Bug#654896: ITP: xul-ext-debianbuttons -- Buttons for querying Debian-related pages with Iceweasel/Firefox

On Fri, Jan 06, 2012 at 05:32:20PM +0100, Tanguy Ortolo wrote:

* Package name : xul-ext-debianbuttons
* URL : https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/...n-buttons/
Description : Buttons for querying Debian-related pages with Iceweasel/Firefox

Debian buttons is an extension that provides three new buttons for quick
access to information about Debian package or bug report on the web
using text from the X11 clipboard.

What's exactly the point of this extension?

It appears to do exactly nothing a simple keyword can't do.
Even in bare Firefox, you make a bookmark with URL http://bugs.debian.org/%s
and keyword "bts", then typing "bts 654896" or "bts bash" gets you there.
And keywords don't take up screen space a series of buttons does.

1KB // Yo momma uses IPv4!


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On Sat, 7 Jan 2012 13:02:28 +0100
Adam Borowski wrote:

On Fri, Jan 06, 2012 at 05:32:20PM +0100, Tanguy Ortolo wrote:
> * Package name : xul-ext-debianbuttons
> * URL : https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/...n-buttons/
> Description : Buttons for querying Debian-related pages with Iceweasel/Firefox
>
> Debian buttons is an extension that provides three new buttons for quick
> access to information about Debian package or bug report on the web
> using text from the X11 clipboard.

What's exactly the point of this extension?

It appears to do exactly nothing a simple keyword can't do.
Even in bare Firefox, you make a bookmark with URL http://bugs.debian.org/%s
and keyword "bts", then typing "bts 654896" or "bts bash" gets you there.
And keywords don't take up screen space a series of buttons does.

Actually, I use epiphany precisely because it does this and
iceweasel does not. Epiphany can provide a toolbar with multiple buttons
with a text entry box next to each one because that means I can put a
number into the box via the middle mouse button and go straight to the
page, no messing with the address bar or having to clear previous stuff
or getting mixed in with the usually unhelpful search help which usually
covers the bit of the screen I want to see... and the button itself
still works as a plain bookmark button. Just what I need.

Browsing experiences and browsing requirements vary enormously. Don't
assume that you would use any package in the way that others would want
to use it.

The three buttons I always end up adding to any epiphany install are
PTS, BTS and Wiki. I find them particularly useful during a release
freeze to get a quick handle on packages with RC bugs. If iceweasel had
the same functionality, it would be better if it was adaptable to a
wide range of other queries but I'd still use it. I also end up adding
ones for ticket numbers and changeset numbers at work and a variety of
others. I don't care if this functionality is available via the address
bar, that's too awkward and requires actions prior to entering the
query data. Just a simple text entry box, ready and waiting is much
better.

Personally, I'd welcome a fix from the epiphany maintainers to
add a Debian toolbar with these buttons already assigned but I'm not
sure if it's sufficiently popular to warrant a wishlist bug.



Neil Williams
=
http://www.linux.codehelp.co.uk/






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Adam Borowski, 2012-01-07 13:02+0100:

It appears to do exactly nothing a simple keyword can't do.

That is correct, but it does not mean it is not useful.

Assuming you put a bug number into the clipboard, for instance by
double-clicking it on some IRC channel, let us compare:
* in both case, you go to your browser;
* with a keyword:
- you search for the appropriate search plugin, install it and program
the keywork (only the first time),
- you type ^L to go to the address bar,
- you type “bts ”,
- you move your mouse to the address bar and middle-click,
- you type ↵;
* with a button:
- you search for the appropriate extension, install it and place the
buttons (only the first time),
- you move your mouse to it and left-click.

You might prefer the first way, but not everybody does, so these buttons
may still be useful for some people. Actually, they will for at least
one person, myself. :-)

By the way, the BTS button seems to have one nice feature: it works even
for texts such as “#4212”, whereas with a keywork it may be necessary to
remove the hash sign first.

,--.
: /` ) Tanguy Ortolo <xmpp: <irc://irc.oftc.net/Tanguy>
| `-' Debian Developer
\_


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On Sat, Jan 07, 2012 at 02:03:56PM +0000, Tanguy Ortolo wrote:

Adam Borowski, 2012-01-07 13:02+0100:
> It appears to do exactly nothing a simple keyword can't do.

That is correct, but it does not mean it is not useful.

Assuming you put a bug number into the clipboard, for instance by
double-clicking it on some IRC channel, let us compare:
* in both case, you go to your browser;
* with a keyword:
- you search for the appropriate search plugin, install it and program
the keywork (only the first time),

There's no "search plugin" needed.

In fact, keywords make the whole search bar redundant, it's kept only for
marketing purposes (as Mozilla gets most of its income from Google) and for
beginner users. It's faster to type "g foo bar baz" (since you're already
typing) or "wp MAFIAA" instead of having to both select a search plugin and
type in (or paste) the query.

And if you prefer to use several mouse clicks instead of several keyclicks,
defining a search does the same thing as this extension without taking up
extra interface space.

* with a button:
- you search for the appropriate extension, install it and place the
buttons (only the first time),
- you move your mouse to it and left-click.

This works only if the query never comes from any other source than the
clipboard. A bug number tends to be pasted, package names not really. And
often you want to prepend "src:", something that can't be done easily in the
clipboard.

You might prefer the first way, but not everybody does, so these buttons
may still be useful for some people. Actually, they will for at least
one person, myself. :-)

Hey, I'm not someone to protest having more features -- doing that leaves
you with such abominations as Gnome3. I'm just pointing out a away that
(to me) appears more convenient and greatly more generic, while requiring no
extra package.

1KB // Yo momma uses IPv4!


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On Sat, Jan 7, 2012 at 8:22 PM, Neil Williams wrote:

Actually, I use epiphany precisely because it does this and
iceweasel does not. Epiphany can provide a toolbar with multiple buttons
with a text entry box next to each one because that means I can put a
number into the box via the middle mouse button and go straight to the
page, no messing with the address bar or having to clear previous stuff
or getting mixed in with the usually unhelpful search help which usually
covers the bit of the screen I want to see... and the button itself
still works as a plain bookmark button. Just what I need.

When I switched from galeon I also wanted galeon style smart bookmarks
and had to reimplement them as a hard-coded extension:

http://bonedaddy.net/pabs3/log/2011...l-firefox/

I would love it if I could replicate my galeon smart bookmarks
experience in iceweasel but I couldn't find any extensions to do that.

bye,
pabs

http://wiki.debian.org/PaulWise


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