[pmwiki-users] Cluster Side Bars

Sivakatirswami katir at hindu.org
Mon May 14 19:18:55 CDT 2007


Kathryn Andersen wrote:
> On Sun, May 13, 2007 at 04:37:32PM -1000, Sivakatirswami wrote:
>> I see this on sidebars in docs for Cluster. What we need is a side bar 
>> for an entire cluster
>>
>> HTDE 
>> HTDE-Subscriptions
>> HTDE-DBase
>> HTDE-Statistics
>>
>> etc. all to get the same side bar. But this recipe implies that, if 
>> implemented, we need to
>> create a $Group.SideBar page, one for each level in the Cluster. Is 
>> there a way to get
>> one for the whole Cluster?
> 
> If you want one sidebar for the HTDE group, then just create
> 
> HTDE.SideBar
> 
> and it should be used for all the HTDE-* groups, provided that your skin
> template has the {$ClusterSideBar} bit in it.

Outstanding, great... that's very "neat"... Cluster has been a real
boon... I reviewed
the whole hierarchical group discussion today. I actually think this is
better in many ways than some of the proposed alternatives and would
have to agree with PM that other options don't really get us anything
but complications. I like the clarity of what we have.

So Cluster may turn out to be The Final Solution (smile) for those
of us who like simplicity.
> 
> What makes you think that the documentation says that you need to create
> a $Group.SideBar page for each level in the cluster?  One *can* create
> them, yes, but the whole point of Cluster is so that one can configure
> things for a cluster of groups *without* having to do a separate
> configuration for each group in the cluster.

It just goes back to an earlier " wish" I had
when we started this whole discussion last year or early
this year... that we have some nomenclature gaps such
that  when docs refer to $Group, but if applied to
  "whatever we want to call it top level, Kingdom, Matriarch Group"
that the recipe will cascade to the whole Cluster.

I guess because you do not explicitely state something like
"if you create a Side bar for  the Top Level Group
(what are we calling this "Matriarch" of the cluster);
it will be applied to all "Child" groups thru the Custer.
we still think $Group is still one group however you slice it.
as such "$Group.SideBar" does not automatically indicate
that it will be applied as in effect: "$Cluster.SideBar"
[[aside: Having a "$Cluster" variable might be interesting,
perhaps it is there already...]]

Musings: "Cluster" implies a group of equivalents, but in fact

Kingdom
Kingdom-genus
Kingdom-genus-species

*is* a kind or hierarchy, though everyone objected to defining it as such.
but the cascade of effect of your recipe really is hierarchical in effect
I mean g1, g2, g3... what is this if not a hierarchy? OK, I hear the
rumblings
in the background... yes, of course we know
it doesn't work like we all think of it in a directory, sub-directory kind
of way in which the top level "contains" it's children.

But Mama doesn't contain her kids after they are born, and they may all
sit in a Cluster at the dinner table, but there is still Hierarchy present.

But I suppose this is all water under the bridge code wise, but for
documentation
or nomencalature purposes. Perhaps useful?

>  
> Kathryn Andersen





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