| [rt-pmc] Virgo new web admin console and JavaScript support |
We have developed a new web admin console for Virgo and are having difficulty getting the _javascript_ library we selected, MooTools, through the Eclipse IP process. The alternative is to use JQuery which is being used by some other projects. JQuery also had IP issues and required Eclipse Board approval in order to be used by Eclipse projects. I would like the Eclipse Board to approve Virgo's use of MooTools and I need the RT PMC's support before proceeding further.I would be grateful for feedback from RT PMC members. Firstly, I hope it is easy to agree that Virgo needs _javascript_ support in order to provide a modern UI in its web admin console. JQuery and MooTools are the front-runners in this field. We have previously used dojo, but this has serious limitations and is proving unworkable for the improvements we are now introducing. Secondly, can we agree that Virgo should be allowed to use JQuery as a fall-back position if MooTools does not make it through the Board? Please note that if the Board decides that MooTools is unacceptable we would want to use the latest JQuery 1.7.x which would also require approval by the Board as the latest version they have already approved is 1.6.x. Thirdly and finally, I would like the RT PMC's support to request Board approval for MooTools 1.4.x (all of it, including "core" and "more", to be clear). The rationale for Virgo's use of MooTools is as follows. Virgo has been prototyping a new web admin console with an improved architecture such that it can be used to manage non-web Virgo distributions. The user interface has been radically reworked and improved. The current Virgo web admin console uses dojo for its user interface, which we have found to be pretty inflexible. Also the use of dojo puts us in quite a risky position as we were only able to obtain IP approval for a subset of dojo and changes to the console could well have required us to step into the currently unapproved subset. But inflexibility is what forced us to look for a better alternative. We considered MooTools and JQuery, but decided on MooTools as explained below. JQuery is probably a significant advance on dojo, but suffers from some basic inflexibility compared to MooTools. MooTools provides a lower-level kit of parts which enable high level user interface widgets, such as trees, to be constructed with precisely the characteristics required. With JQuery it looks likely to be a lot harder to customise the supplied high-level constructs to accurately satisfy our requirements. We certainly found customising the high level constructs in dojo very difficult. By comparison, customising MooTools has been very easy. We understand that the IP risk of JQuery is greater than that of MooTools, with no obvious technical benefit and a substantial risk of being unsuitable for the Virgo web admin console's requirements, so from a Virgo project perspective, MooTools seems better on all fronts. Given that both JQuery and MooTools carry some IP risk, having Virgo use MooTools and other projects use JQuery will reduce the overall IP risk to Eclipse.org. To summarise, I would like the RT PMC's thoughts, and (eventually or right now) support in the form of +1's, for: 1. Virgo's use of _javascript_ and therefore JQuery or MooTools. 2. Virgo's use of JQuery 1.7 if MooTools proves to be unacceptable to the Eclipse Board. 3. Virgo's use of MooTools 1.4.x as the preferred technical solution subject to approval by the Eclipse Board. Regards, Glyn |