Frameworks/Epics/Splitting kdelibs
kdelibs splitting epic
Important Forewords
If you are working on splitting a framework, make sure to consult our list of common issues. It will give you an overview of the solutions you're supposed to use to deal with some of the dependencies.
Also, when splitting out a framework, it is part of being done to comply with the KDE Frameworks Policies, it will also need to follow this Epic Policies. Any framework in the staging area cannot move to its final place without following those policies.
And last but not least, if you create a new framework, please consider being its maintainer as well. We need people to ensure the stewardship of all the frameworks.
Existing frameworks
Definition of done:
- No dependency on kdeui or kdecore
- Modularized CMakeLists.txt
- Installs a Config.cmake file for itself
- Does not install any Find*.cmake modules itself
- All Find*.cmake modules needed by the framework and used also by other frameworks have been upstreamed to extra-cmake-modules (via the kde-buildsystem mailing list) or directly to cmake (via the cmake list)
- Follows the policy on directory organization
- Unit tested
- Has an appointed maintainer
- Maintains source compatibility over kdelibs
February Iteration
| Status | Framework | Tier | Type | Maintainer | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DONE | itemmodels | Tier 1 | Functional | Stephen Kelly | |
| IN PROGRESS | kauth | Tier 1 | Integration | Dario Freddi |
|
| DONE | kdbusaddons | Tier1 | Functional | Kevin Ottens | |
| IN PROGRESS | kplotting | Tier 1 | Functional | Benjamin Port |
|
| IN PROGRESS | solid | Tier 1 | Integration | Alex Fiestas |
Not following directory organization yet |
| IN PROGRESS | threadweaver | Tier 1 | Functional | Mirko Boehm |
|
| IN PROGRESS | sonnet | Tier 2 | Functional | Mario Fux |
|
| IN PROGRESS | kcoreaddons | Tier 1 | Functional | Romain Perier |
|
March Iteration
| Status | Framework | Tier | Type | Maintainer | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TODO | kguiaddons | Tier 1 | Functional | ?? | Will contain the non-QWidget based classes from kdelibs/kdeui |
| TODO | idletime | Tier 1 | Integration | Dario Freddi? | Right now in kutils/kidletime |
| TODO | window management | Tier 2 | Integration | Martin Graesslin? | Right now in kdeui/windowmanagement |
| TODO | color widgets | Tier 2 | Functional | ?? | Right now in kdeui/colors |
| TODO | job widgets | Tier 2 | Functional | Kevin Ottens | Right now in kdeui/jobs |
| TODO | widgets | Tier 2 | Functional | ?? | Right now in kdeui/widgets |
April Iteration
| Status | Framework | Tier | Type | Maintainer | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IN PROGRESS | karchive | Tier 1 | Functional | Mario Bensi |
|
| TODO | kconfig | Tier 2 | Functional | Helio Castro? |
Details on KConfig/DConf, etc.
|
| TODO | kconfiggui | Tier 2 | Functional | Helio Castro? | |
| TODO | itemviews | Tier 3 | Functional | Stephen Kelly? | |
| TODO | dialogs | Tier 3 | Functional | ?? | Right now in kdeui/dialogs |
May Iteration
| Status | Framework | Tier | Type | Maintainer | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TODO | kservice | Tier 3 | Solution | ?? | Right now in kdecore/services |
| TODO | XMLGUI | Tier 3 | Functional | ?? | Right now in kdeui/actions and kdeui/xmlgui |
| TODO | emoticons | Tier 3 | Functional | ?? | Right now in kutils/kemoticons |
| TODO | kbookmarks | Tier ? | Functional | ?? | Right now in kio/bookmarks |
| TODO | kio-core | Tier ? | Solution | David Faure | |
| TODO | kio-widgets | Tier ? | Solution | David Faure |
June Iteration
| Status | Framework | Tier | Type | Maintainer | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IN PROGRESS | KDE Notifications Frameworks | probably tier2+3+5 | Functional or integration | Sune |
|
| IN PROGRESS | libplasma2 | Tier 3 | Solution | Aaron Seigo, Marco Martin |
|
| TODO | kcmutils | Tier 4 | N/A | ?? | Right now in kutils/kcmutils |
| TODO | kparts | Tier 4 | N/A | ?? | Right now in kparts |
| IN PROGRESS | kde4support | Tier 4 | N/A | David Faure | |
| TODO | kde "consistency" | Tier 4 | N/A | ?? |
Backlog
For reference, find the class by class analysis produced during Platform11 on the kdelibs dependencies page
This list is non-final, hence why it is not integrated in the table above, when the scope of a lib gets defined and worked on, it is removed from this list and go in the table above.
Yet to be produced frameworks (foreseen tier and type, not set in stone):
- Tier 3
- libkdebug (Tier 3 / Functional) / Depends on the results coming from qDebug() in Qt5
And probably more...
Finalization tasks
To be executed to complete the epic when all the frameworks are "done":
- Remove libinqt5
- Port to qt master (likely upcoming 5.1)
- Split into its own git module; pre-existing history will remain in the kdelibs repository and be accessible with git graft
Policies
Strive for Source Compatibility
Avoid removing API from the frameworks branch, even if it is replaced or deprecated. Prefer to implement the old API in terms of the new API.
In some cases this is very easy. For example, many APIs in KGlobal will be replaced as part of the frameworks effort.
- KGlobal::charsets() -> KCharsets::charsets()
- KGlobal::dirs() -> KStandardDirs::global() (or something?)
- KGlobal::ref() -> qApp->ref()
- KGlobal::deref() -> qApp->deref()
etc.
Removing this API from KGlobal is not necessary in most cases, and it introduces a porting burden which is best avoided.
There is unlikely to be a 1:1 mapping of old API to new API in every case, so how to implement the old API may not always be obvious. However, attempting to ensure that the older API remains useful should be at the front of our efforts and standards in the frameworks branch.
Binary compatibility policy relaxed
During the execution of this epic, the binary compatibility contraints from the global policy list is lifted.