder you can create a working database
> application with NO lines of code! That means programming is fast, and
> you have more time to focus on features and usability.

Yes, that's the way to go.

Currently we are busy with the persistence mechanisms but as soon as
that is done I'll get back to the GUI / widget topic. Would you like
to help me with that when I return to that?

> 2) WHY NOT A DESKTOP?
> I noticed that when I imagined what I described above, I was imagining
> some kind of windowed operating system. And why not?

I think we should move more into the direction of a desktop but still  
must
be careful to not try creating an full fledged OS within the browser.  
While
TYPO3 must become easier (and more fluent) to use, we should - in my  
opinion -
make sure that it can't be mixed up with a regular desktop application  
because
it just isn't and it can't fulfill the expectations you have on a real  
desktop
app.

So, we'll see how it will feel like playing around with the new widget  
concept
and then we decide how much of a desktop we want in TYPO3 v5.

Cheers,
robert