MLS mods

Discussions around using and interfacing with the Church MLS program.
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atticusewig
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Posts: 308
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2007 9:48 am

MLS mods

#1

Post by atticusewig »

Looking into the structure of the 2.6 version of MLS
(which by the way is excellent - pass that on to the developers please),
I noticed that the new CES and Confidential Forms fall under the
mods subdirectory, and it appears that the new version would
scan that directory and load anything else that was in that directory
as well - i.e. we could create our own mods to MLS.

Is this true ? If so, is there a spec in the works to help the
community to create mods ?

Some mods I can think of right away is a Faith in God/Personal Progess/Duty to God
Tracker, Scouting Rank advancement tracking, and Emergency Preparedess tracking-
i.e. Response Inventory (who has chainsaws, trucks,etc), followup (out-of-area contact
info for each household), etc.

I was working on a proof-of-concept, only to find out that my Java development setup was
a bit dated ? Anyone else have any success ?

What mods would you like to participate in, if they are possible ?

- Atticus Ewig
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mkmurray
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Location: Utah
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#2

Post by mkmurray »

Wouldn't there be a lot of security concerns for allowing mod plugins to such a security sensitive application like MLS?
runstodboy-p40
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#3

Post by runstodboy-p40 »

Currently, the plan is not to open MLS up to external modules that are community based. The plan for MLS, as far as I know, is to modularize the various components of MLS so that it isn't necessary to have an 80 Meg download that has to be installed on each computer whenever a new component is released or updated. By breaking these items into plugins it will allow a smaller file to be transmitted when regular transfers are done (you will be give the opportunity to "snooze" an update if you're transmitting on a Sunday or otherwise have a need to connect and disconnect quickly). I should point out that development on MLS is active. There are new features coming out, just like the Confidential forms and CES modules. So, your ideas are welcomed and may end up in MLS at some point.
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kfindlay
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Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 9:41 am
Location: Utah Native in Madison Alabama Over 25 Years

New MLS kidos and suggestion

#4

Post by kfindlay »

That kidos in the title should be KUDOS...

The GUI of the new 2.6 MLS is a big step forward, great job, functions are grouped like creating a record, and all of its possibilities.

Since MLS is still in development, I would second the request to have a way to track the church youth awards on the system, Duty to God, Personal Progress Awards, etc.

Scouting records however should be on a separate system. Scouting records can be very complex and there already is software for that available.
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thedqs
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#5

Post by thedqs »

For Duty to God and Personal Progress I believe there are 3rd party programs that have been created that already do keep track of it. (I just did a google search and pulled up a few programs that have been developed) What would be the benefit of the church integrating it with MLS? A disadvantage that I forsee is getting access to the computer as a young men/women leader and also the extra demand for the computer.
- David
atticusewig
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Posts: 308
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2007 9:48 am

#6

Post by atticusewig »

thedqs wrote:For Duty to God and Personal Progress I believe there are 3rd party programs that have been created that already do keep track of it. (I just did a google search and pulled up a few programs that have been developed) What would be the benefit of the church integrating it with MLS? A disadvantage that I forsee is getting access to the computer as a young men/women leader and also the extra demand for the computer.
One of the distinct advantages of it being on the church computer is
that there is no "data loss" whenever there is a leadership change.
It is too easy for people to move out without passing on information.

Another reason is the "peer over the shoulder"-feature for a Bishop.
By having it centrally located, he will be able to login and see who
needs some personal attention.

Security, while probably not a real concern in this matter, is also
provided by the umbrella of MLS database encryption.

I agree wholeheartedly that it will create a higher demand for the ward computer
and cause access issues as well. In our ward, we use to a resource calendar
on the ward website to schedule times for ward computer use, and so far it has
worked well for us - but I understand that this solution isn't for everyone - especially
for geographically distant meetinghouses. Of course, if the MLS development team
and those in charge of LUWS development get together, some mods such as
personal progress tracking could be accessed via the ward websites.

- Atticus Ewig
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