Way to know what the apps. on the app. browser are?

[SunBurnt]

I`d like a clock on the wbar if possible, I don`t know the apps. by their names.

The app. browser has app. descriptions, but it`s too slow clicking them all...
How about compiling a list with an app. and a short description per line?

[bmarkus]

Using search function of App Browser would help to finf applications.

[SunBurnt]

Nope, didn`t help. All I saw was a task bar, an add-on clock, battery, and sound,
and what seemed to be a clock for the Enlightenment WM ( not sure ).

[Guy]

In addition, (I have mentioned before,) there should be a way to list only apps, not dependencies. This would make it easier to find things.

[SunBurnt]

Guy; My thought exactly, I`m sure the list is for the installer.
But filtering it to show only apps. would be a big plus.

Or separating the files into two directories might be easier.
The folder with the app. files in it shows in the installer.

[Rich]

One thing that would be beneficial is if the comment field was more informative. It should contain what
the program does in simple terms. Take a look at the comments for  lua.tcz.  It gives a clear description
of what it is and some of it's features. Without knowing anything about LUA it gives me enough
information to decide if this is something I might be interested in looking into further. It's also nicely
formatted so you don't have to scroll the text back and forth with the slider to read it. Now lets take a
look at what SunBurnt is looking for. A search on clock returns among others  cairo-clock.tcz.  It states
it needs a compositing window manager. Useful to know would be a few examples of appropriate and
in-appropriate window managers. Also nice to know would be is the clock analog or digital, where is
it placed, and is it movable. Now I'm not suggesting that everyone run out and update the comments
on their extensions. I am suggesting you gear them towards someone who knows nothing about the
application. If your program is for SQL, include a brief sentence that states what SQL is. If it's a file
manager, don't abbreviate it to  fm. A newbie won't necessarily know what that is or to search for that
term. Plus the search term  "file manager"  (quotes included) won't include your program in the list.

Lastly, I want to apologize to Arslan S. in case he thinks I singled him out. That was not my intent.

[roberts]

In addition, (I have mentioned before,) there should be a way to list only apps, not dependencies. This would make it easier to find things.

Sometimes what is an app is also a dependent,.e.g. the recent case and discussion of alsa.tcz a dependent of alsaconf.tcz or for another example meta extensions.

My original intent was for keyword search. Example from ab, it prompts enter browser to search for a browser, enter filemanager etc. But if extension makers do not enter keywords then fail.

If extension makers, as Rich mentioned, place key search words in the comments section then everyone benefits.

[Guy]

Sometimes an app is also a dependency. But there are dependencies which are not apps. There should be a way to exclude those dependencies which are not apps.

[Lee]

One thing that would be beneficial is if the comment field was more informative. It should contain what
the program does in simple terms. Take a look at the comments for  lua.tcz.  

And even the "description" in the .info file.  Take a look at  the info file for atkmm.tcz:

Code: [Select]

Title:          atkmm.tcz
Description:    atkmmmm
Version:        2.22.5
Author:         see list of sites below
Original-site:  see list of sites below
Copying-policy: see list of sites below
Size: 116KB
Extension_by:   juanito
Comments:       atkmm
                ----------
                This extension contains:
                atkmm-2.22.5 - LGPLv2.1 - http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/sources/atkmm/2.22/atkmm-2.22.5.tar.bz2
                ----------
Change-log:     2010/11/22
                updated 2.22.1 -> 2.22.5
Current:        2011/06/11

... yeah... but what -is- it?

The apache2.tcz extension has a description line that says:

Code: [Select]

Description: Apache HTTP server
That's enough - it tells us its a web server, leaves us to get "version 2.22.5" from the Version field.

Like Rich, I didn't mean to single anyone out - apologies to juanito.  

Unlike Rich, I am suggesting that extension makers/maintainers check their .info files for descriptive descriptions (and comments) with consideration for the fact that the description field appears as one of the columns in the repository index web page so it should be short but should tell the reader more than the extension name - maybe not even include that which can be derived directly from the extension name.  Not on an "emergency" basis, but .info updates should probably be done sooner than the next extension update (unless that is already in the works).  The easier it becomes to use (and install) TC (*), the more we will see users coming from outside the "linux community" - who might not know, for instance, that an extension with "tk" in its name is likely to be some sort of programming tool kit or even that "Apache" is a web server.

Also, with regard to keyword searching, is the search function fully quote-enabled such that, for instance, a search for "ftp server" will not return extraneous hits on every extension that lists an ftp url?  I went to check this just now, before posting, but I find that appbrowser is failing to connect (which I won't call a problem until I check for ID-10-T errors locally), so please pardon me if this is a non-issue.

And finally, is it just me or can anyone else read the .info, .list and .dep files that are (sort of) linked from the repo index web page?  I can see not linking the to extensions themselves, but I'm having to enter the file names into the URLs manually and then download these text files and read them outside of my web browser.  That's not a big deal for extensions that I know I want to read about, but it pretty much precludes casual browsing via the web browser.  I know this was discussed before, but I haven't seen anything recently about it.

(*) "...easier to use and install TC..." - A huge "thank you" to Team Tiny Core.  It just keep getting better.  Your hard work and well-considered design decisions are appreciated.      

[SunBurnt]

Yes, the interdependency of packages is a tangled web.
Only dependencies shouldn`t show in the app. browser.

I know the app. browser`s info panel is text only.
How about an app. browser button for app. screen shots?
For GUI apps. mostly of course. A future app. browser...

A thought... I like the course of this discussion.
The post was specific, and it morphed into brain storming.
But the ideas brought up are excellent for TC development.
Sometimes getting off subject can be a very good thing!

[Juanito]

Like Rich, I didn't mean to single anyone out - apologies to juanito

No offense taken - in fact I try to copy and paste whatever is said on the extension site - in this case I either forgot or it doesn't say anything.

[cast-fish]

hello

i understans these comments. (My $0.02's worth)


the search bar in the apps window sometimes isn't much help.

This lack of usefulness is due to the comments listed in this thread.

I also feel that if the list of apps was just that..."a list of apps" and not also listing
 dependencies then it may help newcomers to this tcl operating system. Or maybe shade
"apps" in red or grey.

Also, i must agree entirely with the thread. It's an extremely irritating habbit of many computer
users to abbreviate stuff in sentences. People often have no clue as to what an abbreviation
means.

V

[SunBurnt]

I tend to use abbreviations a lot, but I tey to make it apparent what they mean.

This only goes so far, but then at a point full words are not going to help either.