[Bug 60100] New: AppDB migration to Content Management System
http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=60100 Bug ID: 60100 Summary: AppDB migration to Content Management System Product: WineHQ Apps Database Version: unspecified Hardware: x86-64 OS: Linux Status: UNCONFIRMED Severity: enhancement Priority: P2 Component: appdb-unknown Assignee: wine-bugs@list.winehq.org Reporter: wineryyyyy@gmail.com Target Milestone: --- Distribution: --- This is more an enhancement request than bug but may serve as a catch all for current AppDB bugs: - https://bugs.winehq.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=UNCONFIRMED&bug_status=NEW&bu... AppDB repo celebrates it's 22th anniversary this year: 8f28ae10c40de0794a72fef07f7e05f1017cb691 Author: Jeremy Newman <jnewman@winehq.org> AuthorDate: Mon Mar 15 16:22:00 2004 +0000 Commit: Jeremy Newman <jnewman@winehq.org> CommitDate: Mon Mar 15 16:22:00 2004 +0000 In-house AppDB may have been a wiser decision in 2004 because many open source CMSs were still fairly early and perhaps less capable of serving AppDB needs but for 2026 it feels like a decision whether to use Bugzilla or Gitlab vs custom in-house solutions. Therefore this bug is for open discussion and feedback regarding migrating AppDB to one of many CMS solutions: - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_content_management_systems I have most dev exp. and expertise with Drupal and Moodle both written in PHP and supported by nearly identical software stack as AppDB. Moodle has an online demo available and Drupal offers a lesser convenient localhost demo that requires downloading: - https://sandbox51.moodledemo.net/login/index.php - https://www.drupal.org/project/drupaldemo Moodle is technically a Learning Management System (LMS) but may be used as a CMS just as Drupal may also be customized as an LMS via various plugin modules. Moodle has some builtin surveying/quiz features that may be useful for AppDB and better handled as an integral part vs as plugins by Drupal or other more generic CMSs. Customizing these CMSs from AppDB admins/maintainers experience should feel equivalent to that of Bugzilla and Gitlab which is largely supported via web-based UIs vs involving PHP or SQL changes often required for AppDB customizations. Source is still available when needed but changes overall should be rare like Bugzilla and Gitlab. CMSs would automatically fix many AppDB bugs including security vulnerabilities: - https://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=21639 - https://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=22798 Upgrading AppDB may also enable it to evolve in a more modern flexible direction toward protondb which may encourage more user engagement and assist maintainers with more convenient workflows: - https://www.protondb.com/app/1042380 There is much more to discuss but please consider this hardly urgent enough to distract from much higher priorities. If anyone has any suggests, requests, or feedback regarding their experience with AppDB and how it may be improved outside what has already been reported for Bugzilla or what may be currently be considered outside the realm of possibility then please feel free to report it here. In the meantime I continue to work in my spare time toward a proof of concept for review based on my exposure to AppDB and experience with CMSs. -- Do not reply to this email, post in Bugzilla using the above URL to reply. You are receiving this mail because: You are watching all bug changes.
http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=60100 Austin English <austinenglish@gmail.com> changed: What |Removed |Added ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- CC| |austinenglish@gmail.com -- Do not reply to this email, post in Bugzilla using the above URL to reply. You are receiving this mail because: You are watching all bug changes.
http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=60100 --- Comment #1 from Ken Sharp <imwellcushtymelike@gmail.com> --- I don't know about a CMS but it does need a proper review. Our patches are bandaids. -- Do not reply to this email, post in Bugzilla using the above URL to reply. You are receiving this mail because: You are watching all bug changes.
http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=60100 --- Comment #2 from Stian Low <wineryyyyy@gmail.com> --- (In reply to Ken Sharp from comment #1)
I don't know about a CMS but it does need a proper review. Our patches are bandaids.
Indeed and a CMS may offer a heal to all everlasting patches otherwise needed. Many of my bug reports/comments are partial if not full AppDB test results but AppDB updates are completely absent from my workflows so there is a gap that may be bridged to support for linking bug comments to AppDB entries and vice versa. AppDB currently only supports linking to bug IDs but not comment ids and Bugzilla only supports linking one AppDB entry per bug ID. Duplicate bugs should not be required/created just to link separate AppDB entries. Supporting AppDB links to bug comments would offer more granularity. Bugzilla reporters often leave out relevant information that AppDB links may help solve such as app versions and distro info. If most Bugzilla comments resembled ProtonDB comments/test results it would help save time requesting missing info and reduce the noise it causes: - https://www.protondb.com/app/289070 AppDB approval process may cause bottlenecks for comment level linking however but removing approvals altogether risks flooding maintainers with overwhelming cleanup efforts so some balance may be required which ProtonDB may have found. Much content already dumped to Bugzilla/Gitlab, especially screenshots and comments constituting test results, may benefit from the ability to be linked to a CMS which may then have flexibility to be reorganized in a form equivalent to AppDB/ProtonDB and more. -- Do not reply to this email, post in Bugzilla using the above URL to reply. You are receiving this mail because: You are watching all bug changes.
http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=60100 --- Comment #3 from Stian Low <wineryyyyy@gmail.com> --- (In reply to Stian Low from comment #2)
Much content already dumped to Bugzilla/Gitlab, especially screenshots and comments constituting test results, may benefit from the ability to be linked to a CMS which may then have flexibility to be reorganized in a form equivalent to AppDB/ProtonDB and more.
If Gitlab is capable of achieving similar CMS capabilities to provide an AppDB solution then it may be an even better way to go. If the plan is to eventually migrate Bugzilla to Gitlab then all the content would be consolidated and linkable via Gitlabs existing tools. I'm not aware of an example of Gitlab being used in such a way and it may negatively impact performance. Reintroducing traffic problems solved by separating AppDB and Bugzilla needs to be avoided. -- Do not reply to this email, post in Bugzilla using the above URL to reply. You are receiving this mail because: You are watching all bug changes.
http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=60100 --- Comment #4 from Stian Low <wineryyyyy@gmail.com> --- (In reply to Stian Low from comment #2)
Indeed and a CMS may offer a heal to all everlasting patches otherwise needed.
Everlasting better phrased as never-ending. I'm not aware of the popularity or level of traffic for AppDB and therefore how to prioritize the bugs. Last year I volunteered to solve server separation because traffic problems seemed most obviously high priority since it was also impacting Bugzilla. However plan was not to spend much more time on the existing bugs. If AppDB bugs are higher priority and need to be addressed then I'm willing to work on them but overall upgrading to a CMS seems much more worthwhile long-term. It seems AppDB is in need of more than just bug fixes but also a revamp to fulfill modern user expectations that promote more engagement. -- Do not reply to this email, post in Bugzilla using the above URL to reply. You are receiving this mail because: You are watching all bug changes.
http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=60100 --- Comment #5 from Stian Low <wineryyyyy@gmail.com> --- Created attachment 81662 --> http://bugs.winehq.org/attachment.cgi?id=81662 Screenshots AppDB via Moodle proof of concept starting point via most minimal time/effort Additional work efforts: 1. Cleanup classic so it looks identical to AppDB 2. Add ProtonDB-like theme as a modern alternative to classic based on default theme 3. Install sandbox on wine servers for admins to test if enough interest Screenshots show out-of-box themes whose look-and-feel may be customized however. Screenshots 1-4 showcase side-by-side comparison of current AppDB and Moodle impl to the right. Screenshots 1, 3 show classic theme with quick customization just to get basic colors, logos, etc. similar. Screenshots 2, 4+ show default modern theme which may also be customized however. Themes support CSS overrides via admin UI so no code changes are necessary outside the app itself. Moodle offers admins various activities to handle user forms two of which may support AppDB entries: 1. Database (screenshots 1 and 2) seems more minimal and natural for AppDB entries 2. Quiz (screenshots 3 and 4)) seems more sophisticated to support addtional rules if admins ever need for other future purposes Screenshots 5-8 show some additional admin capabilities: 5. Additional activities supported besides database and quiz which may be used to support the other areas of AppDB. 6. Database activity config settings showing various customization options to support various user forms. 7. Theme options for either static/unchanging theme or more flexible themes allowing users to choose their own including toggling light/dark modes 8. Site admin for user management activities Drupal and other CMSs are also capable of handling much of this functionality so there are other choices besides Moodle. If anyone has any other preferences or recommendations please let me know. -- Do not reply to this email, post in Bugzilla using the above URL to reply. You are receiving this mail because: You are watching all bug changes.
http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=60100 --- Comment #6 from Stian Low <wineryyyyy@gmail.com> --- Created attachment 81669 --> http://bugs.winehq.org/attachment.cgi?id=81669 Screenshots show how AppDB entry form was quickly built via copy/paste from AppDB to Moodle via database/quiz activity modules No code has written/altered to achieve these results so far. Only a few quick trivial CSS overrides were submitted directly within the admin themes interface to get classic theme resembling AppDB for this demo. -- Do not reply to this email, post in Bugzilla using the above URL to reply. You are receiving this mail because: You are watching all bug changes.
http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=60100 Jeremy Newman <jnewman@winehq.org> changed: What |Removed |Added ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- CC| |jnewman@winehq.org --- Comment #7 from Jeremy Newman <jnewman@winehq.org> --- I'm not opposed to migrating the AppDB to a different platform. Currently we self-host the AppDB on a minimal VPS. So if we move to a more robust CMS, we would need to figure out hosting options. I would prefer we simply rent something from a retributable provider than maintaining our own self-hosted solution. This provider would handle keeping the platform updated. Provide me with a list of hosts and I can take a look at pricing. I won't rule out self-hosting, but using an established CMS brings security risks if we are not diligent about keep it constantly updated. The other requirement would be that most of our current data be migrated vs starting over from scratch. This means we'd probably have to create some sort of one off conversion tool. -- Do not reply to this email, post in Bugzilla using the above URL to reply. You are receiving this mail because: You are watching all bug changes.
http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=60100 --- Comment #8 from Stian Low <wineryyyyy@gmail.com> --- (In reply to Jeremy Newman from comment #7)
I'm not opposed to migrating the AppDB to a different platform.
Currently we self-host the AppDB on a minimal VPS. So if we move to a more robust CMS, we would need to figure out hosting options. I would prefer we simply rent something from a retributable provider than maintaining our own self-hosted solution. This provider would handle keeping the platform updated. Provide me with a list of hosts and I can take a look at pricing. I won't rule out self-hosting, but using an established CMS brings security risks if we are not diligent about keep it constantly updated.
My experience has only ever been self-hosted solutions but both Moodle and Drupal seem to offer official provider-hosted solutions including VPS for Drupal which may also be available for Moodle: - https://moodle.com/services/hosting/ - https://www.drupal.org/hosting/vps I'll post non-official alternatives if I find other decent options but official seems best options if competitive. WineHQ may also qualify for open source discounts.
The other requirement would be that most of our current data be migrated vs starting over from scratch. This means we'd probably have to create some sort of one off conversion tool.
Data xfer solution would be needed but seems fairly simple for mapping AppDB MySQL to corresponding fields for whatever CMS chosen. I have experience migrating data for ERP systems which is far less trivial. Providers may also offer help migrating data. -- Do not reply to this email, post in Bugzilla using the above URL to reply. You are receiving this mail because: You are watching all bug changes.
http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=60100 --- Comment #9 from Stian Low <wineryyyyy@gmail.com> --- (In reply to Stian Low from comment #8)
Drupal powers Free Software Foundation as reliable use case closer to WineHQ home if preferred alternatively (bottom of page): - https://my.fsf.org/join -- Do not reply to this email, post in Bugzilla using the above URL to reply. You are receiving this mail because: You are watching all bug changes.
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