Closed Bug 1372580 Opened 7 years ago Closed 5 years ago

Feature Request: Replace address-book with CardBook

Categories

(Thunderbird :: Address Book, enhancement)

Product:
Thunderbird
Component:
Address Book
Version:
52 Branch
Type:
enhancement
Priority:
Not set
Severity:
normal

Tracking

(Not tracked)

Status:
RESOLVED WONTFIX

People

(Reporter: micet2004-github, Unassigned)

Details

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Ubuntu; Linux x86_64; rv:53.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/53.0
Build ID: 20170524180630

Steps to reproduce:

The actual Address-book do not support CardDAV


Actual results:

Address-book are not synced. Contact-lists have to be modified per PC


Expected results:

Please replace this Address-book with https://github.com/CardBook/CardBook
The author of the add-on would have to integrate his add-on into TB.

Interesting reading: Bug 1336357 comment #11.
Severity: normal → enhancement
(In reply to Jorg K (GMT+2) from comment #1)
> The author of the add-on would have to integrate his add-on into TB.
> 
> Interesting reading: Bug 1336357 comment #11.

Thanks for this! 
I didn't find this because I had the focus on CardDAV
+1 for adding CardBook.

It would also solve and old CardDav enhancement Bug 546932 which now has $500 in bounties on https://www.bountysource.com/issues/1015434-add-support-for-online-address-books-using-the-carddav-format
No chance to get this genius Addon native in Thunderbird like Lightning now? It would be great if both Addons come together in the final release..
(In reply to Tradewatcher from comment #4)
> No chance to get this genius Addon native in Thunderbird like Lightning now?
> It would be great if both Addons come together in the final release..

No, not at this time
(In reply to Mannshoch from comment #0)
> Please replace this Address-book with https://github.com/CardBook/CardBook
The official CardBook repository (add-on for Thunderbird) has changed from GitHub to:
https://gitlab.com/CardBook/CardBook


(In reply to Jorg K (GMT+2) from comment #1)
> The author of the add-on would have to integrate his add-on into TB.
About the future of Thunderbird, whatever would be the path to the new Thunderbird, I’m [Philippe Vigneau] ready and open to work to make CardBook the new Thunderbird addressbook
https://mail.mozilla.org/pipermail/tb-planning/2017-April/005378.html
 
> Interesting reading: Bug 1336357 comment #11.
(In reply to Kent James (:rkent) from Bug 1336357 comment #11)
> (Aside: IMHO it is really a pity that this much work is being done without an attempt to make the addon code readable by others, nor following standard coding practices used in Mozilla.
Comments are now showing, for example
https://gitlab.com/CardBook/CardBook/blob/master/chrome/content/ovl_init.js
Please advise which coding standards are currently being overlooked?

> The code is also under GPL which is not compatible with Thunderbird.
Upon the comment by rkent, CardBook's licence was changed to Mozilla Public License 2.0
https://gitlab.com/CardBook/CardBook/blob/master/LICENSE.txt

> Collaboration, proper testing, proper documentation, MPL or more lenient licensing, are all part of making this usable as the default Thunderbird address book.
Collaboration, proper testing:
https://gitlab.com/CardBook/CardBook/#coders
https://gitlab.com/CardBook/CardBook/#translators
https://gitlab.com/CardBook/CardBook/#supports

MPL:
https://gitlab.com/CardBook/CardBook/blob/master/LICENSE.txt

Documentation:
CardBook has been designed to be an efficient and effective tool that does not need a manual to become productive.
https://gitlab.com/CardBook/CardBook/#manual
https://gitlab.com/CardBook/CardBook/uploads/3477291d51741a323c59db8ec9e596ac/nihpdhkinpnefddp.png

> These are not features that can just be tacked on at the end. So I just want to make it clear that this addon shows no sign of being on a path to replacing the default address book in Thunderbird. There is more to production code than just working.)
Bug 1336357 comment #11 was written 2 years ago (as of writing this comment). Does the CardBook add-on show signed of being on a path to replacing the default address book in Thunderbird? If not, please comment what needs to be addressed. If so, please comment on the next step.


(In reply to Wayne Mery (:wsmwk) from comment #5)
> (In reply to Tradewatcher from comment #4)
> > No chance to get this genius Addon native in Thunderbird like Lightning now? It would be great if both Addons come together in the final release..
> 
> No, not at this time
Cc'd Philippe Vigneau, CardBook author, to enable his involvement in the process.
(In reply to Herman van Rink from comment #3)
> +1 for adding CardBook.

Could you please vote for this bug:
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2. If not expanded, click on the “Details” section
3. Click on the “Vote” button
4. Follow the prompts

Thank you
+1 - I'd definitely like to see this be the default addressbook - it is hands down an order of magnitude superior from a users perspective. It syncs with google addressbook and others. Cloud sync should be a requirement for any post 2000 addressbook component. It also does not suffer the limitations of the default addressbook (limits on number of phone numbers, addresses etc). I for one have several phone numbers and addresses (email and physical) for loads of my contacts. This tool works well and frees us from the severe limitations of the built-in addressbook.

I'd like to see this compatible with TB 64 so it can start to be tested in the new code base - once that happens I do hope that whatever coding standards remain to be addressed can be addressed quickly.

From a user viewpoint - please help drive this forward and help TB enter the modern world from a cloud sync perspective.

I definitely vote yes.

Thank you

gene
Sounds like a good idea - +1
TB's builtin address book feels so 1990s. It should definitely be replaced, for many reasons, carddav support being one very important but not the only one. CardBook isn't perfect, but it is a HUGE, HUGE improvement over the default.
(In reply to comment #10)
> TB's builtin address book feels so 1990s.

I agree that CardBook has many capabilities, mainly when it comes to remote syncing. And Philippe Vigneau's coding speed, as evidenced by the constant stream of updates and enhancements, is certainly more than impressive!

But regarding your 1990s remark, I feel this is precisely the area, where CardBook has to catch up the most (but therefore could also gain the most). Since 2003, Outlook has at least a business card view with photos. To this date, both CardBook and the built-in address book lack this view (bug#1226155) or, for that matter, any other view showing contacts as photographs (bug#1456645).

For comparison, here is a vivid article about how modern mail clients and address books have visually evolved in new millennium:
https://www.monterail.com/blog/2016/the-power-of-email-clients-why-did-we-redesign-thunderbird


In this spirit, here is my list of modernization ideas, designed to help CardBook and Thunderbird stay in touch with the visual evolution of modern email clients:

--> https://gitlab.com/CardBook/CardBook/issues/374

Whatever project ends up replacing TB's built-in address book needs to visually offer more than the table/list view of the 1990s. Some view displaying contacts not as text but as photographs should be the bare minimum.
I would say, that CardBook evolution went more and more to a Address syncing and Manipulation tool for Professionals. I like that. But, I would agree with the concerns that Cardbook is not looking like an Addressbook for a normal user should look like. 

I would like to see if someone take Cardbook and only enhance the Frontend with a shiny, modern and easy to use Frontend. So a professional could switch from it to the current style and back.

I do not wish to see another Fork or a whole new application only because It do not fit into the design plans for thunderbird.
+1 for replacing the (IMHO) long-time deprecated native adressbook with CardBook.
CardBook is not an Adress syncing or manipulation tool for professionals. It is a full independent adress book which replace the native adress book and provide the features we miss since 20 years. The internal adress book should have been removed some years ago.

Yes CardBook is not up2date to competit the actual mail clients and their adress books but its a great "base" to start anywhere. CardBook won't need that much improvement and the Thunderbird team maybe become a new developer for the Adress Book.
He already changed License and wrote that he is ready to update CardBook for a native integration.

Win/Win Situation - I dont know why this have no priority and assignee.

We won't be integrating CardBook as such.
This bug is also kind of a duplicate (or not) of bug 546932 which tracks CardDAV support.

Status: UNCONFIRMED → RESOLVED
Closed: 5 years ago
Resolution: --- → WONTFIX

For all of us who (a) have tried CardBook and found it very useful, satisfying, and a significant improvement over the "native" addressbook capabilities, and (b) are trying to remain with Thunderbird through the somewhat difficult-to-understand and frustrating plugin/ui upheaval beyond v 60-ish in which numerous very useful, well-established plugins have become/are becoming invalidated unless (apparently) their developers do extensive rewrites (the most important of which to me is Nostalgy), it would be very supportive, illuminating, and helpful if the Thunderbird developers could report either here, or in the appropriate forum which you could point us to, on the rationale for choosing a different course than integrating Cardbook, and what the plans are going forward for address book enhancement. Thanks in advance for any light you could shed on these issues, very much appreciated.

The CardBook dev team has offered to do the work to get it integrated appropriately, and TB devs are not really in oversupply I'd imagine, so it would be good to find some way to leverage the work already done on CardBook as well as to take advantage of willing CB devs to help improve TB. Especially when bathed in the rather long history of TB not having such features, as mentioned in the duplicate bug (or not) above..

The goal everyone here has, is helping improve TB.

Thanks to all devs for the work you do (TB core devs and the cardbook and other addon folks who are all trying to enhance a great tool).

(In reply to Glen Whitney from comment #16)

it would be very supportive, illuminating, and helpful if the Thunderbird developers could report either here, or in the appropriate forum which you could point us to, on the rationale for choosing a different course than integrating Cardbook, and what the plans are going forward for address book enhancement.

"Integrating" add-ons as such is rather complicated in practice. In general, appropriate parts of the code should be integrated rather than the add-on.

We're going to rewrite the address book with a target of using pure web technologies. That work is now re-starting, watch bug 841598.

We're going to rewrite the address book with a target of using pure web technologies. That work is now re-starting, watch bug 841598.

OK, do you plan to integrate some code from Cardbook? Notably, the carddav support (with Nextcloud for instance) is a very key feature of Cardbook.

Thanks

Unclear yet, but for the parts it could be useful we'll be looking at that. CardDAV support is much wanted indeed, but it's orthogonal to this effort.

(In reply to Magnus Melin [:mkmelin] from comment #20)

Unclear yet, but for the parts it could be useful we'll be looking at that. CardDAV support is much wanted indeed, but it's orthogonal to this effort.

Sorry, I'm not sure to understand. What do you mean orthogonal? Does it mean that it's a different unrelated issue? Or that it goes against what you want to do with the new address book?

The address book rewrite will make it easier to add carddav support in core. Whether carddav is implemented in the process or not is unclear, but probably not as a direct result: what I'm saying is they are two interconnected but different issues.

I can't judge the Cardbook-code but it works fine for me. That's why I don't understand when I'm reading it here, why you want to rewrite such an implementation that still exists. I just think it's a pity, because it will take decades again until mozilla will publish it :(.

given the countless responses i've seen on this both in public & private, i'm gonna speculate noone @project really wants to hear this ... but it's my opinion/experience, this is the current topic, and frankly, it needs saying. again.

the facts of the matter include

addressbook has been unusable garbage for many years -- pleading bugs to fix it are heading for 20 years old now.

lightning's caldav support has been flaky/shaky in the best of times.

in that time, two EXTERNAL groups have stepped up with real, delivered solutions:

CardBook
TBSync (plus providers)

they're real, they work, and work well, and the developers are talented, committed & responsive.

and without one or both, TB's immediately a door stop for Enterprise use -- around here, for my many 100's of users/clients/etc.

yes, I understand that Mozilla's now-CEO crippled Thunderbird by abandoning it, funding/resources are a challenge, groups that have tried to contribute time &/or resources have been alienated that they don't any longer, etc etc.

it's clear as a bell that there are causal challenges.

but, again, the fact remains that -- to date -- ALL start/stop/deflect/endless-analysis solutions from TB team on this^ topic are simply vapourware as far as users are concerned.

this^ promised future is great. but to ignore the NOW-FUNCTIONING contributions of developers, simply contributing to the community as acts of good will, is -- at best -- a ridiculous waste.

you don't have to dig very far to learn that 'the best' of external contributors are being actively/increasingly discouraged, if not already dissuaded and gone from participation altogether.

NOT tightly embracing their work, contributions & ideas -- EVEN IF their solutions are not integrated as-is -- is just foolish. Just read the last couple of comments to know that it's more that just me scratching my head wondering 'why?'

is @TB team so certain that "This Time" it'll deliver on its 'promises' that it's willing to risk the loss of community solutions -- again & some more?

Cuz if you are, and you don't -- it's door-stop time again.

I don't believe for one moment that there's a lack of skill/talent, or even good intention @TB.
I do question, and quite reasonably so given the history, the priority/focus to deliver what "we" need.
And I am increasingly concerned to see the continued not-invented-here syndrome so much at work that the best-of-the-best contributors are being pushed away. again. it's painful to watch.

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