Articles on error838's Blog

Final GSoC'23 Summary

durlabhpathak@gmail.com (error838) — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 19:44:11 +0000

UI Improvements and adding defaults

Summary:

The current version of Postorius and Mailman presents minimal information on the list index page, which only provides a link to each subscription's options page. It also does not have a user interface for creating different styles and applying them over new lists.

Aim:

The objective is to enhance code quality and improve the user interface. This involves:

Creating a mechanism for administrators to establish user-specific styles and seamlessly apply them to new lists.
Generating a new view, which displays all attributes related to a mailing list.
Developing additional functionalities for importing, exporting, cloning, and batch modifying mailing lists.

Tasks Achieved:

Styles:
- Created a new attribute and its API connection in the existing model, enabling the storage of new styles in the database.
- A new form has been created to facilitate the registration of styles.
- A new view has been implemented to display all available styles and their associated attributes. Administrators have the ability to update styles directly from this view.
Style Operations:
- Apply:
  - This function enables the users to select a specific style and generate a new list with the same settings.
- Clone:
  - This function enables the users to create a duplicate of their chosen style.
List Operations:
- Export:
  - This function enables the users to select a specific list along with their preferred attributes, then export the list settings in a .json format.
- Import:
  - This function enables the users to upload list settings in .json format and apply them to any list of their choice.
- Clone:
  - This function enables the users to create duplicates of their chosen lists.
- Batch Modify:
  - This function enables the users to pick a primary list and apply its specific attribute settings to one or more chosen lists simultaneously.
Attribute View:
- Developed a new table that displays all registered lists along with their respective attributes.
- Administrators can modify and update attribute values through this table.

Future Work

I plan on contributing significantly to the project after the GSoC period. Things I plan to do:

Further improving the code quality and working on making the codebase future proof.
Generating and registering a new default domain for styles.
Create a batch modification feature for styles.
Generating tests for the new code.

I am thankful to Google, Python Software Foundation, and GNU Mailman for providing me with this excellent opportunity and the mentors, Stephen J. Turnbull and Danil Smirnov, who guided and helped me throughout the program.

Weekly Blog Post #12

durlabhpathak@gmail.com (error838) — Thu, 24 Aug 2023 20:32:07 +0000

Hello readers!
My name is Durlabh Pathak, and I am currently pursuing my undergraduate degree in Computer Science & Engineering at Manipal University Jaipur. I'll be sharing my progress during the Google Summer of Code 2023 program here. My involvement revolves around two projects, namely "UI Improvements for Subscription Management" and "System-Wide User Defaults."

What did I do this week?

Apologies for the tardiness in updating my progress on the blog. I was engrossed in enhancing the recently designed UI. Pleased to report that the new UI is now finished and operates precisely as intended and promised. Subsequently, I shifted my focus towards developing a fresh model and interface for the list styles, which am delighted to announce is complete as well. The final step involves integrating it with Postorius, bringing an end to my GSoC'23 journey.

Weekly Blog Post #11

durlabhpathak@gmail.com (error838) — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 17:10:36 +0000

What did I do this week?

The previously cluttered presentation of the lists and attributes table has been successfully rectified, resulting in a significantly improved readability and accessibility. Users will now find it much easier to navigate and comprehend the information presented. This enhancement aligns with an ongoing effort to refine the user experience, as the latest iteration is undergoing an aesthetic transformation to further elevate its visual appeal and usability.

Did I get stuck anywhere?

My virtual environment has become corrupted, and it will require some time to recreate and set up again.

Weekly Blog Post #10

durlabhpathak@gmail.com (error838) — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 18:06:03 +0000

What did I do this week?

The previous iteration of list defaults had a faulty list cloning feature. However, I have rectified this issue and also made it more user-friendly and accessible. The cluttered appearance of the lists and attributes table is currently undergoing modifications.

Weekly Blog Post #9

durlabhpathak@gmail.com (error838) — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 18:56:55 +0000

What did I do this week?

I had a discussion with my mentor regarding the agenda and significant modifications needed in the current code. Subsequently, I began working on implementing these changes and further developing new models and interface for styles.

Weekly Blog Post #8

durlabhpathak@gmail.com (error838) — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 17:58:18 +0000

What did I do this week?

Started development of new models and interfaces for styles.

Weekly Blog Post #7

durlabhpathak@gmail.com (error838) — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 16:56:06 +0000

What did I do this week?

I began working on refining the style aspect of the list defaults. In addition, I have pushed both the list and domain defaults branches to the GitLab repository.

What is next?

Currently developing new models and interfaces to facilitate the management of a style database.

Weekly Blog Post #6

durlabhpathak@gmail.com (error838) — Sun, 09 Jul 2023 16:16:44 +0000

What did I do this week?

Because of a personal matter, I couldn't accomplish much during the week. I reached out to my mentor, Mr. Turnbull, to inform him about the situation and provide an explanation. We have had a discussion and will make the necessary updates to the schedule.

Weekly Blog Post #5

durlabhpathak@gmail.com (error838) — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 20:13:05 +0000

What did I do this week?

During today's meeting with my mentor, Mr. Turnbull, we discussed and decided to change the entire approach for the project. As a result, we will be scrapping the work done this week.

What is next?

Moving forward, I will be focusing on extending and improving the functionality of previously started work. Additionally, there will be a significant overhaul in the UI design for the system defaults. We have decided to move away from the previous form technique.

Weekly Blog Post #4

durlabhpathak@gmail.com (error838) — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 17:51:43 +0000

What did I do this week?

I have made substantial progress in the development of the defaults page for the domain section. To accomplish this, I utilized the defaults from Mailman2 and organized them based on list, site, and domain. This new page is now available for users to manage their defaults in the domain section. Currently, I am focusing on establishing the necessary backend connections to ensure seamless functionality.

What is next?

My next step is to incorporate the default page for the list section. Once implemented, I will proceed with thorough testing to ensure the accuracy and functionality of the defaults.

Did I get stuck anywhere?

No, I did not encounter any difficulties this week.

Weekly Blog Post #3

durlabhpathak@gmail.com (error838) — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 18:22:00 +0000

What did I do this week?

My main goal continues to be gaining a thorough understanding of the system-wide user defaults and their intended functionality within the existing system. In pursuit of this, I started developing a basic user interface for the system-wide user defaults in my local development environment. Unfortunately, I encountered difficulties in accessing certain features due to a malfunctioning environment, which hindered my progress. However, I have since resolved this issue by setting up a new local environment. This setback has provided me with an opportunity for improvement, as it has made me aware of previously unknown options in the previous build. Therefore, I am now building upon this knowledge..

What is next?

I am still focused on my objective of finalizing the basic HTML design for the user interface. The goal is to create a user-friendly and intuitive interface that enables site administrators to set default options for new subscribers across all lists in the system. Once the frontend development is complete, my next step will be to establish the necessary backend connectivity. This ensures a seamless interaction between the user interface and the underlying functionality of the system.

Did I get stuck anywhere?

I didn't encounter any difficulties this week, but I need to accelerate my timeline in order to compensate for previous setbacks.

Weekly Blog Post #2

durlabhpathak@gmail.com (error838) — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 15:34:32 +0000

What did I do this week?

My main focus was to gain a deep understanding of the system-wide user defaults and how they should function within the existing system. I also started working on building a basic user interface for the system-wide user defaults in my local development environment.

What is next?

My next task is to complete the basic HTML design for the user interface. This involves creating an intuitive and user-friendly interface that allows site administrators to define default options for new subscribers across all lists within the system. Once the frontend is in place, I will begin working on the backend connectivity to ensure that the UI interacts seamlessly with the underlying functionality.

Did I get stuck anywhere?

I did encounter a setback during the week. My local development environment started giving me numerous errors, which hindered my progress. To overcome this obstacle, I decided to redo and recreate a new local environment. Although this setback has caused a slight delay, I managed to resolve the issues and get back on track. Should be able to cover up in the coming week.

Weekly Blog Post #1

durlabhpathak@gmail.com (error838) — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 15:23:47 +0000

What did I do this week?

I focused on configuring the required repositories for both projects. This involved setting up the development environment and ensuring that all dependencies were in place. Additionally, I conducted thorough local testing to verify that everything was functioning as intended.

What is next?

My next task involves the development of a new section in Postorius. This section will empower site administrators to establish system-wide user defaults. By utilizing this feature, admins can define default options for new subscribers across all lists within the system. To accomplish this, I plan to extend the current schema of the Mailman3 database in the coming week.

Did I get stuck anywhere?

Fortunately, I did not encounter any significant obstacles during the week and managed to handle all tasks smoothly.