Re: [Demexp-dev] Current status of development

[David MENTRE]

Hello Felix,

2006/2/20, address@hidden <address@hidden>:
> The statuses are stored on the server.

Partially: the server knows about voted questions (in each question)
but has no knowledge of seen questions (except, indirectly, through
RPC calls). Currently, the server has no explicit knowledge of seen
and voted questions.

> When the web client is used, we should
> first decided whether we want to
> 1/update the statuses on the client (and make some kind of synchronization
> during disconnection) or
> 2/update them on the server, on the fly.

You forgot the third option I was thinking at:
3/ store seen and voted question on the web interface (proxy between
the web client and the demexp server)

> If we choose 1/, a file-based solution is probably preferable but I do not
> know if it's even possible (to manipulate a file from the web client).

It should be possible to locally store some information (through XML
files with Javascript). But that makes Javascript mandatory. I did not
thought about that, I'll try to look at it.

> If we chose 2/, both options are possible. I'd still think that a file
> based solution would be preferable. After all, AFAIK, the file would only
> contain the id of the tag or question, and the status. It may be a bit
> to heavy to get into SQL stuff for that.

Yes, the server could keep track of seen and voted question. If this
solution is kept, that should be an option so that people deciding to
use the GTK client would not have personnal information on the server.
In that case, the stored data would be kept in an XML file, with the
other data.

So we have three approaches to consider. Plus and minus points:
 - 1/ makes Javascript mandatory on the client;
 - 3/ makes the architecture quite complicated (information is stored
within the web proxy);
 - 2/ implies that the server should store personal information.
However, 2/ simplifies the code and requirements of the web proxy and
it make synchronization much easier if a Participant wants to use
simultaneously the web proxy and the GTK client[1].

Right now, solution 2/ seems the most seducing to me. However we need
to find a solution for the privacy issues. Maybe a set of RPC to load
and unload statuses, and to activate/deactivate status tracking on the
server?

Best wishes,
d.

[1] think GTK client at home, and web proxy on holidays.