[Qgis-developer] Let's simplify the plugin situation

[Gary Sherman]

One of the shortcomings is the lack of documentation for individual plugins. This needs to be addressed since a plugin  with no documentation often is not usable. Some simple plugins can be completely documented in a single line of description, however, I have found others that require more information. I have loaded a number of plugins, activated them and had either no idea how to use or, in some cases, what purpose it served.

I'm not sure how this can be fixed easily since it is up to the individual plugin authors. At a minimum there should be a Help button that opens a dialog with some description or opens a web site in the browser with more information.


-gary

On Dec 28, 2011, at 6:15 AM, Paolo Cavallini wrote:

> Hi all.
> I recently realized that even core QGISsers do not have the plugin situation clear in
> mind. No surprise, as I think we all find it quite complex. I think with a reasonable
> effort we can simplify it, with obvious advantages both for developers and users.
> These are the necessary steps. IMHO:
> - when a plugin is loaded on the repo, a redmine instance should be created
> automatically for bugtracking (if not present in metadata.txt)
> - at the same time, a git instance should be initialized (if a repo is not present in
> metadata.txt)
> - also, an autopackaging script should be activated (see other thread)
> - add on individual plugin pages on http://plugins.qgis.org:
> . more info
> . user comments
> . user rating
> - add a "deprecated" tag on metadata.txt (by the webapp) and modify the installer so
> that deprecated plugins are hidden by default
> - an utility should be added to send plugin bug reports (with python taceback)
> directly from QGIS
> - add a series of guidelines (and possibly some templates) to make plugins more
> homogeneous (e.g. how and where to add an help page; if layers should be loaded after
> an analysis by clicking on a checkbox before the analysis, *or* clicking on OK form a
> popup after it, etc.)
> - when all is ready, and in any case for 2.0, remove old repos from the installer.
> Opinions? If we agree, Faunalia can help in some of these steps.
> All the best.
> -- 
> Paolo Cavallini - Faunalia
> www.faunalia.eu
> Full contact details at www.faunalia.eu/pc
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-gary

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Gary Sherman
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