launchpad-dev team mailing list archive

[Gavin Panella <gavin.panella@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 17 November 2010 15:07, Deryck Hodge <deryck.hodge@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
...
> Also, we have an inconsistent ui and limited, simple ajax controls
> because we don't have a lot of knowledge on the team for this type
> of development and we haven't gotten serious about standardizing how
> we do UI development.

I avoid some of the js/ajax controls in Launchpad because of that. I
almost always use the bugtask edit drop-down form instead of the
status/importance/milestone pickers. If I'm editing more than one
field it's quicker, and I have a perception of greater reliability
from ye olde form.

On Launchpad, I think merge proposals are probably the place where
js/ajax works most predictably and reliably, and I feel comfortable
there.

I suppose my point is twofold:

- Adding js/ajax doesn't necessarily make things better.

- If a js/ajax interaction is jarring in any way (for example, not
  updating all related/dependent parts of a page) then things are
  often worse than without the js/ajax interaction.

> I continue to hear resistance from developers about having to
> develop UI skills.  Despite all the progress we've made on UI in
> Launchpad, there is still a long way to go in terms of people's
> skill in this area and easy of development.

I have gotten a buzz from doing UI stuff with js/ajax in the past,
before becoming a Launchpad developer, but I have grown an aversion to
it since then. It's way too painful, especially compared to the
non-js/ajax way of doing things in Launchpad, which already isn't a
walk in the park.

Put another way, it's probably not just me who likes UI/js/ajax work
in principle, but shys away from it now because the threshold for
feeling productive is much too high.

...
> Perhaps we need a team within lp like the application-based teams,
> which is made up of people who care about UI and good JS
> development, and who are charged with cleaning up the mess we have
> made. :-)

I think this idea has merit, though perhaps the fact that I'm thinking
that is an indicator of quite how difficult it is to work on UI in
Launchpad. YUI+Windmill has made our js/ajax development sufficiently
complex that it needs full-time (or very passionate) developers to
properly engage in it. It is a serious deterrent for those of us who
want to dip in and get something done.

Gavin.