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- Maya Needs Your Help!
Maya Needs Your Help!
Submitted by cassidyjames on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 21:17Toward the beginning of the summer this year we interviewed Maxwell Barvian--the lead Maya developer at the time--and saw some plans for the app. However, we're looking for additional developers to pick up the project and get it fully-functional. Read along to see what's up.
Over the summer, Maxwell worked on Maya's UI and on various other projects for elementary. However, he's back in classes, working, and contributing to other elementary projects; right now he has little time to give to Maya. So! We need a(/some) developer(s) to adopt Maya.
We can help you get started; Maxwell is still around and we have other devs who are always willing to help you. We just need the manpower.
As of now, the following is completed:
- GTK3 integration
- HIG-compliance
- Granite utilization
- Drawing of calendar
- Navigating months
- Date picker widget
- Nearly all of the UI
However, the following needs done:
- Plugging into Evolution Data Server (EDS)
- Creating events
- Displaying events
- Bug squashing!
So basically, it needs to do stuff.
Developers should be familiar with Launchpad, Vala, Bazaar, and GTK (or willing to learn). C-knowledge helps, but isn't required if you're familiar with Vala. Cairo and Evolution Data Server knowledge is a huge plus.
Update: jaapz, a developer who's been working on Maya, commented:
i am already working on implementing events in the calendar view, what's really important now is that we have to plug maya into EDS, so it would be really cool if someone could help me with that/do that
so basically i really need someone for the backend :)
You can check out the Launchpad project here. To grab the code, simply run bzr branch lp:maya.
Any developers interested? Speak up in the comments and we'll help you get started!
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Hi, could you please tell me where I can get the wallpaper?
Do you still need help, I don't know much about how to do it, but if you tell me what direction i need to go, i might be able to do something. I have a good background in programming in c/c++, and have used gtk+ before.
Honestly, the calendar app looks great, but unlike some other types of apps, a Calendar depends on its ability to integrate with other devices/services. If this doesn't sync well with Google Calendar and/or Microsoft Exchange (or whatever such service syncs Outlook Calendars), I honestly would question this app's validity.
Edit: Just saw the other comments about Google Calendar sync. I still think my comment is valid, but would be more relevant in that part of the thread.
we will use EDS which already has integration with various sources.
And EDS provides for Google Calendar integration?
Beautiful looking calendar app. Hope this one stays alive. Wish I had coding skills!
The new elementary Journal Page looks slick!
Thanks! Dan and Kiran are really doing such a crazy awesome job of updating the site. It's like an epic evolutionary beast; it just keeps getting better and better, one page at a time!
I haven't tried Vala yet, but I'm kinda proficient in C#.
However, I would be more inclined for graphics work.
I've got it branched, built, and ready to bug report... it's about the best I can do with my limited programming skills.
I know you have DanRabbit for all things design, but if you need some graphics (icons and other stuff) let me know how I can help.
And the same goes for any elementary project.
Icons are usually welcome too. For example, it would be great to have a Midori icon that doesn't look utterly like Safari and that really means a web browser.
And if you notice any missing icons, you're always welcome to fill the gap!
There were little icon guidelines last time I checked (incomplete and outdated), but you probably won't be wrong if you look at how the new 4.0 icons are constructed and follow that style.
I made some extra icons for elementary and put them together as a theme. You can check them out at http://spg76.deviantart.com/art/elementary-extras-Icons-215459969
I'll try to come up with a new icon for Midori and share it there.
Thanks.
Oh, cool! Have you proposed them for merging into trunk?
Also, the Firefox icon looks outdated... here's a better one (still a long way to go, though): http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5279564/ff-e.svg
Keep up the great work!
The best way you can help us as a designer/artist is creating mockups of application Ideas or improvements you have
Ok. Will do. Which is the best way to share mockups? In the app Launchpad project page, the elementary DeviantArt page or others?
Well I think it works best if you reach out to us developers in IRC if you have a suitable timezone for that, if not you can add them to relevant blueprints, email them to the app developer or submit them on deviantart
Can we please have google calendar support build in the app, so that whenever I put my gmail account in "Postler", Maya will directly have my Google calendar ready to go..
As soon as we get Evolution Data Server integration, we get that for free.
Don't worry, we have that stuff planned. Unfortunately we can't implement features as quickly as there is a desire for them ;)
Great! I think a lot of us would be using Google Calendar. And I hope that an Online Account system is built into elementary as well
I'm really hoping for a global online accounts feature à la OS X
that has been recently implemented by gnome, we may choose to hook into it.
I can understand how busy you people must be. I wish I had more time to learn all this programming and developing.
I hear your call, Maya. I'm on it.
I really don't want to sound like a jerk, but you want the community to contribute but without any say in the design and working of elementary OS and the application? Seems a bit rich. If you want to do things your way, by all means, you are welcome to. If you want the community's help, that too is great. Wanting both, however, doesn't quite reconcile in my mind.
the lead dev of a project is the final decision maker for that app. We try to remain as cohesive and cooperative as possible, but we never force anyone to do anything. Also, most of the devs I know warmly welcome designs from a world class UX designer that they can use, lol.
In fact, I don't think you understand how all elementary development happens. There are a few people involved in the design itself (Daniel, hcabaguio, spiceofdesign, etc...) who draw mockups and say how they think the app should be. Then, the developer is free to implement what he wants, e.g. in marlin, some things aren't built like the mockups. You can notice that this is rather recent, a few months ago, there was only Daniel who designed stuff for elementary. If you want to change something in the design, you *can* but *before* it is frozen. For that, you have to go to our IRC channels, #elementary, #elementary-art (and #elementary-dev but it is more for technical things). You can't just say you would like another thing once it has been decided, else, it is really hard to have a consistent development because developers can't change the UI everyday.
For example, the notification concept is currently investigated, and no design has been decided yet...
After, you are right, some things may be better if they weren't only decided by the council, not everything of course, but I think some things (especially the technical parts) could be decided with a vote by all members of ~elementary-apps and ~elementary-pantheon.
Eventually, I would say it is a meritocracy. If you do stuff, you'll have a voice in the community, that's all.
What you say is completely untrue. Everyone working on apps for elementary of course has a say about how an app should look.
Of course the look and feel for Maya have already been decided, but in this stage of development that is logical, because you have to decide stuff like that before you start building it in GTK... But if you're going to develop Maya, of course you have a say in the design, a lot is just already done, because we're not starting from scratch here.
i am already working on implementing events in the calendar view, what's really important now is that we have to plug maya into EDS, so it would be really cool if someone could help me with that/do that
so basically i really need someone for the backend :)
Oh, awesome! I was not aware. I've updated the article with your comment. :D
Sorry, I wish I could! but I don't know how to program yet! but I would love to help!
Wish I could help. I could read documentation and use it, but most of the time doing some working stuff requires much more (additional work that can't be mentioned in docs)
That's why the devs offer to help. If the docs would be sufficient, there won't be a need for dev-to-dev talks :)
Feel free to come to #elementary-dev and ask whatever questions you have about development. People in there willingly share their knowledge. You can even ask to be somebody's padawan :)