Qt-embedded-interest Archive, May 2001
datebook sync
Message 1 in thread
What do people do to sync the datebook data to formats like
korganizer? Has there been discussion about using vCalendar
format, or to have some conversion utility? (or is there
something tucked away somewhere I am not aware of?)
Thanks.
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[ signature omitted ]
Message 2 in thread
> What do people do to sync the datebook data to formats like
> korganizer? Has there been discussion about using vCalendar
> format, or to have some conversion utility? (or is there
> something tucked away somewhere I am not aware of?)
well i am very interested in this problem since i lost my palm pilot!
i hacked a funky perl script to convert my palm contacts backup to the
qpe format.
(http://pdos.lcs.mit.edu/~decouto/qpe-jffs2/pilot2ipaq.pl) but the qpe
format is quite opaqe. perhaps it could be xml-ified, more like the
datebook, if i recall.
perhaps it would make sense to emulate the palm pilot format for
compatibility with existing woftware?
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Message 3 in thread
On Monday 21 May 2001 23:40, Luc Dierckx wrote:
> What do people do to sync the datebook data to formats like
> korganizer? Has there been discussion about using vCalendar
> format, or to have some conversion utility? (or is there
> something tucked away somewhere I am not aware of?)
>
> Thanks.
The datebook stores it's info in an XML file, not vCal (kdatebook). Some kind
of sync daemon has yet to be writen for linux on handhelds.
Benjamin Long
(Bipolar on irc.openprojects.net)
Message 4 in thread
On Tue, May 22, 2001, Benjamin F. Long spake thus:
> On Monday 21 May 2001 23:40, Luc Dierckx wrote:
> > What do people do to sync the datebook data to formats like
> > korganizer?
>
> The datebook stores it's info in an XML file, not vCal (kdatebook). Some kind
> of sync daemon has yet to be writen for linux on handhelds.
I see the method of syncing (i.e. some rsync daemon) and the file
format to be two different issues. As long as you can move a file
to and from the handheld, you can have some syncing mechanism, but
if the file formats are different, that doesn't help much.
What is the view of where datebook wants to go? Obviously the
number 1 feature users will want is inter-operability with their
desktop apps.
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[ signature omitted ]
Message 5 in thread
On Tuesday 22 May 2001 13:36, Luc Dierckx wrote:
> I see the method of syncing (i.e. some rsync daemon) and the file
> format to be two different issues. As long as you can move a file
> to and from the handheld, you can have some syncing mechanism, but
> if the file formats are different, that doesn't help much.
>
> What is the view of where datebook wants to go? Obviously the
> number 1 feature users will want is inter-operability with their
> desktop apps.
Personaly, I think that the vCal and vCard formats (or whatever updated
standard they are about to be replaced with) would be the most
interchangeable. Not to mention then being able to beam appointments and
addresses to palm's via IR.
Benjamin Long
Bipolar on irc.openprojects.net
Message 6 in thread
On Wednesday 23 May 2001 3:36am, Luc Dierckx wrote:
> On Tue, May 22, 2001, Benjamin F. Long spake thus:
> > On Monday 21 May 2001 23:40, Luc Dierckx wrote:
> > > What do people do to sync the datebook data to formats like
> > > korganizer?
> >
> > The datebook stores it's info in an XML file, not vCal (kdatebook). Some
> > kind of sync daemon has yet to be writen for linux on handhelds.
>
> I see the method of syncing (i.e. some rsync daemon) and the file
> format to be two different issues. As long as you can move a file
> to and from the handheld, you can have some syncing mechanism, but
> if the file formats are different, that doesn't help much.
Even if the files are the same format, you don't gain much: the syncing task
is three distinct operations:
1. Getting information onto one machine.
2. Converting between different formats.
3. Merging changes from different files.
Currently, QPE has some developing code to do stage 3 of this. For the stage
1, rsync is a good choice (provided the files on the handheld are "stable" -
ie. sets of records aren't randomly reordered around when edited), since it
implements compression and "difference" transfer.
Missing is stage 2. This stage is converting each client format to a
canonical format. The hardest part of that is really coming up with a
canonical format.
I have evaluated the SyncML "standard", but it makes large demands on the
clients. Since we're not likely to convince the authors of Outlook, etc. to
adopt any standard, SyncML doesn't look like a very sensible option. The main
problem with SyncML is that it requires all clients to keep track of all the
changes as a kind of "diff" set. ie. it is lazy and wants the clients to do
all the work.
The current QPE sync code however, makes no demands on the client. It doesn't
use magic identifiers that clients must maintain, and in the spirit of CVS,
"diff", and "patch", it works out the chanegs for itself given just the data
(it doesn't use diff and patch of course, since they are line based, not
record based, and can't deal with problems like one client's set of records
having more fields than another client's).
Any volunteers for writing converters from your favourite format to a
canonical "Mergeable XML" that the QPE sync code can use?
--
[ signature omitted ]
Message 7 in thread
On Wednesday 23 May 2001 3:36am, Luc Dierckx wrote:
> On Tue, May 22, 2001, Benjamin F. Long spake thus:
> > On Monday 21 May 2001 23:40, Luc Dierckx wrote:
> > > What do people do to sync the datebook data to formats like
> > > korganizer?
> >
> > The datebook stores it's info in an XML file, not vCal (kdatebook). Some
> > kind of sync daemon has yet to be writen for linux on handhelds.
>
> I see the method of syncing (i.e. some rsync daemon) and the file
> format to be two different issues. As long as you can move a file
> to and from the handheld, you can have some syncing mechanism, but
> if the file formats are different, that doesn't help much.
Even if the files are the same format, you don't gain much: the syncing task
is three distinct operations:
1. Getting information onto one machine.
2. Converting between different formats.
3. Merging changes from different files.
Currently, QPE has some developing code to do stage 3 of this. For the stage
1, rsync is a good choice (provided the files on the handheld are "stable" -
ie. sets of records aren't randomly reordered around when edited), since it
implements compression and "difference" transfer.
Missing is stage 2. This stage is converting each client format to a
canonical format. The hardest part of that is really coming up with a
canonical format.
I have evaluated the SyncML "standard", but it makes large demands on the
clients. Since we're not likely to convince the authors of Outlook, etc. to
adopt any standard, SyncML doesn't look like a very sensible option. The main
problem with SyncML is that it requires all clients to keep track of all the
changes as a kind of "diff" set. ie. it is lazy and wants the clients to do
all the work.
The current QPE sync code however, makes no demands on the client. It doesn't
use magic identifiers that clients must maintain, and in the spirit of CVS,
"diff", and "patch", it works out the chanegs for itself given just the data
(it doesn't use diff and patch of course, since they are line based, not
record based, and can't deal with problems like one client's set of records
having more fields than another client's).
Any volunteers for writing converters from your favourite format to a
canonical "Mergeable XML" that the QPE sync code can use?
--
[ signature omitted ]
