Roadmap / Plan for OpenTasks Support?

[nosp7m]

Hi DAVx5-Team, I recently had to switch to a new phone and noticed that OpenTasks can no longer be installed from Google Play and DAVx5 has a message that OpenTasks is no longer maintained and is not recommended. So, I tried the alternatives but found out I definitely want to stay with OpenTasks.

I checked the repo and indeed, the project seems to be abandoned. Having a software development background, I contacted the author and offered my help, or if he would accept pull requests in which I would update the project at least to the latest Android SDKs etc. to keep OpenTasks functional with future Android versions but got no answer.

After I finished the updates of the OpenTasks code in my fork (https://github.com/nosp7m/opentasks) I compiled it and I’m using it since then on my phone without issues. I don’t plan to add new features but will update dependencies and migrate to new SDKs and Gradle versions when available. I also don’t plan to and cannot release the next OpenTasks version, e.g. 1.4.3, on Google Play and F-Droid. This step would require support from the original author or changing the app id which will break the integration with DAVx5 and from the legal side of things requires a rebranding/renaming (new name, logo, etc.).

As I successfully use the combination of my own private CalDAV/CardDAV server with DAVx5 and Etar + OpenTasks for all devices in my family and do want to continue using that perfectly working setup, I’d like to know if there are plans already to drop OpenTasks support, or if the notice in the DAVx5 task app selection screen was just added for information?

[ArnyminerZ]

Hi, @rfc2822 may be able to answer you with more detail. But we don't have any plans right now to drop support for OpenTasks. We do support them, and plan to keep doing so.

The only reason why we have the warning is just because the app is not updated, and as such, may not be available for new versions of Android, or have security vulnerabilities. We just cannot recommend using it, even though we support it; just like we have dozens of tested services but we actually don't recommend using them, and in fact, some of them are partially supported.

Congrats on getting the app up to date and running on the latest versions, and I honestly hope that the original author contacts you, and you can share your work with more people. OpenTasks is used by a lot of people, and I know for sure that they would be pleased to have a supported app.

I'd recommend answering some of the issues of the original repo, for example: dmfs/opentasks#1062
And maybe trying to deploy some APKs yourself, so that people can download your fork, and maybe become a maintainer of an "alternate version". That's the good thing about open source, if the original author drops development for any reason, another person can take the lead, and keep working on the app. Always check the licenses of course, but OpenTasks is Apache 2.0, so I don't see any reason why you would not be able to do so.

Again, thanks for your great work, and I hope you can get more people to use it. Thanks for contributing to the open source communities!

[rfc2822]

@nosp7m Originally we had the intention to drop OpenTasks support because it's unmaintained. Also, its API (TaskContract) is also used by tasks.org, so the integration on DAVx5 side is basically the same for OpenTasks and tasks.org. It would be bad for DAVx5 if the supported feature set would diverge (because then we would need two different integrations).

So I think it depends on whether you plan to put a working/updated version of OpenTasks (with whatever name) into F-Droid/Google Play – if you do, we can update the package ID to your fork instead of dropping OpenTasks.

[nosp7m]

@ArnyminerZ, thanks for your encouraging words and the idea with mentioning my fork in the OpenTasks issue dmfs/opentasks#1062.

@rfc2822, thanks also for your answer and the clarification, and big thanks in general to everyone at Bitfire for developing DAVx5. It’s unfortunate to hear that there is indeed a plan to drop support for OpenTasks. However, I fully understand the reasons you gave. As mentioned above, I don’t plan to release my fork on Google Play and/or F-Droid. I can update to new SDKs and Gradle versions from time to time but cannot take the additional efforts that would come with releases on Google Play and/or F-Droid.

My initial idea was to just fork the code, keep the application id, change the app name, and change the logo. Then attach new apks to GitHub releases. I’m aware that this will not solve the “no longer maintained” situation of OpenTasks. And unless anyone else takes over the release handling on Google Play and/or F-Droid, I’ll just continue with DAVx5 and the OpenTasks version in my fork, until OpenTasks support is dropped. Afterwards I may either stay on the last working version until I find an alternative, or I’ll try to compile newer DAVx5 versions with the removal commits reverted.

Best wishes!

[nosp7m]

Just in case anyone has found this discussion and is interested in the status of my fork, the GitHub release is done: https://github.com/nosp7m/tasksandlists/releases. F-Droid and/or Google Play are still not feasible for me.

The new app is called Tasks & Lists. In addition to just updating the dependencies, the Android SDK, and Gradle, I also finished the dark mode implementation.

Tasks & Lists cannot be installed in parallel to OpenTasks, as they share the same application id used by DAVx5 to enable synchronization (see also Disclaimer).

As I am only using task lists that are synchronized with DAVx5, I just deleted OpenTasks (IMPORTANT: this also removed all local task data), install Tasks & Lists, open DAVx5, grant permissions again for the task sync, and start synchronization to get all my data back in Tasks & Lists.