module xml feature request

["Jason" <judgej (at) xaraya.com>]

"linoj" <jonthan (at) parkerhill.com> wrote in message 
news:ehvneq$2mg$1 (at) newton.xaraya.com...
> Hi,
>
> I've been meaning to add this feature request to the 2.0 agenda.
>
> I think all modules should be required to provide an xml interface for 
> import and export of items, itemtypes, blocks, and configuration data.
>
> This will facilitate a lot of features that I have been wanting/needing, 
> including
>
> - conversion of items from one item type to another

I used to do this a lot in the articles module, by exporting an article 
itemtype to XML, changing a few details, then reimporting it as a different 
itemtype. Very handy.

> - moving items from one site to another
> - installation wizards for modules and pre-packaged websites
> - synchronizing websites, especially a staging site vs a live one

All good stuff, and all highly desirable in a professional environment.

> For example, lets say I have a live community site. And at the same time I 
> have a development or staging site where I'm adding improvements. When I'm 
> ready to move the staging site to live, I need to diff and merge the 
> databases. Right now I do this "by hand" (and hope I got it right).

Better still, if all modules were required to declare their data structures 
and APIs in a consistent manner, it would then be possible to import and 
export data and configuration items using a common import/export module. 
There is no reason to build the XML import and export functions in any more 
than one place.

An attempt to do that is already built into the dynamic data module, but it 
has been required to hard-code the APIs for specific modules into it, making 
it less flexible than it could be. Importing through the APIs is preferred 
(compared to importing directly into tables) IMO as it ensures data 
consistency within a module.

The 2.x line takes a different approach with regards to data storage, and 
there may be more scope there to providing a more generic import and export 
feature for Xaraya as a whole.

-- JJ


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