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List:       kde-pim
Subject:    Re: [Kde-pim]  [RFC] libkmobile - A Universal Mobile Devices
From:       Cornelius Schumacher <schumacher () kde ! org>
Date:       2003-04-24 9:42:32
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On Wednesday 23 April 2003 07:47, Helge Deller wrote:
> On Monday 21 April 2003 09:26 pm, Holger Freyther wrote:
> > On Monday 21 April 2003 20:09, Helge Deller wrote:
> > > I would like to start a universal "Mobile Devices Connection Kit",
> > > which should make it easy for a lot of programs to access different
> > > mobile devices through a universal and generic interface and enable
> > > them to exchange any type of data through this interface.
> >
> > short I think libkonnector2 + Syncee/SyncEntry does support that all
>
> The main problem with libkonnector2 and it's functionality is, that it
> only is available (and from the API usable) for Kitchensync.
> I see no way, how kaddressbook or kcalendar could use this
> interface at once. On the other side I can see, how easily they can use the
> interface I propose directly.

In fact that's the advantage of libkonnector2. I don't see a need for 
applications accessing a libkmobile directly. It's much better separated if 
KitchenSync is in control of moving data between desktop and devices and the 
applications only have to care about the data itself.

If access to a mobile device can be modeled as file system access, then a 
kioslave is the right solution.

> > but I think all this can be done with libkonnector2 already.
>
> I disagree. It's the right way to go to do syncronisation, but
> not what I intend my proposal for. Please read below.

Please note that import/export is only a special case of synchronisation.

> > Please tell me why you think the current KitchenSync solution is not
> > suitable for usage in inside KDE.
>
> It's definitively usable inside KDE. It's goal is to do clean
> syncronisation, but I'm thinking of an easy way to connect devices, select
> some (a single) data structure (file, contact or calendar entry), drag&drop
> it from konqueror to kaddressbook or kcalendar and import/export it that
> way graphically. This is not about syncronisation, it's about moving
> information.

Which is a special case of synchronisation. In KitchenSync it has to be 
possible to configure how the data is synced, if it's synced two-ways or 
one-way (which would be equivalent to an import/export) and what data has to 
be synced (all or only parts).

> Think about my mobile phone. I come with my mobile phone to your laptop,
> it's automatically detected, we drag 3 different phonebook-entries from it
> into your addressbook and ignore all others. With kitchensync you would
> need to syncronize all entries at once. At the same time I connect my mp3
> player to your laptop and copy 2 of my files to your machine. Directly.
> Then I drag one other song from any of your directories onto my player.
> This is how I would like it to work later on a common interface for all
> types of mobile devices, and this is not what kitchensync is intended for.

For moving files between desktops or devices Konqueror is the right tool. It 
supports things like mp3 players and digital cameras (possibly with the help 
of kioslaves). There is no need to use KitchenSync or anything else for this.

Phonebook entries are a bit different because you don't have filesystem-like 
access to it. Writing kioslaves for this doesn't work well. I think for this 
case it's easier to use KitchenSync and select just the entries you want to 
sync (don't know, if that's possible with the current implementation, but it 
has to be implemented. Kandy can do this).

-- 
Cornelius Schumacher <schumacher@kde.org>

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