jQuery Plugin Repository to provide CommonJS Package JSON for ~5000 plugins

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Mike Hostetler

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Jan 16, 2010, 10:12:31 AM1/16/10
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Hi CommonJS-

My name is Mike Hostetler, I work as the infrastructure team lead for
jQuery. You may have seen the 14 Days of jQuery event we're putting
on currently. As part of that event, we're planning to release a re-
built jQuery Plugin Repository.

A while back, we made the decision as a project to put our
infrastructure weight behind a complete re-build of the jQuery Plugin
Repository. Yehuda Katz (http://yehudakatz.com) and I have been
working together to define what that will look like.

In short, a major feature we've baked into the new repository is that
every plugin release (~5000) will be able to produce a CommonJS
Package.json file. Our intent is that this will grow to facilitate a
jQuery based, Javascript package management system, very similar to
Ruby Gem's. CommonJS was an obvious choice for us and we've based our
JSON output on the Packages 1.0 spec.

The first release of this new plugin repository is planned to happen
during the 14 days of jQuery. We have developed a roadmap that
includes other exciting features past this initial release. Laying
down a foundation based on the CommonJS spec is very exciting and we
want to say thanks to all the work you've done.

As we near our release, we wanted to reach out and let the CommonJS
community know of our plans. We are more then happy to share our
experiences in working with CommonJS and to help facilitate the growth
of CommonJS in the future.

Thanks,
Mike Hostetler & Yehuda Katz

mob

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Jan 16, 2010, 12:49:49 PM1/16/10
to CommonJS

Thanks - all real-world feedback on Packages 1.0 will be very helpful.
Particularly what you need beyond Packages 1.0. Can you say a bit more
about what you are doing on the server side and what tools you provide
to download and manage those plugin packages?

-mob

Andy

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Jan 16, 2010, 2:01:38 PM1/16/10
to CommonJS

> In short, a major feature we've baked into the new repository is that
> every plugin release (~5000) will be able to produce a CommonJS
> Package.json file.  Our intent is that this will grow to facilitate a
> jQuery based, Javascript package management system, very similar to
> Ruby Gem's.  CommonJS was an obvious choice for us and we've based our
> JSON output on the Packages 1.0 spec.

Sounds interesting -- is there a link to some more info about those
plans? I searched jquery-dev for 'package manager' and only came up
with a very old thread from 2007:

http://groups.google.com/group/jquery-dev/search?group=jquery-dev&q=package+manager&qt_g=Search+this+group

Andy

Mike Hostetler

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Jan 18, 2010, 10:41:48 AM1/18/10
to comm...@googlegroups.com
There hasn't been any public discussion on this.  The first public mention will be one of the jQuery14 announcements where we dig into our plans. 

Our strategy for releasing features is that version 1.0 will simply replicate what's available in the Drupal-based plugins site now.  We've rewritten the site from the ground up with PHP, in order to gain the level of control we felt we needed.  The only new feature of version 1.0 (due out in less then a week) is the ability to push out a CommonJS feed.

appendTo (http://appendto.com) is providing dedicated programming resources to continue the development of the plugins site going forward, given it's new status in the project.  We're elevating the importance of the plugins site to a key piece of the jQuery project. 

Again, thanks for all the hard work this group has put into the spec.  We are really hoping to really start pushing CommonJS in a big way and see it as a foundational piece of what we want to accomplish going forward.

Mike Hostetler
http://amountaintop.com


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Kevin Dangoor

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Jan 19, 2010, 7:18:15 AM1/19/10
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On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 10:41 AM, Mike Hostetler <mike.ho...@gmail.com> wrote:
There hasn't been any public discussion on this.  The first public mention will be one of the jQuery14 announcements where we dig into our plans. 

Our strategy for releasing features is that version 1.0 will simply replicate what's available in the Drupal-based plugins site now.  We've rewritten the site from the ground up with PHP, in order to gain the level of control we felt we needed.  The only new feature of version 1.0 (due out in less then a week) is the ability to push out a CommonJS feed.

appendTo (http://appendto.com) is providing dedicated programming resources to continue the development of the plugins site going forward, given it's new status in the project.  We're elevating the importance of the plugins site to a key piece of the jQuery project. 

Again, thanks for all the hard work this group has put into the spec.  We are really hoping to really start pushing CommonJS in a big way and see it as a foundational piece of what we want to accomplish going forward.

That's great to hear! Please send a link to this group when the official announcement goes up.

Kevin

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Kevin Dangoor

work: http://labs.mozilla.com/
email: k...@blazingthings.com
blog: http://www.BlueSkyOnMars.com
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