[Kolab-devel] development questions

[Bernhard Reiter]

Hi Miguel,

Am Dienstag, 16. August 2005 20:33 schrieb Miguel Angelo Rozsas:
> I am considering to use Kolab as a framework to develop new modules that
> have a high degree of integration with the data stored from calendars,
> address book, etc.
>
> I am exploring the idea to use kolab + additional modules to act as a
> customized backoffice application.
>
> Could you provide me with introductory information to handle with this task
> ? What is, in your opinion, the major difficulty I will face on ?

To think within the Kolab design idea: 
No database, but smart clients.

> What is the best developer's profile to work on kolab ? C/C++ or LAMP
> (Linux, Apache, MySQL, P-language)

It depends on which part of Kolab you want to work on.
The KDE client or the server and then which part of the server.

> Which is the main development language for kolab ? 

The KDE Kolab client is written mainly in C++.
The Server glue code is in perl and the web administration interface in php.

> There is support for 
> arbitrary languages other the main one ?

Any language that can implement an imap client is well suited
in the Kolab world. We have done quite a few test scripts in python
to give you an example. 

> Do you know if there is a support for plugable module or whatever ?

Both the KDE client and the server are extensible.
For the server this usually means to run a daemon Kolab client.

> Do you know if there is a template system to render HTML pages, like Smarty
> PHP template engine ?

The web admin uses Smarty and pear in particular, but mostly
only implements an ldap client. There are other parts in php,
like the kolabfilter. It depends on what you want to do, if this is the right 
place for your funcationality.

> Do you know if there is a abstraction layer for data access like PEARDB ?

Yes, like disconnected IMAP, LDAP and the Kolab XML Storage format.

> There is support for internationalization (foreign languages other than
> English in the GUI) ?

Yes, currently we have Dutch, German, English and French in the web admin gui.
The KDE client is available in about 30 languages, with another 30 partly 
supported.

> Is the API fully documented ?

Yes, but see the first answer. This might not be the API to a database
solution you might expect.

> There is a starter kit for lazy developers ;-) ? Serious, I mean a kind of
> tutorial for development in kolab ?

No, not yet.
The best idea is to get a Kolab Server and a Kolab Client and 
start exploring the thing.

Bernhard