Qubit/Repository for non-code assets

This page will serve as a brainstorming location for a Repository for non-code assets for LibreOffice.

Why do we need a new tool?
We're currently trying to store all of our media assets on the wiki. This is problematic for multiple reasons, including:


 * The wiki doesn't handle large images (or other media) well.
 * The wiki isn't the easiest tool for managing large sets of media.
 * The only interface to the wiki is via the web GUI.

(We may also have large binary source files stored in Silverstripe that would be more suited to organization in this type of repository. Someone who has access to that tool would be better-suited to comment on the topic :-)

What will the repository store?
(Subject to approval by whoever makes these decisions), this repository may hold any (all?) source media assets for LibreOffice and ODF projects. This would include:


 * Source media for websites
 * Icons for applications
 * Audio/Video clips

Depending upon the tool selected we may wish to store some or all audio/video assets in a separate repository, due to space/cloning concerns.

Derivates of the source files may live in this repository or be stored in other repositories (e.g. icons alongside code in git, images for the website in Silverstripe, embedded help media at ODF Authors, or illustrative screenshots in the TDF wiki or the Help wiki.

Requirements
Many of the requirements of this tool are listed in the table below. Other requirements or conditions, especially ones hard to codify in a table, are listed here:


 * People need to use it!


 * We need to choose a tool that meets all of our infrastructure needs as well as providing a simple enough interface that the Design Team and other primary users of this tool feel comfortable using it.

Feature comparisons
This section displays a feature comparison between possible software candidates. It also displays the features provided by existing tools including MediaWiki and Silverstripe.-

Use Cases
Here are some use cases for the repository:

Case 1: Get images of computers to Design Team for website

WHAT WE DID:
 * Uploaded images to wiki
 * Problem: Had to specify author and license (and then upload each file) individually.
 * Problem: Ran into some filesize issues
 * Problem: Limits on filesize

IDEAL:
 * Batch-upload...
 * ...in the background
 * Option to choose existing license + author, or specify new ones

Case 2: Get Impress Remote icon for the BSA

WHAT WE DID:
 * Found an icon compiled from the source (??)
 * Problem: 3D-looking icon does not fit in with the other icons used in the BSA
 * Problem: No source file on hand for the icon

IDEAL:
 * Source files for the Impress Remote icon would live in the repository
 * When a 2D-looking icon is needed, one may be rendered out (by the Design Team, BSA devs, etc..)

Similar: Someone wanted an image component from the new LO 4.0 splash pages, but had to send a request for that content, rather than being able to access it directly.

Case 3: Screenshots of the program are needed for our websites, manuals, etc..

WHAT WE DO:
 * Attach them, or
 * Upload 13 of them to the wiki (one at a time)...

IDEAL:
 * Store high-res screenshots in the repository.

Decisions
As of Mid-2013, we've deployed ownCloud.

Meetings and Schedules
This section contains notes from our meetings, and schedules/scheduled items:

Meeting April 1, 2013
This meeting is tentatively scheduled for the end of the week (Friday). In reality, it will take place whenever @qubit + @eagles0513875 are on IRC and have some time to chat :-)

AGENDA:
 * Investigate current status of GUIs for Git
 * Is there equal/equivalent support on GNU/Linux, Mac, and Windows?
 * Find some testers
 * Get content for our test repo
 * We could use made-up or simulated data from Wikicommons (or similar).
 * Ideally we would use actual data from LibreOffice. (Perhaps @floeff can give us a dump of media from the Wiki)

Meeting March 26, 2013
AGENDA:
 * None :-)

MINUTES:
 * Impromptu meeting on IRC (@qubit, @eagles0513875)
 * MediaWiki <-> Git bridges are immature and do not currently provide a useful tool for us.
 * (We could hack on these tools ourselves, but that could take an unknown amount of time)
 * What about just Git?
 * Git is mature and works.
 * CLI and GUI clients available
 * QUESTION: What about web interface(s)?
 * Specifically, what about being able to download a file or directory of content from the web interface?

ACTION ITEMS:
 * @eagles0513875 will install git and git-web on the test server
 * @qubit will investigate web front-ends to git

Also see

 * Discussion about this repo on the website mailing list here, here, etc.. (archive threading isn't perfect)