Brainstorming on an EventTriggerPlugin

ClearCase and ClearQuest have triggers that can be programmed and installed by the administrator to perform some specific actions at specific events. This can be applied to TWiki as well. I would like to spin this idea further by allowing end users to set actions on events. In other words, this provides a great deal of flexilbility and power to end users (eliminate the programmer bottleneck^TM)

One specific example is described in AddMeToInterestedPartiesButton: TWiki.org's Codev and Plugins topics have an InterestedParties formfield. AntonAylward suggested a button to easily add oneself to the list. The EventTriggerPlugin can listen to an event and perform an action when triggered. Example syntax in table format:

The Plugin looks at page view time if there is a URL parameter named addmetolist (which can be provided by a form in the sidebar with a hidden input field containing the %WIKIUSERNAME% and a submit button). If the Plugin detects addmetolist, its value is taken and added to the InterestedParties form field.

The spec needs to be ironed out, e.g. what events, support multiple parameters, what actions, multiple actions, conditional actions (e.g. no action if TWikiGuest), etc.

One possible syntax is to use the common TWiki variables format, which can be defined per topic and per web: %EVENT{ type="..." action="..." }%

Possible event types:

• view - at topic view time
• edit - before edit
• save - before save
• postsave - after save
• at - at time intervals

Possible actions:

• addtext - add text at end of topic or at anchor
• setformfield - set form field
• addformfield - at to formfield list, comma separated
• mail - mail content
• notify - notify of topic change

What else?

-- PeterThoeny - 06 Jul 2005

See possible use at HowToSetQuestionStatusToAnswered. Would make the support forum more user friendly.

-- PeterThoeny - 08 Oct 2005

Subscriptions should not be added to the topic itself, but on a central spot. Imagine having marked 100 or perhaps 200 topics as "interested" - there comes a moment you would want to manage the topics in a central topic.

This central topic could logically be the user topic. "Add me to the list" should then instead be "Add this topic to my interesting topics list".

This management is closely related to Codev.PersonalizedRss.

-- ArthurClemens - 19 Nov 2005