Porting the webapp to firefox os

[sushant-hiray]

Hey, I'm quite fond of your markdown editor. I use the chrome app frequently. I was particularly interested in porting this to firefox os. This will primarily involve making the webapp responsive and then adding some more features. I would be happy if you wish to provide some more help towards the project. Let me know if you have any issues with this.

[philippe-git]

Hey, I'm glad you like the app, and like the idea of porting if to Firefox OS a lot.

I assume you'd like us to work closely on this, rather than fork one of the apps as a separate project and occasionally talk about it together. If this premise is wrong, please tell me. I won't mind, although I'm interested in that project.

From the top of my head, there are several things we'd have to take care of to make developing this additional app a joy:

• Decoupling the apps:

  At the moment, both apps (the web and Chrome apps) contain a /editor folder, which contains all the files and logic the two apps share together. There's no real abstraction though: most methods and assets are shared, but they're tightly coupled with the remaining code from these two different apps.

  In order to work together, we'll either have to communicate extensively to ensure we're going in the same direction, or progressively decouple the apps by adding an abstraction layer where the need arises. This will depend on the nature (and number) of the features you want to add: feel free to share those you've already shortlisted so that we can start talking about it.

• Sharing the Git workflow:

  As the weird-looking histories of the two current repos suggest, I've been toying with different workflows. As specified in the apps' READMEs, I've started by using subtrees to keep the /editor folder in sync between the two apps.

  I've since stopped using subtrees due to the fact that the MME-shared repo (the repo containing the shared /editor folder) couldn't be used on its own (due to that tight coupling), and was thus useless. Since then, I've been separating commits to files in- and outside the /editor folder, and cherry-picking commits to files inside of it to replicate the changes in the other app's repo. I'll send you a more thorough explanation of that workflow later on.

• Branding the Firefox OS app:

  Since we're going to work together on this (at least that's what I hope, and what's needed for the Firefox OS app to benefit from the editor's future evolutions), an important thing to decide is whether the Firefox OS app should be under the same umbrella as the other two apps, which I've been mostly developing on my own thus far.

  The consequences of explicitly stating the app is part of the Minimalist Markdown Editor project would be:

  • Cross-linking between all the apps, making you a major contributor to a larger project
  • Making existing and future users' lives easier since the same app will be available on even more devices and environments

  The downside to this (I guess, from your perspective) would be that we'd need to talk through every feature you'll want to add to the Firefox OS app, since it'll be implemented in other apps as well. Since I've strived to keep these apps as simple as possible so far, be warned that I'm pretty conservative when deciding whether an additional feature should be added to the apps :-)

  The question of the additional repo's ownership will also have to be answered; I wouldn't mind not being the owner as long as I'm a collaborator.

Regarding the "making the web app responsive" bit, it's something I've had on my todo list for quite some time now, so it seems now would be a good time to get to it. Since both the other apps will also benefit from it, and I already know how all the CSS works together, it might be easier if I started working on that first. That way, when you fork the repo the app will already be responsive. If you already have some ideas regarding that responsive version, please share them with me – they're very welcome. Also, if you really wanted to be the one working on that evolution, please share what you had in mind; we could work on it together, although I'm not sure that'd be the most efficient thing to do considering the not-so-large amount of work involved.

That's quite a large piece of text, so here's what I think we need to agree on before going any further:

• Do you want to work closely together, which would mean adding a new app to the Minimalist Markdown Editor project and being constrained by that "minimalism"? Or do you want to fork the project, be free to add whatever feature you'd like, and keep in touch?
• Do you want me to create the new repo, or do you want to do it yourself?
• Would you mind me working on the responsiveness of the app (and discuss our ideas for this in the process)?
• What development rhythm would you be comfortable with? I don't have much free time, but am already dedicating a couple of hours each weekend to this editor. I hope that's not too slow of a rhythm to work together.

[sushant-hiray]

@pioul Thanks for such a prompt reply. Here are my takes on some of your queries.

Do you want to work closely together, which would mean adding a new app to the Minimalist Markdown Editor project and being constrained by that "minimalism"? Or do you want to fork the project, be free to add whatever feature you'd like, and keep in touch?

I would actually love to work with you as opposed to forking the project and developing further. That way we can sort off sync all the further changes to the editor into the apps. The particular reason I like using the apps is for "minimalism", so definitely needs to be the guiding criteria.

Do you want me to create the new repo, or do you want to do it yourself?

Here's a new thought. How about create an organization for the minimalist markdown. You can transfer your current repos to the org. You of course will remain the lead developer & owner. I will chip in as a long term collaborator perhaps. This can also make it easier for new contributors. Also, all the app repos can be found in a same place even when it is perhaps extended to other platforms. Tell me what do you think about this. If you aren't much interested in this idea, then we can discuss further regarding this point.

Would you mind me working on the responsiveness of the app?

Sure, you know more about the current layout than I. I will chip in suggestions and refine further perhaps.

What development rhythm would you be comfortable with?

I'm currently working on my GSoC project which ends around mid August. But working on weekends is just fine. We can create smaller bunch of issues and handle them. Once the basic app is responsive we can just ship the barebones version to the market place and then cherry pick some features and work on them.

Once we are in an agreement with the basic issues, we can look more into the git workflow. On a side note, which timezone do you work in?

[sushant-hiray]

ping @pioul If you feel there are some issues regarding what I've said, we could discuss it further.

[philippe-git]

Hey, haven't had time to reply yet. I've written down your email address and will reply to you there before the end of the week; I feel like email is more suited for this kind of conversation.