[opencms-dev] Sorting files in explorer view

[Achim Westermann]

Hi Jakub,

I heard that feature request some times before. Understandable, because 
the UI kind of looks like the Windows Explorer, which allows sorting. 
And yes, the workplace lists support sorting by columns. Personally 
speaking: I don't know of a sponsor that has been willing to pay us to 
implement this feature for OpenCms and I don't know if a contribution 
has been negotiated with Alkacon for this feature.
Still speaking as an indivdual person: Open Source with quality and long 
term continuation does not mean that anybody has the right to check in 
source code (because sometimes the changes are highly driven by a short 
commercial project timeline and result in proprietary project - specific 
solutions that would infect other users of OpenCms with proprietary and 
most often undocumented assumptions - this is what I often see in 
commercial OpenCms customizations: No documentation and a lot of 
specific behavior and I call it "infection of Open Source with 
economics"). Quality and reusability has to be watched, to avoid the 
slow death into unmaintainability and defectiveness of an Open Source 
solution. Open Source also does not mean, that the "keeper of the core 
quality" is able to implement features for free while delaying or 
dropping paid projects. This is what I call "the control of economics on 
Open Source". In an ideal world I had all the time to deliver an optimal 
product without any thoughts on how my payment would reach me. Be able 
to implement every feature that seems valuable for the community and 
also make me proud to have it inside the product. But where does my 
payment come from? Nice words, fame and hugs make me happy, but I cannot 
take those luck - bringers to a super market and buy something.

So there is a danger that money (and transitively often assumed that 
"very short time" to market solutions save money [I have to laugh about 
those "short time solutions" I have seen]) infects Open Source with 
defects and incompatibility (loss off generic usability)). And on the 
other hand there is control over the advance of the product that is 
QA'ed by some instance by money. Open Source - I think - is not free 
from a dependency on economics. At least if the contributors do it 
professional and have no spare time to earn money and still want to 
ensure quality (on the other hand the developers had to spend much time 
on earning money an had to waste their free time sitting at home  in 
order to implement the gifts for the community). But quality Open Source 
is inviting and enabling to share valuable development and about having 
the possibility to get back valuable and QA'ed features and improvements 
(the latter without expenses).

Personally I'd like this feature to be in OpenCms!


Kind Regards,
Achim.

-------------------
Achim Westermann

Alkacon Software GmbH  - The OpenCms Experts
http://www.alkacon.com - http://www.opencms.org


Jakub Zemanek wrote:
> Hi
> 
> In OpenCms editor there is the explorer view where one can see the files in
> the "current" folder. I am wondering if user could sort the files in the
> list, eg. by name, title, size, date,... - similar functionality to std.
> Windows' Explorer.
> 
> The functionality should be in the graphical framework, 'cause if one
> displays e.g. relations to the source, the list is sortable. So I am
> wondering why this is not used in the std. file view.
> 
> Thanks