[[!meta title="Clockworks"]] Hey guys, I heard there was this app called [Doodle](http://www.doodle.com/main.html). It's closed source. Let's make an open-source Doodle killer and call it Clockworks! We have a mailing list - if you're interested in helping design the app, just [let one of the developers know](mailto:clockworks@mit.edu) and we'll add you to our mailing list, **clockworks**. Or if you just want to hear more about what we're up to, blanche yourself to the public list **clockworks-announce**. ## Getting started Clockworks is in pre-pre-alpha phase; most of the functionality hasn't been done yet. The best way to get started with Clockworks is to get yourself added to the project, grab a copy of the code, get it running on your laptop, and then poke around the source code. We also have a Hiveminder project with bite-sized tasks that you can work on (ping a project maintainer to get invited.) First, make sure you have Git installed on your system. You can grab it [here](http://git-scm.com/download). Verify that it installed by popping open a terminal and running **git --version** Next, grab the source code. If you have Debathena installed on your machine, you can clone the source using **git clone /mit/clockworks/clockworks.git**. If not, you can use a dialup to get to the directory; **git clone ssh://username@linerva.mit.edu/mit/clockworks/clockworks.git** works well. If the clone succeeds, you will now have a folder named "clockworks". **cd clockworks** Now, to install the application. Assuming that you have a reasonable version of Python on your system, running **./nosudo-virtualenv.sh** should set up the environment. If it succeeds, you'll see the help output for a command named paster. Run the application by changing into your environment with **source tg2env/bin/activate** and then typing **paster serve --reload development.ini**. And voila; a very boilerplate TurboGears install should be facing you at http://localhost:8080 If these steps fail (which happens on some configurations of OS X and almost invariably on Windows), talk to us and we can get you set up with a copy running on scripts.mit.edu or xvm.mit.edu. Once you're running, here are some paths to take: # Take a break and read some TurboGears documentation to get a feel for the framework # Browse through the todo list, pick a task that seems interesting, and start working on figuring out how to make it work # Browse the source, fiddle with some variables, see what changes # Decide what clockworks should look like, and take off ## Development info Our Git repository is located in AFS in the clockworks locker: /mit/clockworks/clockworks.git ## Phase 1 Doodle clone. 100% duplication of Doodle functionality. Modifications to improve usability as necessary. ### Pitfalls to avoid What do people not like about Doodle? * Too much clicking * We can deal with this by collapsing the three-page wizard Doodle has into a single page. Be careful not to sacrifice too much simplicity for such a setup. * No obvious "I can, but would rather not" * Alleviated also by the above; this might want to be the default poll setup. * Trac, one of the first Python web applications to hit mainstream, was long bemoaned for being complex to install. Try not to have the same story ### What to do? * Work through the [TurboGears tutorial](http://docs.turbogears.org/1.0/Wiki20/Page1) (the tutorial seems to focus on SQLObject, which is not necessarily the best thing. Maybe someone can find some better docs?) * Setup database configuration and installer (an auxiliary issue is the presence of an installer for people). (**ezyang**) * Learn SQLAlchemy (**ezyang**) * Make sure the default scaffolding works on Scripts (this includes running TurboGears as CGI). Any work done here should be considered for a TurboGears auto-installer, the equivalent of tgsetup) (**ezyang**) * Write a .gitignore file for generated/not versionable items * Get friendly URLs working * Setup a zephyrbot that watches the repository * [Configure](http://turbogears.org/2.0/docs/main/Config.html) the default TurboGears scaffolding * Learn [Genshi](http://turbogears.org/2.0/docs/main/Genshi.html), the templating engine * Learn [Widgets](http://turbogears.org/2.0/docs/main/ToscaWidgets/forms.html) (we'll be using them for all of the forms in this website) * Polish up and get SSL authentication working with TurboGears Identity (the two should be integrated together in a sane manner.) * Write model classes for all of our tables * Write controllers for each of the pages ### Architecture * **Language**: Python 2.5+ * **Framework**: TurboGears 2.0 * **SCM**: Git * **JavaScript**: Mochikit * **Database**: SQLite for development, ? for production * **ORM**: SQLAlchemy * **Templating**: Genshi Other ideas: * Use 15 minute timeslices to simplify interface ### Principles * Simplicity * Extendibility * Open Source ### Schema You can view the database schema in *model.py*. Some notable features: * All `user.user_id` foreign keys are paired with an `anon_name` field. If user_id is null, then the associated entity was posted by an anonymous user, and `anon_name` contains the name they submitted for themselves * The current `time_slots` table uses `DateTime` and `Interval` to define events. We should consider whether or not 15 minute timeslices will be the native representation in the database, or simply a simpler model for the interface * `length` is likely common through all possible times for an event, so it's stored in both `time_slots` and `event` * `events.timezone` represents the timezone that the event is occurring in, so we can give user-friendly times. If this field is null, then the creator's `user.timezone` field is used (if that is also null, we should probably use EST) * `key` and `admin_key` in `event` refer to random values that will compose the URLs for events. * For full backwards compatibility, `hidden` and `extended` are stored as boolean attributes (the former refers to hiding the responses of users, the latter refers to allowing Yes/No/IfNeedBe responses). We may want to consider an alternate model for these properties * The schema is not very generalized. Certain parts should definitely be generalized, but let's try to avoid the architecture astronaut syndrome. ### Page Inventory List of "screens" in Doodle * **/**: Home page (including login) * **/help**: Help pages (screencasts, interactive JavaScript, etc.) * **/new**: Schedule event (should be one-page-able) * General info (title, description, name, email) * Days (calendar, should be AJAX) * Times (timezone (JS fill-in), add more timeslots, copypaste first row) * Options (yes-no-ifneedbe, hidden poll, limit OKs) * Poll created (admin, participant links) * **/events/*event-name***: View poll (timezone, name, times, information, functions) * **/events/*event-name*/edit**: Edit entry (completely wiki!) * Delete entry * **/events/*event-name*/comment**: Add a comment * **/events/*event-name*/export**: Calendar export (both ways) * File export (excel, pdf) * **/events/*event-name*/feed**: Subscribe (atom, and then social feed services) * **/events/*event-name*/embed**: Embed poll (iframe) * **/events/*event-name*/admin**: Admin poll (participation link) * **/events/*event-name*/admin/edit**: Edit poll (all original options) * **/events/*event-name*/admin/history**: History * **/events/*event-name*/admin/reset**: Delete all participants/comments * **/events/*event-name*/admin/delete**: Delete poll * **/signup**: Signup page * **/myclockworks**: List of polls created by user, list of polls the user has participated in, links to creating a new event * **/myclockworks/account** provides links to the following four links * **/myclockworks/changeEmail** * **/myclockworks/changePassword** * **/myclockworks/editInformation** * **/myclockworks/delete** * Note: Doodle functions by creating two links per event: one for the public and one for administrator, but anyone can follow either link if they know what it is ## Phase 2 Doodle killer. Extra features. Pump it up. * Better UI * Integration * Basic: integration with ICS calendars, GoogleCalendar, Exchange, and TechTime (for faculty) * Advanced: integration with MIT's course schedules, Facebook * Would store persistent profiles of calendar data for users * Automatically prioritize and schedule events for you * Create mobile phone friendly version * View of a single calendar month should show "ghosts" of days from immediately previous and immediately past months, to fill out all the weeks. * Ability to convert Yes/No polls into Yes/Maybe/No polls (and vice versa) * When setting up a new poll, ability to copy-paste the times for any arbitrary row into any number of other arbitrary rows * "Generic week" function * Indicates that the response is for a weekly meeting, not a specific date. ## Developers * Geoffrey Thomas * Paul Baranay * Edward Yang * Paul Weaver * Xavid Pretzer * Christian Ternus * David Benjamin * You?