Re: Sorry, but: Sync Stinks

Rick Price wrote:
> 
> On Mon, 12 Jun 2006, "Alex Wenzel" wrote:
> 
>> Yes, it's me *again*. But probably for the last time now.
>>
> 
> I'm glad to see that has not happened.
> 
>> I'm sorry to say that, but PDesk's hotsync is a piece of completely
>> broken crap.
> 
> There is no question it needs improvement, I am working on making it work 
> with XML rather than binary, but I will also try recompiling the current 
> conduit code to see if that makes a difference.
>

You know, there's XMLDiff available; it might be part of an answer for 
synchronization. That and Pilot-link (or coldsync) (so those of us who 
don't use windows can manage to sync).

XMLDiff (Python)
http://www.logilab.org/projects/xmldiff

XMLDiff (Perl; could use this with a sync framework using Perl):
http://software.decisionsoft.com/tools.html

> If you can reliably make the conduit mess things up, please send me a 
> repeat-by, I have never been able to make it destroy a project when I 
> wanted it to.
> 
> Just when I really didn't want it to...
> 
>> I absolutely understand that it's difficult to sync when there are
>> changes for the same item on both sides or maybe if an item is moved
>> in the tree on one side.
>> But you do *not* have to do simultaneous changes or move an item to
>> get a duplicate afterwards.
>> Every sync easily gave me *tons* of duplicates. Change a task priority
>> on on the desktop, and you'll get a duplicate on the next sync.
>> Not even perfect duplicates but hard-to-find-out ones. Sometimes it
>> lost notes in the syncing process. Or I got a single (progress) task
>> with the note, but without the subtasks and another without the note,
>> but with the subtasks. But usually, for a task with a note I got a
>> second one without the note. Or without the due date. Change the
>> description of a task with subtasks, and you get a new single task
>> with the new description, and another one with subtasks, but with the
>> old description. Actually, it sometimes stubbornly refuses to accept
>> changes for tasks with subtasks at all.
> 
> If you could document the ways you have found to make it mess up, there is 
> a fighting chance we can fix it.
> 
> Starting with a reasonably small project, can you document the ways to 
> make it mess up?
> 
> If it requires a larger project so be it, but I have not been able to 
> reliably cause it to mess up.
> 
>> Please note that the outline was *only* ever changed on the desktop,
>> it wasn't edited at all on the handheld.
>>
>> And then I went "back" to 0.8.5 from Beta 7 to which I downgraded
>> before, but it didn't get any better. Add a note to a single task, get
>> a duplicate (without note) on the next sync. Delete two duplicates,
>> get one back. Try to change the description of a task with subtasks,
>> maybe it will sync on the third try. But you'll get an additional one.
>> Man, this was meant to be a project with about 100 subtasks. I don't
>> think I can stand that.
>>
> 
> PDesk also seems to have issues, I am working on rewriting it.
> 
> In fact, since you seem to know what you want, would you have time to try 
> out the new version at some point?
> 
> I would like to know how people find the new version, although it is not 
> at all ready for prime time yet.
> 
>> And you can't even set the sync to overwrite handheld or desktop, like
>> with other conduits, which would be sufficient in my case. At this
>> state, it would be better to forget the sync of individual items
>> altogether and give users a mode to overwrite the files either on the
>> desktop or the handheld.
> 
> Yes, that is an annoying ommission.
> 
>> So, before you do *anything* else, please fix the broken sync. What
>> else is a desktop "companion" good for than to let you conveniently
>> edit the outline and sync to the handheld?
>>
>> BTW: This is on Windows NT 4 SP6a , but I don't think that that
>> matters. And the behaviour of the GUI isn't better than it was on W2k.
>>
> 
> The OS version AFAIK does not matter, although I have only had it cause 
> problems very infrequently. Basically I can't reproduce the problem, and 
> therefore it's very hard to fix.
> 
>> Oh, and when I opened one of my old 
> outlines, I remembered (because 
> I > saw it again) that a sync had added due dates to undated tasks (i.e to
>> half of my outline) way back then. That was Beta 6, but things don't
>> seem to have improved.
> 
> 
> Rick
> 
>> Alex
>>
>>
>>
>>
> 
> 
> 
> 
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Thanks,
-- 
Ned Konz
[email protected]
http://bike-nomad.com


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