Difference between revisions of "Equinox p2 UI Plan"

Revision as of 14:57, 27 April 2009

This page describes the work planned for the next release (3.5) of the p2 UI. This includes improvements for the p2 UI in the Eclipse SDK, as well as issues that have to be addressed for alternate UIs (such as RCP app requirements). Important fixes will be examined for inclusion/backport to 3.4.x maintenance stream.

The overall p2 plan for 3.5 is located at Equinox_p2_Plan

The milestone plans for 3.4 have moved to Equinox p2 UI Eclipse 3.4 Plan

3.5 Milestone Plans

RC1 - May 15, 2009

• Accessibility issues
• Bug fixing

M7 - May 1, 2009 - Development Freeze

• High value polish issues
  • Repo selection polish
    • Autocomplete in repo combo
    • Provide discovery for disabled sites
    • Better client side validation
    • Misc bugs involving missing schemes, leading/trailing slash issues
  • Better explanation when UI filters out content
  • Repo error reporting improvements, allow user to correct bad locations
  • Layout work - remembering user sizes and column widths, etc.
• UI support for late-breaking core features
  • consider additional enhancements in resolve error/explanation space Bug 261928
    • refactor wizard page flow to report errors on page that allows selection modification
  • consider UI implications of install handlers Bug 266061
  • consider UI implications of patches appearing as updates Bug 245299
• Accessibility issues - deferred to RC1
• Bug fixing
• Product configuration examples
  • RCP product with p2 SDK UI
  • RCP product with p2 SDK UI, but no auto updates
  • RCP product updating from "cloud" (user cannot change/modify the repos accessed)
  • Alternate IU visibility (plug-ins instead of features)
  • Silent/automatic updating, user never sees the update UI, it just happens (but may need confirmation, restart dialog, etc.)
  • App that reuses unmodified p2.user.ui feature can still contribute a policy

Past 3.4.x Maintenance Streams

3.4.1

• Improved progress reporting and honoring cancellation requests
• Improved presentation of errors (resizability, formatting)
• Fix confusing restart language
• Annoying /low risk bugs
  • Refresh artifact repos when metadata repos are refreshed

3.4.2

• Enable a site when a user adds a disabled one (workaround until core fixes in 3.5)
• NLS formatting fixes (awaiting NL team verification)

Past 3.5 Milestones

M1 - Aug 8, 2008

• UI/Usability
  • Usability review of general strategy (modality, overall organization, etc.)
    • Walkthrough with Eclipse UIWG
    • Solicit usability and user persona input from product teams
    • Write concrete user personas to guide use cases
  • Bugs
    • Bring 3.4.1 fixes into 3.5 stream

M2 - Sep 19, 2008

• UI/Usability
  • Develop use cases based on user persona input
  • Investigate integration of installed view with about dialog
  • Develop mockups for new workflows and solicit feedback
• Performance/Stability
  • revisit checkbox/filter/deferred fetch strategy Bug 233269 (continuing in M3)
  • investigate resolution in the background Bug 236495 (continuing in the scope of new workflows in M3)

M3 - Oct 31, 2008

• UI/Usability
  • Complete new workflows (installed view may not yet be integrated with about dialog)
  • Begin improved implementation of installed view Bug 224472
    • Allow drill-down in installed view of requirements that are visible as groups
    • Identify any necessary metadata changes to make this simpler/better (see Bug 227675)
• Performance/Stability
  • finalize checkbox/filter/deferred fetch strategy Bug 233269
    • Better/faster filtering without graying out filter box (postponed to M4)
    • Eliminate "duplicate nodes" problem on first repo read
  • resolution in the background to be provided as part of new workflows Bug 236495
  • Investigate repo adding/loading performance issues and identify necessary changes to core Bug 236485

M4 - Dec 12, 2008

• UI/Usability
  • Finish up installed view changes
    • Complete integration of installed view with about dialog
    • Install drill-down info also shown in install/update wizards Bug 250862
    • Investigate the ability to provide optional/related content Bug 247342. (Decision is not to do anything at this time)
  • Investigate better affordances in available view to show already installed, available updates, etc. Bug 216032
    • Complete initial model/collector work needed to distinguish status and improve "already installed" filtering Bug 210583 and Bug 232632
• Performance/Stability
  • finalize checkbox/filter/deferred fetch strategy Bug 233269
    • Better/faster filtering without graying out filter box
• Usability+Performance
  • More selective loading of repos when sites are added Bug 236485
• API
  • Separation of contributions from the rest of the code Bug 221760
  • Ability to reassemble groups (available, installed, history, repo management) into new locations (pref page vs. wizard, etc.)

M5 - Jan 30, 2009 - Major Feature Freeze

• UI/Usability
  • improved error reporting and explanation of problems between the planner and the UI Bug 218055
  • complete integration of p2 installation pages with about dialog (requires refactoring on Platform UI side)
  • misc polish bugs
  • better presentation of repositories
    • Access to sites from all workflows Bug 250316
    • improve presentation of enabled/disabled repositories Bug 218534
  • Implementation for available view affordances Bug 216032
  • Revert UI improvements
    • history view integrated into about dialog Bug 250316, see Mockups
    • background job/progress reporting/UI freeze issues
• API
  • Ability to reassemble groups (available, installed, history, repo management) into new locations (pref page vs. wizard, etc.)

M6 - Mar 12, 2009 - API Freeze

• UI/Usability
  • Better support of disconnected user during install
    • Wizard should open immediately
    • Resolve against only the scoped repos
  • UI changes to support site-qualified category ids and versions
  • complete integration of p2 installation pages with about dialog (The work to be done is in Platform UI, not p2)
  • copy/paste support in various views
  • user naming of repos
  • misc bugs

• API
  • misc. API/code cleanup bugs

Deferred Items

UI/Usability

• Ability to install/uninstall user-named groups of IU's
• Separation of product base vs. "add-ons" Bug 215398
• Fast-path install scenarios Bug 223264
• consider proposed license UI Bug 217944

Major Features

• User's environment is defined explicitly by someone external (administrator)
  • Upgrade or install to a new specification
  • Compare current installation to required one

API

• Core/UI responsibilities
  • should UI be the one coordinating provisioning operations vs. having scheduling rules Bug 218216
  • batched repo events
• Supported API for all UI building blocks
  • Individual wizards, dialogs, commands
  • consider handlers vs. actions for UI pluggability/are some command ID's contracts (so clients can invoke UI by id)
  • Content and label providers