Posted by Graham Leach on Wed, Jan 10, 2024 - 2:57am --- Updated: Jan 10 '24 - 4:44am

Hello Everybody,

I recently took a look at the Fivestar (fivestar) Module after being asked to perform what should have been a very small modification - changing the "star" oriented image to a "paw" oriented image.   Unfortunately, I kept getting dragged deeper and deeper into more and more problems, and ended up spending two days figuring out where everything is and how everything relates (or doesn't) in that module. 

There's lots to discuss.  While reviewing the module I noticed a raft of typos, outright mistakes, omissions, half-baked implementations and inconsistencies.  Maybe they have something to do with the age of my site (12+ years), but maybe not.

I originally downloaded my version from Drupal (7.x-2.3), where I am one among its 24,401 installations.

I note that there is also a version available for some time now (2017-) from BackdropCMS (1.x-2.2) of which there are 29 installations.

Seeing as Drupal is dropping support for all things D7 in about a year, I am curious to know who else feels that there are a bunch of interesting "challenges" that need to be resolved with respect to this nifty little module? 

I personally like the Fivestar Module very much.  It has served my website customers well in its current state for something approaching (or over) a decade now.   I think the Fivestar Module now deserves to be Finalized.  By that I mean a correct and complete implementation that achieves all of its stated functionality and unstated potential, unless there's an alternative that delivers equivalent functionality at a dramatically higher degree of fit & finish.

First of all - is there something better than Fivestar? 

If there isn't, how about we organize a little team to Finalize Fivestar against a specification document of some kind?

I would treat it as a learning exercise, and would look forward to becoming a better Backdrop CMS developer as a result.

g.
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Most helpful answers

Sounds like a plan, I use it

Sounds like a plan, I use it on a site, so will endeavour to pitch in when I can.

Are there any other bugs that

Are there any other bugs that aren't already in the issue queue? If so, it would be good to add them as you find them and link to any corresponding Drupal issue if applicable.

All input is welcome for modules (i.e. documenting bugs, providing clear specification for feature requests and testing bug fixes) even if you're not yet ready to code.

I think @Laryn is waiting for testing on the latest dev version before doing a new release - see https://github.com/backdrop-contrib/fivestar/issues/14

And also wants to get jQuery updated - https://github.com/backdrop-contrib/fivestar/issues/18

Comments

Wed, Jan 10, 2024 - 4:55am by yorkshirepudding

Are there any other bugs that aren't already in the issue queue? If so, it would be good to add them as you find them and link to any corresponding Drupal issue if applicable.

All input is welcome for modules (i.e. documenting bugs, providing clear specification for feature requests and testing bug fixes) even if you're not yet ready to code.

I think @Laryn is waiting for testing on the latest dev version before doing a new release - see https://github.com/backdrop-contrib/fivestar/issues/14

And also wants to get jQuery updated - https://github.com/backdrop-contrib/fivestar/issues/18

Wed, Jan 10, 2024 - 8:30pm by Graham Leach

Heya @yorkshirepudding,

I just took another look at the issue queue (I also did this yesterday) and saw:

  1. Warning: Undefined array key "complete form"
  2. jQuery calls need updating for newer jQuery
  3. New release? question
  4. Documentation

Looks like a couple of them can be knocked down very fast, others not so fast.

Currently, I am mostly oriented toward #4 (Documentation), but that can be achieved in isolation from the other items.  With some guidance, I might be able to address the programming-oriented ones (#2, #1) that would likely spark a new release, satisfying the release-oriented question (#3).

g.
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Thu, Jan 11, 2024 - 2:10am by DrAlbany

Sounds like a plan, I use it on a site, so will endeavour to pitch in when I can.

Fri, Jul 26, 2024 - 11:15pm by Graham Leach

Heya,

 I'm in the final stages of preparing some Fivestar Module (fivestar) documentation.  

 I am toying with the idea of publishing as an e-book. 

 All told, I think the e-book is going to end up somewhere between 50 and 100 pages in length.

 A)  Is there a style guide I can look over?  I am currently emulating O'Reilly to some degree.

 B)  I am wondering if anyone is interested in being a proofreader / reviewer?

One of the things I notice is that projects fall by the wayside if there is no pecuniary connection (direct or otherwise) between those maintaining a software and those using it.

C)  I am also wondering about financial sustainability and whether charging a small fee for a work such as this would be an acceptable thing to talk about?

WordPress has implemented a comprehensive micro-charge and subscription subsystem that seems to have resulted in an extremely vibrant community and an exploding innovation eco-space.  What is BCMS doing to spur growth and adoption along those lines?

g.

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