Question: Individual annotations vs One large annotation (conceptual riddle for the interested)

[Jeroen van Meeuwen (Kolab Systems)]

On 11.10.2011 10:35, Gunnar Wrobel wrote:
> Quoting "Jeroen van Meeuwen (Kolab Systems)" 
> <vanmeeuwen at kolabsys.com>:
>
>> Bernhard Reiter wrote:
>>> Am Sunday, 2. October 2011 19:01:10 schrieb Jeroen van Meeuwen 
>>> (Kolab
>>>
>>> Systems):
>>> > > Do not use annotations for saving configuration.
>>> > > Use configuration Kolab IMAP objects [1] from KEP#9.
>>> >
>>> > XML objects of type configuration do not allow for personal 
>>> configuration
>>> > to be stored in / attached to a folder. They only allow shared
>>> > configuration.
>>>
>>> True, this is a drawback of the object configuration method,
>>> as I have already answered Alec.
>>>
>>> I think it can be worked around in a reasonable way, though:
>>> If it is a folder tree I have admin rights, I could create a 
>>> subfolder
>>> for myself to attach my personal configuration to the folder.
>>> For other uses I can just use a different configuration folder
>>> which is personal to save additional configuration for this folder.
>>> As there will be several places for configuration with most 
>>> applications
>>> anyway, I think this can be handled fine.
>>
>> Creating a sub-folder of a folder for the sole purpose of storing
>> one personal
>> configuration item with configuration for the parent folder is 
>> definitely not
>> the most sustainable approach, as the number of folders would 
>> quickly become
>> x*(y+u) + 1, where x is a number of folders, y is the total number 
>> of users
>> with admin privileges, and u is the number of other users 
>> configuration needs
>> to be stored for - plus the original folder.
>>
>> Also, it's particularly difficult for a client to know what the 
>> canonical
>> username for a target user is, in an attempt to create said folder.
>>
>> Also, the restriction to 'admins' only creates the restriction to
>> only 'admin'
>> users being able to save configuration. For shared/ folders, this 
>> doesn't fly
>> as non-admin users will have to save configuration too.
>>
>> Also, the 'admin' right doesn't imply the right to create a 
>> (sub-)folder. One
>> needs the 'c' right for this, and though the 'a' right implies one 
>> can assign
>> him/herself the 'c' right (temporarily?), the 'a' right does not
>> imply the 'c'
>> right.
>>
>> Also, inherentance of configuration rules and application would be 
>> messed up
>> with client folders giving the directions for parent folders, which 
>> will
>> become very hard to parse as child folders are to be inheriting from 
>> parents,
>> not vice-versa.
>
> The sub-folder approach is certainly not the best approach. But what
> would be the problem of storing private annotations in your own
> configuration folder?
>

I don't think I had classified "storing private annotations on one's 
own configuration folder" in itself as a problem, but there may be a 
misunderstanding.

Kind regards,

Jeroen van Meeuwen

-- 
Senior Engineer, Kolab Systems AG

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