Provider for Google Calendar & Google (calendar) sync

[STF]

What is "Provider for Google Calendar" based on? I "GDATA
Provider" page, it's simply stated as "utilizing Google Data Protocol".

I suddenly asked this question is because I came across the news
that a blog from Google
(http://googleblog.blogspot.ca/2012/12/winter-cleaning.html) was talking
about removing Google (calendar) sync.

If "Provider for Google Calendar" is based on Google (Calendar)
sync, then it is necessary to write a statement on its home page to tell
people that the addon will not work.

[Stefan Sitter]

On 17.12.2012 14:52, STF wrote:
> What is "Provider for Google Calendar" based on? I "GDATA Provider"
> page, it's simply stated as "utilizing Google Data Protocol".

It uses the Google Data (GData) Protocol:
https://developers.google.com/gdata/

> I suddenly asked this question is because I came across the news
> that a blog from Google
> (http://googleblog.blogspot.ca/2012/12/winter-cleaning.html) was
> talking about removing Google (calendar) sync.

They remove support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync protocol. Support
for Google Data Protocol is not dropped.

> If "Provider for Google Calendar" is based on Google (Calendar)
> sync, then it is necessary to write a statement on its home page to
> tell people that the addon will not work.

The Provider for Google Calendar extension will continue to work. But is
not required since years to synchronize Lightning with Google Calendar.
Google Calendar supports the CalDAV protocol that is supported in
Lightning by default. Actually CalDAV is the recommended protocol as
mentioned in the blog post you linked above.

/Stefan

[STF]

On 2012.12.17 19:26, Stefan Sitter wrote:
> On 17.12.2012 14:52, STF wrote:
>> What is "Provider for Google Calendar" based on? I "GDATA Provider"
>> page, it's simply stated as "utilizing Google Data Protocol".
>
> It uses the Google Data (GData) Protocol:
> https://developers.google.com/gdata/

Well, I had seen this page as well. But with such limited
information, nothing allows us to tell if it is related to Google Sync
or not. Anyway, if GData protocol is not dropped, then it's OK

> They remove support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync protocol. Support
> for Google Data Protocol is not dropped.
>
>> If "Provider for Google Calendar" is based on Google (Calendar)
>> sync, then it is necessary to write a statement on its home page to
>> tell people that the addon will not work.
>
> The Provider for Google Calendar extension will continue to work. But is
> not required since years to synchronize Lightning with Google Calendar.
> Google Calendar supports the CalDAV protocol that is supported in
> Lightning by default. Actually CalDAV is the recommended protocol as
> mentioned in the blog post you linked above.

(Off-topic hereafter)

I don't use "Provider for Google Calendar". But if you take a
look in the web, you could see that it is somehow implied that the
"provider" is the recommended way of synchronizing Lightning with Google
calendar. Let me give you some examples:

1. Do a Google search with the key words "lightning google calendar".
What do you get? On my screen, Provider for Google Calendar is the first
match.

2. In some (probably old) articles about Lightning and Google, like
https://support.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/kb/using-lightning-google-calendar
https://wiki.mozilla.org/Calendar:Using_Lightning_with_Google_Calendars
things are written in a manner to imply that the "provider" is the
preferred way.

3. In Lightning add-on home page at
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/lightning/, the
provider is suggested into "Often used with.." section

4. Last but not least, in Provider add-on home page at
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/provider-for-google-calendar/,
we can still see recent reviews (last one is 13 December 2012) which
means a lot of people are still using it.

I don't know, maybe it's necessary to make people understand that CalDAV
is recommended way to sync with Lightning?

[Peter Lairo]

On Mo. 17.12.2012 19:26, Stefan Sitter wrote:> The Provider for Google

Calendar extension will continue to work. But is
> not required since years to synchronize Lightning with Google Calendar.

Unless you want to use the iCal protocol?

> Google Calendar supports the CalDAV protocol that is supported in
> Lightning by default. Actually CalDAV is the recommended protocol as
> mentioned in the blog post you linked above.

That's geed to hear. But why then isn't Lightning making it easier to
connect to a Google Calendar via CalDAV? Currently, it's a major PITA to
get the calendar's ID and them paste it into an obscure hyperlink[1] and
then paste that huge link into the "Location" of a new Lightning calendar?

Lightning should simply ask if it's a Google calendar and then only ask
for the Google calendar's ID and create the Location from that!

I also seem to remember that most (all?) of the calender developers are
using the Calendar Provider add-on with iCal (instead of the recommended
CalDAV). Is that true? If so, why?

[1] https://www.google.com/calendar/dav/YourGoogleE-MailAddress/events

--
Regards,
Peter Lairo

Bugs I think are important:
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=250539
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=391057
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=436259
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=446444

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