[TYPO3-ect] Ideas to clean up TER

[Michael]

On 29/01/12 17:26, Jigal van Hemert wrote:

> [...] the idea was born to clean up TER a bit and remove *) old
> extensions.

Outdated and not-longer-maintained extensions are a pain and it would be
fantastic to exclude them at various spots (e.g. online search in TER,
Extension Manager, maybe more). So, I definitely support this
suggestion! :-)

I also like the idea to tie extensions to TYPO3 versions and "encourage"
extension developers to test their extensions with (newer) TYPO3
releases (and confirm this by updating the value in em_conf.php).

However, some issues/questions come to my mind with the new concept. It
would be fantastic if you could clarify them :-)

> 1. the version constraints in em_conf.php will become mandatory (and
> cannot be higher than the current development version (a.k.a. "master"))

So, this would be (as an example and simplified):

$EM_CONF[$_EXTKEY] = array(
  'constraints' => array(
    'depends' => array(
      'typo3' => '4.5.0-4.6.999'
    )
  )
);

Right?

> 2. once a TYPO3 core version becomes end of life the extensions which
> have that version as the upper limit will be removed from TER

I am not 100% sure if *removing* these extensions is a perfect solution
to be honest: I came across situations in the past, where I needed an
old version of an extension... for specific clients' needs, for
analyzing, for my own learning purposes, etc. - even if the extension is
not maintained any more.

I typical example would be that someone points to an extension/version
as a reply to a question in a forum or mailing list (e.g. "how can I
develop feature xyz? Answer: have a look at extension ABC, it does
exactly this.").

Removing extensions from TER pro-actively (and automatically) would have
an impact on the "open source" and "inspire people to share" ideology in
my opinion.

So, instead of removing code from TER I would like to suggest to *mark*
these extensions (in fact the appropriate versions) only and to exclude
them by default (e.g. in the Extension Manager or the TER search).
Similar to the "hide shy extensions" setting, but with the option to
include them if desired.

> 4. the procedure to transfer extensions will be slightly adapted for
> extensions which were removed because of "old age".

And this means what exactly? Can everyone take over a "removed" (or "old
age") extension without the consent of the original owner?

In addition: will the extkey be available again for registration if an
extension becomes "old"?

> - do we need a new 'status' to reflect the fact that an extension is
> removed because it's considered old (instead of insecure)?

With my suggestion above ("mark as unmaintained" instead of removal):
yes - a new status would address the "marking".

> - should authors be notified before a core version becomes EOL that
> their extension will be removed?

It would be a "nice-to-have" feature to inform extension developers in
two stages:

(1) when a new stable TYPO3 version has been released that is *not*
listed in the em_conf.php array (this would motivate extension
developers to test their extension with the new release and update the
code if required)

(2) when the last TYPO3 version listed in em_conf.php reaches EOL

> What do you think?

Another question would be: does an extension get a new version every
time a developer updates the setting in em_conf.php? Even if there is no
code change at all?

> *) Removed as in: not available for download in TER.

As described above... I do not have a problem if the EM would not list
"unmaintained" extensions and would not allow to download them from TER.
But I would suggest to keep/archive the code in the TER (still accessible).

Just my two cents :-)

Cheers
Michael