kicad-developers team mailing list archive

[Andrew Lutsenko <anlutsenko@xxxxxxxxx>]

HI Eeli,

I've seen that thread earlier and reread it again.

Some of your ideas have merit but I think built-in content manager should:
1. Be at least somewhat coupled to KiCad needs and not be super generic. We
are not building apt-get repository here that has to handle arbitrarily
complex packaging//installing/dependency resolution behavior.
2. Have some sort of central managed repository so that some rules can be
enforced like proper licensing and author attribution, as well as enforcing
open source requirement for plugins.

Good chunk of reasoning for the above comes from security considerations.
For example when I download a library with built-in kicad manager I trust
that no arbitrary non-kicad code will be executed because there is no need
for library to have any code. Generic plugin manager knows nothing about
what files are symbol libraries and where to put them and what are 3d
models/footprints. Kicad plugin manager can automatically suggest to add
libraries to your lib tables.
Enforcing open source requirement for plugins is also important so that any
user can check what are they downloading before they do. And users without
the technical ability to do so will rely on community feedback and/or
rating system to build some degree of trust that code is not malicious.

That's not to say that "side loading" a plugin from your own
manifest/metadata file would not be possible. Of course it should be, even
just for development purposes, but then you are on your own. Being able to
use custom repository should also be possible.

Of course all of the above are just my opinions and will be open for
discussion but it's easier to do in the google doc. I'm happy to capture
alternative options with their pros/cons in the doc as well.

Regards,
Andrew


On Tue, Nov 26, 2019 at 2:25 AM Eeli Kaikkonen <eeli.kaikkonen@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

>
>
> ti 26. marrask. 2019 klo 11.27 Nick Østergaard (oe.nick@xxxxxxxxx)
> kirjoitti:
>
>> I don't know if you use freecad, if you do you probably used the addon
>> manager. It is quite helpful in installing python plugins.
>>
>> It is probably worth reviewing how it works conceptually.
>>
>
> Yes, I know about it. For me it was easier to start from scratch. And I'm
> a bit more ambitious than the FreeCAD plugin manager, although my skills
> don't always follow :)
>
> Here's a forum discussion:
> https://forum.kicad.info/t/one-script-to-rule-them-all/8935. Try to skip
> the unpleasant parts.
>
> I don't remember all the details anymore, but I think I already envisioned
> and maybe partly implemented more generic purpose features than I
> originally intended. Of course bobc was right and the manager should manage
> all kinds of downloadable content. One misunderstanding I would like to
> remove in the very beginning. This is not tied to any one central
> repository. It's just a matter of configuration and implementation details.
> The end user could configure different repositories or single package
> description sources. A "repository" is just one URL where several package
> descriptions can be found. Of course that URL should be configurable,
> chosen from a list etc.
>
> Eeli Kaikkonen
> _______________________________________________
> Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~kicad-developers
> Post to     : kicad-developers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~kicad-developers
> More help   : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
>