Nepomuk constraints

[Sebastian Trüg]

Once done with the bug hunting and crash fixing I will focus on Nepomuk
startup time. There is still a lot that can be done for it to start up
much faster.

Cheers,
Sebastian

On 10/11/2011 09:42 PM, Thomas Pfeiffer wrote:
> Hi all,
> after using PA1 for a couple of days productively (for reading
> scientific papers while on the train), I noticed some effects of our
> heavy reliance on Nepomuk that I think we need to find a workaround for
> in PA2, namely startup and indexing.
> 
> 1. The fact that it takes a very long time until file resources are
> available after boot is quite annoying, especially since there is no
> indication why the're not there.
> As a user not knowing how Nepomuk works, I would freak out every time I
> boot and my carefully configured activities all seem to be empty except
> for plasmoids. And I'd freak out even more if I tried to re-add the
> resources only to find that they are seemingly gone (!).
> Being someone who does know only very little about Nepomuk and Strigi, I
> ask myself: Why does it take so long to get the files ready on every
> boot? Shouldn't they only have to be indexed once and then be instantly
> ready?
> So we need to either
> 1. Get resources that have already been indexed ready much faster on
> subsequent boots (much preferred if possible in any way)
> 2. Show a placeholder at activities where resources are connected which
> are not ready yet, indicating they need to be loaded first
> The current situation will create a lot of confusion for novice users
> and quite some annoyance for advanced users (the device is practically
> unusable for the first few minutes if your activity is based mainly on
> documents or pictures)
> 
> 2. Take a probably very common usecase: I use my device (of course not
> plugged to a socket since it's a mobile device) and I get a new file
> from the internet or a usb stick (the latter won't happen for novices in
> PA1 since there is no file browser, but in PA2 we'll have one). I want
> to connect it to an activity, but it doesn't show up.
> I remember that there was something about indexing, so I wait. And wait.
> And wait. And wonder why it's still not there.
> True story: After trying several things to get my damn files indexed
> (including deleting the nepomuk database but except plugging the device
> in, since I was on the train and then at work where I don't carry my
> adaptor) I finally resorted to deleting the .kde folder. Which, in turn,
> got me into _serious_ trouble ;)
> Long story short: It is a problem that new files won't get indexed
> without mains power because Strigi is suspended, again causing lots of
> confusion for users who don't have pretty deep knowledge of Nepomuk and
> Strigi.
> I have explained it in the FAQ now, so if we're lucky, users will find
> that information and won't suffer the same fate as I did (having to
> reinstall PA in the end because where I currently temporarily live the
> WiFi just won't work with the Wetab), but for PA2 we need to get new
> files indexed while on the go, because that's what users will be doing.
> 
> Sorry if I sound overly negative here, but I'm sure that normal users
> will be bothered by things like these a lot more than I am.
> 
> Looking forward to seeing these issues fixed (or worked around),
> Thomas
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Active mailing list
> Active at kde.org
> https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/active
>