[Owncloud] Improvement for the required version test blocking apps

[Christian Reiner]

Hello all, 
I would like to suggest an improvement: 

Aparently a few days ago the test blocking apps according to the OC version 
they specify as requirement got sharpened again in OC-git a few days ago. 

Obviously this means that all 4rd party apps are broken now again until 
updated in this aspect. However we all know this is a problem, since the app 
developers have to choose between two bad options: 
- break the app for current stable and all installations for weeks or 
- leave the app unmaintained until OC5 is declared stable and rolled out
I think we all agree this is a really bad situation. 

Now I don't want to rant about anything, I do see the point why the test was 
introduced. However in its current version this test is questionable. It 
throws up more problems than it solves in my eyes. It celarly frustrates app 
developers and users. 

I want to suggest a better solution for this test: 
the format of the info.xml file should be extended in future. The 'requires' 
tag should be kept, it servers as a good protection against breaking outdated 
installations. I suggest to introduce an additional but optional tag 
'compatible' that accepts multiple entries, one for each version the app 
actually is compatible with. This way the app can be used in newer versions, 
but only if that has been explicitly specified as possible. So outdated apps 
won't break newer installations. 

I hesitate to suggest to make that new tag too complex. Testing against sub 
versions sounds attempting and certainly is possible from a technical point of 
view. Nevertheless I woud prefer to keep things simple, so limited to major 
versions. The tag could be declared optional, so that backwards compatibility 
is maintained. 

Any comments or suggestions? 
Did I miss anything ? Is this more complex than it appears?

-- 
Christian Reiner (arkascha)
[ foss at christian-reiner.info ]