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SyncEvolution 1.0 beta 1 -> beta 2, 23.02.2010
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==============================================
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Several new features and some bug fixing. Despite some open issues
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(see below), this release is ready for getting packaged in staging
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areas of distros as replacement for 0.9.2.
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As before, documentation for 1.0 is only available in the
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"Development" section of syncevolution.org, including HOWTOs for
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setting up the HTTP SyncML server and phones manually.
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Setting up a phone became a bit easier with beta 2, because
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SyncEvolution is now integrated with the GNOME Bluetooth panel: once a
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device with SyncML client support is paired, a button offers to bring
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up the sync-UI and configure or synchronize with that device. We do a
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fuzzy match against the Bluetooth device name to find a suitable
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template (not manufacturer/model, because that is not readily
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available). Still not many (read: hardly any) templates available,
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The binaries on syncevolution.org are compiled with Bluetooth support.
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libbluetooth2 or libbluetooth3 should be installed, but are not
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essential. If there is no suitable version of it, the Bluetooth
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channel has to be selected manually as part of the syncURL.
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Unexpected slow syncs are prevented by default, in contrast to beta 1
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where this feature was available but turned off. When an unexpected
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slow sync is detected in a client, users have to follow the
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instructions provided by the command line or sync-ui and choose how to
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proceed (explicitly request slow sync, refresh from server or client,
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restore from backup). SyncEvolution as server currently cannot prevent
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slow syncs, even when initiating the sync with a phone.
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In preparation for syncing automatically, logdir and database handling
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was improved considerably. Backups use less disk space because
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identical files share the same file content via hard links. This also
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speeds up the synccompare Perl script. Database dumps and the
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corresponding comparison are delayed until the session really runs,
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which avoids doing needless work a) when the server a client tries to
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contact is unreachable or down and b) by only including sources that
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are really in use during a sync on the server side.
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The Synthesis XML configuration was split up into different parts
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which are assembled from /usr/share/syncevolution/xml. Files in
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~/.config/syncevolution-xml override and extend the default files,
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which my be useful when adding support for a new phone.
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Summary of changes since 1.0 beta 1:
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* sync-ui: recovery dialog (MB #8050), device setup, config usable with
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long strings (MB #9278), fixed displaying of source phases during sync
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* sync-ui + syncevo-dbus-server: integration with Bluez to detect paired
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devices (MB #9216, MB #7089), select template based on device name (MB #7838),
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detect network and Bluetooth connectivity (only with ConnMan, MB #7700),
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passwords stored in GNOME keyring by syncevo-dbus-server are shown with
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dots in sync-ui (MB #9169)
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* Evolution addressbook backend: avoid picking CouchDB, second try (MB #7877)
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* Evolution calendar backend: minor fix for change tracking when deleting
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a single instance of a recurring event
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* build fixes: Bluetooth compatibility (MB #9289), use libical _r variant
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of calls because 0.43 has issues in the normal version, conflict with
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system libsynthesis and libsmltk (MB #9811)
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* Horde: avoid confusing the server with a deviceId that starts like the
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ones used in old Funambol clients, helps with calendar sync (MB #9347)
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* better reporting when SyncEvolution dies during a sync (only happend once
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when it wasn't installed properly, but still... MB #9844)
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* performance improvements: synccompare much faster/database dumps consume
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less disk space/more intelligent about expiring obsolete session directories
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and backups/database accesses are reduced in several backends (MB #7708),
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shorter logs (MB #8092)
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* slow sync detection: now also works in the case where the client detects
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an anchor mismatch and enabled by default (MB #2416)
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* OBEX transport: some error handling changes and removal of polling, now
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also possible via sync-ui + syncevo-dbus-server (MB #9436)
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* API changes: SyncSource introduces an "isEmpty" operation which is
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needed for the slow sync detection
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* SyncML: split up configuration (MB #7712), increased default message size
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because the old one might have been too small for large DevInf structures
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* several fixes for virtual data sources ("calendar+todo"): now works
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on client side, fixed naming on server (MB #9664), fixed error message
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for slow sync detection, supported in combination with sync-UI (MB #9535)
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* fixes for shared configuration layout: finding sessions of peers in
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non-default context, adding sources affected peers in the same context
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(MB #9329), wrong context during --configure when using shortcut for peers
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in non-default context (MB #9338)
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Known gaps for 1.0 final and beyond:
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Redesigned and reimplemented D-Bus API, required by sync-UI:
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- 'syncevolution' command line tool bypasses D-Bus server and runs
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sync sessions itself (MB #5043)
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- availability of peers not detected when using NetworkManager
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(connected for HTTP, paired for Bluetooth; MB #7700)
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SyncML server in general:
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- suspend/resume support is untested (MB #2425)
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- the progress events and statistics reported for a SyncML client
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are not generated when running as SyncML server, will require
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a fair amount of refactoring in the Synthesis engine (MB #7709)
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- a configuration must be created for each peer manually, including
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a remoteDeviceId value that contains the peer's SyncML device ID
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OBEX SyncML server ("sync with phones"):
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- does not support phones which require a SAN 1.0 message (MB #9312)
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- determining a working configuration for an unknown phone requires
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a bit of experimenting, which should be automated (MB #9862)
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- parsing of SAN message is rudimentary and depends on an existing local
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configuration, needs to be refined depending on which SyncML server software
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it is meant to work with (MB #6175)
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Automatic sync (MB #6378):
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- no support for the various server push notification mechanisms
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- no intelligent detection of local changes
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- no regular background sync, development is in progress
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Upgrading from 1.0 beta 1: moving back and forth should work seamlessly
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Upgrading from 0.9.x: see under beta 1
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SyncEvolution 0.9.2 -> 1.0 beta 1, 26.01.2010
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==============================================
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Compared to the current stable release, 0.9.2, this beta release can also:
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* synchronize directly with a phone over Bluetooth/OBEX
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* accept Bluetooth/OBEX connections in cooperation with obexd 0.19
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* run SyncEvolution as a rudimentary HTTP SyncML server
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These feature were already available in a source-only 1.0 alpha
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release. For the beta, we fixed some issues (nothing major)
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and in addition to the source, also make binaries available. As
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before, we hope to get feedback on where we are going with 1.0 and its
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SyncML server and direct synchronization features. If you want to get
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involved, now is a good time because a) there is something which works
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and b) there is still time to influence the final 1.0, scheduled for
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Documentation of the new features can be found in the "Development"
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section (http://syncevolution.org/development) for HOWTOs or ask on
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the mailing list (http://syncevolution.org/support).
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Here is a more complete list of features compared to the stable
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release. The full (and up-to-date) list can be retrieved from the
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Moblin Bugzilla (MB) issue tracking system with this query:
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http://bugzilla.moblin.org/showdependencytree.cgi?id=7892&hide_resolved=0
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For changes compared to the 1.0 alpha please consult the
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Implemented features are marked with a plus +, open ones with a minus -.
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+ now works thanks to a workaround for anchor handling (MB #2424)
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- only contacts tested because everything is considered legacy
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Slow sync handling (MB #2416)
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+ Unexpected slow syncs can be detected when running as client and
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if configured (see "preventSlowSync"), abort the session so that
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the situation can be analyzed. A refresh from client or server
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might be more suitable. Because this required manual intervention
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by the user, the feature is off by default.
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- Catching slow syncs does not work yet when running as server and
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in one corner case in a client.
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+ settings for HTTP servers are now done inside the list of
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all configs and server templates instead of poping up a
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+ uses the new D-Bus API
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+ no longer uses private gconf key to select default peer,
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replaced by "defaultPeer" in SyncEvolution config
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+ added recovery features like handling of unexpected slow syncs (MB #2416)
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- restoring from backup only supported by command line (MB #8050)
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- spinner to indicate network activity missing (MB #2229)
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- interactive password request not implemented yet (MB #6376)
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+ fixed printing of rejected items (MB #7755)
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+ improved error reporting (textual descriptions instead of plain
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error codes MB #2069, partial success MB #7755, record and show
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first ERROR encountered MB #7708)
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+ can create new sources (MB #8424)
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Redesigned and reimplemented D-Bus API, required by sync-UI:
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+ central syncevo-dbus-server controls configurations and sync sessions:
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http://syncevolution.org/development/direct-synchronization-aka-syncml-server
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+ accepts incoming SyncML connection requests and messages received by
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independent transport stubs (obexd, HTTP server, ...)
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+ can be used by multiple user interfaces at once
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+ fully documented, see src/dbus/interfaces
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+ no longer depends on dbus-glib with hand-written glue code for C++,
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instead uses gdbus plus automatic C++ binding generated via C++ templates
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- 'syncevolution' command line tool bypasses D-Bus server and runs
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sync sessions itself (MB #5043)
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- availability of peers not detected (connected for HTTP, paired for
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- Bluetooth peers can only be configured via command line (MB #9216)
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Revised configuration layout (MB #8048, design document at
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http://syncevolution.org/development/configuration-handling):
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+ several peer-independent sync and source properties are shared
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between multiple peers
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+ they can be accessed without selecting a specific peer, by using an
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empty config name or with the new "@<specific context>" syntax
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+ user interface in command line and D-Bus API unchanged
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+ old configurations can be read and written, without causing
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unwanted slow syncs when moving between stable and unstable
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SyncEvolution versions
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+ old configurations can be migrated with the "--migrate" command
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line switch; however, then older SyncEvolution can no longer
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access them and migrating more than one old configuration causes
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the second or later configuration to loose its "deviceId" property
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(which is shared now), causing a slow sync once
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+ config names may contain characters that are not allowed in the
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file names used for the underlying files; will be replaced with
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underscores automatically (MB #8350)
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- users of the sync-ui will not know about the --migrate option,
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so if they have only one configuration, it should be migrated
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SyncML server in general:
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+ incoming connections are accepted by syncevo-dbus-server via
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the D-Bus Connection API; because this is a "personal SyncML
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server", all local data is meant to belong to a single user,
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and only one sync session can be active at any point in time
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+ different users on the same machine can run their own server,
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as long as they ensure that listening for incoming connections
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does not conflict with each other (different port in HTTP)
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+ the session of an HTTP client which stops sending messages expires
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after "RetryDuration" seconds instead of blocking the server
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- suspend/resume support is untested (MB #2425)
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- automatic backup of server databases is inefficient (done
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even when client is not allowed to do a sync; always backs up
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all data, including sources which are not active; MB #7708)
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- the progress events and statistics reported for a SyncML client
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are not generated when running as SyncML server, will require
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a fair amount of refactoring in the Synthesis engine (MB #7709)
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- the Synthesis server example config contains workarounds for
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specific phones, but SyncEvolution does not currently use those;
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adding new workarounds should be made very simple (MB #7712)
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+ test/syncevo-http-server.py provides an experimental HTTP server
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based on Python and Twisted
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- a configuration must be created for each peer manually, including
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a remoteDeviceId value that contains the peer's SyncML device ID
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OBEX SyncML server ("sync with phones"):
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+ peers are contacted via a builtin transport that uses libopenobex (MB #5188)
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+ Server Alerted Notification (SAN) message triggers syncs; server ID
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and URI are configurable (MB #7871)
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- a configuration must be created for each peer manually, including
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a syncURL that contains the peer's MAC address (MB #7838)
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- should be integrated into the system's Bluetooth pairing (MB #7089)
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+ obexd 0.19 contains a plugin which passes SyncML messages to syncevo-dbus-server
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- parsing of SAN message is rudimentary and depends on an existing local
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configuration, needs to be refined depending on which SyncML server software
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it is meant to work with (MB #6175)
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Automatic sync (MB #6378):
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- no support for the various server push notification mechanisms
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- no intelligent detection of local changes
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- no regular background sync
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- depends on safe handling of concurrent editing, which is blocked
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by merging of a new Evolution Data Server API (MB #3479)
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Upgrading from 0.9.x:
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* Upgrading and downgrading should work seamlessly when using existing
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configurations. But this being an alpha, better ensure that you have
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backups of both your data and your configurations in
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~/.config/syncevolution.
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* The new configuration layout is only used when creating new
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configurations or explicitly invoking "syncevolution --migrate" (see
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above). Such configs cannot be used by older SyncEvolution releases.
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SyncEvolution 0.9.1 -> 0.9.2, 23.01.2010
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========================================
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Synthesis SyncML Engine version: see src/synthesis/ChangeLog
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New Maemo 5/Nokia N900 calendar backend and packages, brought to you
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by Ove Kaaven. These packages are available via the Maemo extras-devel
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repository. Bug reports can be submitted both in http://bugs.maemo.org
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and http://bugzilla.moblin.org. The latter is the tracker that is
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monitored by the SyncEvolution team, which will also incorporate
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patches. In general, Ove is the main maintainer of the new backend.
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New XMLRPC backend, contributed by Franz Knipp/M-otion. It accesses
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data inside a web service via a SOUP API and thus allows synchronizing
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it via SyncML. See src/backends/xmlrpc/README for more information.
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Added templates for Oracle Beehive and Goosync. Both are not currently
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part of the regular testing.
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In addition to that, 0.9.2 is an incremental update, with several
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updated translations and addressing all of the issues reported by
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- vCard dialects: added "X-GENDER/X-SIP" (used by Maemo) and X-SKYPE
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(used by Maemo and recent Evolution, MB #8948)
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- Evolution Address Book: avoid picking CouchDB by default (MB #7877, evolution-couchdb #479110)
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CouchDB address books are appended at the end of the local database
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list, otherwise preserving the order of address books. The initial
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release of evolution-couchdb in Ubuntu 9.10 is unusable because it
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does not support the REV property.
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Reordering the entries ensures that the CouchDB address book is not
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used as the default database by SyncEvolution, as it happened in
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Ubuntu 9.10. Users can still pick it intentionally via
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- installation: templates now in $(datadir)/syncevolution/templates (MB #7808)
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This are files used internally, meant to be extended by distributors.
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Storing them in /etc is no longer supported, but also unlikely to be
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needed. Added warnings that these files cannot simply be copied into
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.config because they are not complete configurations.
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- installation: "make install" populates $(docdir) (MB #7168)
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Previously README, COPYING, NEWS, and server READMEs were copied
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into syncevolution.org .tar.gz/.deb/.rpm archives as part of
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custom make rules and thus missing in other installations.
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- building: --with-boost had no effect (MB#7856), detect incorrect
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use of --with-synthesis-src, workaround for lack of --with-docdir
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in older autoconf, do not unnecessarily depend on CPPUnit header
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files and GNOME/EDS libs (MB#8338), workaround for libtool bug
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("cannot install `syncecal.la' to a directory not ending in ..."),
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- clarified documentation of properties for file backend (MB#8146)
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- stderr redirection: detect "error" messages and show them (MB#7655)
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The "GConf Error: Failed to contact configuration server..." error
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message was suppressed by the code which catches noise from libraries
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invoked by SyncEvolution. Now it is printed as ERROR, making it
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easier to detect why running SyncEvolution inside cron needs
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http://www.estamos.de/blog/2009/05/08/running-syncevolution-as-cron-job/
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- importing contacts from SyncML server without full name (MB#5664):
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Evolution expects the name to be set and shows an empty string if
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it is missing. Now the name is re-added by appending first, middle and
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- Evolution calendar: work around 'cannot encode item' problem (MB #7879)
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Happens when the calendar file contains broken events which reference
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a timezone that is not defined. Now the event is treated like one in
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- "http_proxy" env variable is supported regardless which HTTP transport
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- avoid crashes when libecal sets neither error nor pointer (MB#8005)
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and when aborting a running sync in the syncevo-dbus-server (MB#8385)
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- "--status" output: fixed missing total item counts (MB #9097)
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Upgrading from 0.9.1:
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* nothing to do, upgrading and downgrading should work seamlessly
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SyncEvolution 0.9 -> 0.9.1, 26.10.2009
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======================================
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Synthesis SyncML Engine version: see src/synthesis/ChangeLog
added
removed
NEWS
