An OPML like exportable format for Todo Lists? | Hacker News Reader

An OPML like exportable format for Todo Lists?

arpitonline.com

10 pointsarpit10 comments

Ugh, why can't this person have a simple comment form? Even enabling all the scripts on the page, I can't seem to post a comment on the blog. So here's the one I wrote...

Have you tried Org Mode? (http://orgmode.org)

I find it totally indispensable for keeping track of all of my Todo items -- and a lot more besides. It has exporters for various formats, including HTML, PDF/LaTeX, and plain text. Rather than storing your data in the inaccessible cloud, it encourages you to store your Todo files locally, but makes it easy to sync them (e.g., with a service like Dropbox). External projects like MobileOrg for iPhone (http://mobileorg.ncogni.to/) and Android (http://matburt.net/?p=94) provide a way to read Org files on your mobile device.

I realize that sounds like a bit of a commercial, but the point as it relates to your post is this: the Org format, which is a plain text format, is already a rich representation for task management. It is used by several different apps, and already has exporters for other formats. You could always extend Org to export to OPML like you have envisioned, too, without too much work. There is a lot of work being done on exporters these days, and I think you would find good support in the community if this was a project you wanted to work on.

Ugh, why can't this person have a simple comment form

Yeah, I generally forego commenting on any site that uses Disqus and similar comment widgets.

Good point, I haven't used emacs in 8 years, but I know a couple of developers who use it with a lot of passion, even though I imagine its hard for non developers to use it. But using the formal exported by that may not be a bad idea.

I would love to flesh out the core elements (the model in the MVC sense) required that defines a task and its context. The format itself could be exportable as XML, JSON or Org-Mode consumable files.

PS: Sorry about your issue with Disqus, I actually recently installed it because it allowed me to connect with the commentors even more since they signed in with Twitter etc. I should probably look into some graceful degradation back to core wordpress comments when needed.

Good point, I haven't used emacs in 8 years, but I know a couple of developers who use it with a lot of passion, even though I imagine its hard for non developers to use it.

Well, don't be afraid! I'm not a "developer," and I do 99% of my work in Emacs. (I am a philosophy student, though I do write programs from time to time.) It takes time to learn, but so do all worthwhile things.

I would love to flesh out the core elements (the model in the MVC sense) required that defines a task and its context. The format itself could be exportable as XML, JSON or Org-Mode consumable files.

Well, as far as Org is concerned, the core elements that define a task are:

1) Title

2) Todo state (user configurable: mine goes TODO -> INPROGRESS -> [possibly] WAITING -> DONE)

With the following optionally present (I'm sure I'm missing some; this is off the top of my head):

- Priority (also user configurable)

- Description/free-form notes

- Deadline timestamp (may be recurring)

- Timestamp indicating when task is scheduled

- Timestamp indicating when task was finished

- running tally of time spent so far

- a list of arbitrary tags

- a list of arbitrary properties (key/value pairs)

- a parent task

- a list of sub-tasks

- a property indicating whether sub-tasks must be completed in order

This is all I need in a task model, and then some. You would probably also need a model to represent more global context (like the todo state-flow graph).

Of course, Org also comes with a rich set of tools at the "view" layer, too, which I recommend looking into.

Sorry about your issue with Disqus, I actually recently installed it because it allowed me to connect with the commentors even more since they signed in with Twitter etc.

No worries; it comes with the territory when you're a paranoid NoScript user. (That said, I wasn't even able to post the comment after allowing all scripts on the page, so a fallback is probably in order.)

Thank you for pointing at android MobileOrg. WebDav or Dropbox synchronization looks promising. I'll evaluate this setup and may be switch to it. The one problem I see that Dropbox need to be synced manually on android.

I would first read Tim Bray's "Don’t Invent XML Languages" http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2006/01/08/No-New-XML...

Then use html's list structures, possibly with a microformat. Or maybe atom.

While I really dig Tim Bray's work, I tend to think it's very easy to get the wrong impression from his statements in that post.

The point he's making is that, in most cases, you should use an existing XML schema instead of reinventing the wheel - it's bad to have a NIH attitude. For the post that started this discussion, an extension or modification on the iCalendar todo specification would make the most sense.

The problem comes when you're trying to describe something totally new, or in a use case that deviates greatly from things that have come before - for example, I'm working on a network description schema for a project, and I haven't found anything similar, although it is informed by other schemas, from a variety of places (nmap's, and a few others mainly). Had there been prior work that matched what I was trying to do, I'd use it, but as there isn't, it's totally justified to create a new schema in this case.

Exportable/importable ToDos would be good. But online ToDo lists with APIs are the future. Like Toodledo: http://api.toodledo.com/2/index.php

Are there others with APIs?

Atom + a custom XML namespace should be uncontroversial.

Please, no. Keep Atom for feeds please. I really don't like people shoving everything into Atom feeds. For a todo list, damn, either plain text (OrgMode or something similar) or HTML.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com