[etoys-dev] remove the free-standing .gif?

[Bert Freudenberg]

On 02.09.2009, at 00:45, Scott Wallace wrote:

> On Aug 31, 2009, at 7:52 AM, Timothy Falconer wrote:
>> On Aug 28, 2009, at 11:26 AM, K. K. Subramaniam wrote:
>> On Friday 28 Aug 2009 4:18:17 am Scott Wallace wrote:
>>>> So... do people think the time has now come (in advance of final
>>>> shipment of this summer's release) to remove the .gif?
>>> +1.
>>>
>>> In file managers with preview, children often confuse the .gif  
>>> file for the
>>> project.
>>
>> +1 ... when uploading projects to the website using a web browser  
>> (which will become much more common), this can happen as well.
>
>
> A sticking point here continues to be the possibility that existing  
> superswiki, superswiki2, and perhaps other project servers, might  
> rely on the presence of the .gif, and might misbehave if they can't  
> find it.
>
>
> The JIRA ticket for this issue is http://jira.immuexa.com/browse/SQ-315 
> .
>
> A fileout recently uploaded to that ticket has the comment: "...  
> succeeds in stopping creation of the gif, and also no longer sends  
> the superSwikiServer (if any) the filename of that gif file that  
> used to be created. SuperSwikiServers and other project servers will  
> now need to start using the .png thumbnail embedded in the outer .pr  
> file. Unfortunately, I don't know how to test the consequences this  
> change would have for existing superSwikiServers, etc., so I look to  
> others to help here."
>
>
> So, this is a call for help.  Who among our readership uses, or  
> knows about, superswikis?
>
> (1)  It's important to check how existing superswikis contend with  
> projects saved to them using an image that has the ticket's fileout  
> loaded (thus *not* creating a .gif).  Is there anyone out there who  
> uses an active superswiki and who can test this?  (What about the  
> Etoys/Illinois mechanism for putting projects on their site -- do  
> *they* rely on the .gif?)
>
> (2)  At some point, someone needs to undertake modifications to  
> superswiki code so that the thumbnail is extracted from the  
> embedded .png file.  I'm not certain how many different superswiki- 
> like systems are in current use, nor who is the current maintainer  
> of each.  So please speak up, anyone who can clarify, test, code, or  
> otherwise contribute.
>
>
> Without at least some testing for consequences with existing  
> superswikis, I think we can't in good conscience stop creating  
> the .gif thumbnail just yet...


My solution to the dilemma would be implementing

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-134

- Bert -