[Phpgroupware-users] sanity checking a usage scenario

[Dan Bethe]

Hi all.  I'm 'dtm' from #phpgroupware.  I have a particular usage scenario
which I think could be very common.  Please take a look at my description of it
at the following url and pasted below (not everything renders to text, such as
tables, but it's here for your reply convenience).

I need for you to tell me if you understand the usage scenario and if you think
I'm implementing it correctly.  Particularly regarding the fact that I've given
up on systemwide global categories because app-specific global categories can't
inherit them and create children from them.  This scenario and others could be
documented so as to make it a lot easier for new admins to configure it for
their needs.

I can't subscribe to this list just yet due to traffic so please cc me and the
list, or I'll periodically check the list archives.

Thanks!

http://home.smuckola.org/dtm_dcl_phpgw_usage_scenario.html

===

     * one phpgw/dclgw installation on one host and periodically
       mirrored for failover to another server via pg_dumpall
       through RSA-authenticated SSH to that host, followed by
       'psql -f ...'
     * server administrated exclusively by dtm
     * hosting provided to various personal (dtm, cls, and
       kpmax2) and business (ACS, FCC, CD) entities
     * optionally interrelated usage between those entities
       (personal to personal; business to personal)
     * three core apps providing this interrelation: Calendar,
       DCL, and Addressbook
     * each person holding virtually one total user ID (username
       and authentication shared among all apps)
     * everything (all users, content, application
       configurations, etc) has to be within the same phpgw
       domain and DCL domain in order to be interrelated at all
     * In other words, it's core groupware shared by multiple
       groups whose users are also personal friends among groups,
       and who each have private lives as well.
     * examples of usage
         1. Ambassador Communication Services (ACS), with
            Calendar, DCL, and Addressbook exte nsively and
            interrelatedly used by the users dtm and kpmax2
            inside ACS but readable to cls
         2. dtm and kpmax2 will routinely assign each others'
            appointments in Calendar and tasks/projects in DCL,
            on behalf of their involvement in ACS
         3. each user has their own personal (non-business)
            content in all apps, optionally completely private
            only to themselves or readable by their group
         4. Christianne Design (CD), with Calendar, DCL, and
            Addressbook available to cls
         5. Foundation Course Consulting (FCC), with Calendar,
            DCL, and Addressbook available to dtm
         6. All users can see each others' Addressbook entries
     * examples of the resulting administrative configurations
          + master structure separating personal content,
            business content, and then each individual business's
            content
               o phpgroupware administration
                    # create an account for each user
                    # create user groups so as to provide rough
                      ACLs to each content entry
                         @ create 'ACS_Ops' so that content can
                           be shared exclusively between ACS
                           members, and so on per business
                    # don't create 'global categories' because
                      each app can't create its own local
                      children from systemwide 'global
                      categories' (is this a feature or a bug?
                      what should it be?)
               o Calendar administration
                    # 'global category' hierarchy
                         @ Personal (not business)
                              - Home (stuff related specifically
                                to living quarters)
                         @ Business (not personal)
                              - ACS
                              - FCC
                              - CD
               o DCL administration
                    # create an account in standalone dclgw for
                      each user
                    # no read-oriented ACLs in each domain in DCL
                    # create 'accounts': ACS, FCC, CD, Personal
               o Addressbook administration
                    # same basic 'global categories' config as
                      with Calendar
                    # additional app-specific person-oriented
                      'global categories'
                         @ (under Business) Entrepreneurial
                           (business
                           operator/manager/entrepreneur)
                              - (under ACS) Friend_of_ACS
                         @ (under Personal)
                              - SFBA (san francisco bay area
                                resident)
                              - Mac (the person is seriously fond
                                of Macintosh)
                              - Crosswinds (a
                                member/attendee/employee of
                                Crosswin ds Church)
                                   = SPF (member of Single Parent
                                     Famil ies group)
     * analogies between DCL and phpgroupware

   DCL phpgw
   domain domain
   account global category (muddy between systemwide and
   app-specific)
   department user group
   user user
   project
   WO/SEQ
   ticket
   product
     * questions
          + does DCL have a notion of ACLs? how does it compare
            to phpgw's?
          + phpgw's ACL seems to be almost exactly like 'chmod's
            ug+wrx, requiring the systemwide admin to create a
            user group for each restriction -- correct?
          + can at least a rough analogy be drawn between phpgw'
            s 'global categories' and DCL's 'accounts'? If not,
            then what?
          + What's the best analogy to draw from phpgw's user
            groups, to DCL?
          + What other ways can we draw analogies between phpgw's
            hierarchies and DCL's hierarchies, for the
            convenience of projecting other usage scenarios?
          + are there any plans to allow a hierarchical nest of
            systemwide 'global categories' with application
            specific 'global categories'? That seems
            counterintuitive to the database engineer but
            intuitive to the end user.


=====
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