Critique of XpTrackerPlugin for TWiki
I've been working on a Sample Iteration of an eXtreme Programming project, using the XpTrackerPlugin. This tool takes me close enough to what I need to leave me very disappointed. I don't wish to obey the old maxim not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Instead, I'll give what I think is a fair and useful critique of the plugin.
- Obey XHTML. The XHTML standard should be rigorously obeyed at every step, so that it doesn't break other skins. I tried to use the program with the Nat skin, but it breaks the Nat skin on the iteration pages, probably because of failures to close block-level elements like
divortabletags. There might also be failures in the Nat skin, but I haven't found them anywhere else. - Do not require Wiki Words for topic names. This precludes you from using names for iterations such as "Snapshot01", and makes the tool nearly unusable. Wiki words are for the weak.
- Mind your table widths. The default tables wander waaaaay off my screen, again making the software nearly unusable. I have to shrink my font to see and edit table contents, and even then I can't see it that well.
- Never hard-code colors into your HTML. You should always use a .css style for this, so that the user can override it. The default colors practically ensure a headache, unless you have partial ocular monochromatism, in which case you'll be completely lost and without hope. The alternate option to define colors in the WebPreferences is a nice touch--use that or CSS exclusively.
- CSS: Use more of it. Every block level, at the very least, should be stylable. That means naming classes for these elements. Use a central style sheet that people can edit for their personal tastes.
I might add more as I think of it. For now, these are the chief improvements I can recommend for this plugin. If I manage to implement any of these customizations, I'll be sure to give them back to the community. Although much of the trouble I'm having evaporates when using the Pattern skin, I think these forms and tables should all be more stylable. Please, don't anyone take this critique as my failure to appreciate Rafael's contribution or stemming from any delusions that I'm somehow entitled to more for nothing.
