[Grok-dev] Re: Skinning/themeing

[Martin Aspeli]

Martijn Faassen wrote:

> I'll go here to just remark on some risks with a pipelining to a 
> separate system (deliverance) approach. That's not to say we shouldn't 
> go there, I'm just analyzing tradeoffs:

I'm not bound to the idea that it's a separate system at all, just the 
pattern and the concept. I think it makes sense to re-use code if we 
can, but that's just business as usual.

> If a pipelining system is there and documented, people might feel 
> obliged to use it, even though they don't need it (yet). A pretty weak 
> risk perhaps, but something to be aware of.

It's a good point. It needs to be presented properly.

> And, again, a separate system to use for theming does increase the 
> conceptual burden for the developer. Evolution of an application from 
> everything-in-one-place to pipelines may not be entirely smooth either.

I think it could be a pretty linear evolutionary path, at least if it's 
made easy enough.

> An in-system approach (where you work with concepts related to existing 
> Grok concepts, like views, and existing templates) might allow people to 
> learn and evolve more smoothly.

I agree, of course. Maybe we end up with something that is a 
special/optimised case of match views, for example, and a separate 
document/tutorial on "how to brand an existing Grok application"?

Martin