Interoperability

1

First, this forum is missing a “feature request” or “suggestions” topic!

Most open source software forums do have such a section, where also other users can rate up (or down) feature requests.

I think this would be good for Grav and its developers and users.

Now to my suggestion of interoperability:

Interoperability is not only a more and more important issue in European competition politics, but it’s also an important part of good software (which also doesn’t need to bind users by force).

I’ve got many years of experience in online marketing and website development, and one of the first things I’m checking out when deciding for an important new software (like a CMS) is whether I can easily import and export data (in a standardized format).

This is extremely important when it comes to independence, transferability and backups. And this is what I was missing when checking out Grav.

I wouldn’t have used Grav for an important project, therefore, but still gave it a try with a smaller project (and found / find it very nice! A really fresh and easy alternative to the usual Wordpress, not needing a vulnerable database…).

Still, I think with a good and easy-to-use native data import and export system (which should also reliably work for larger websites / huge amount of data!) Grav could attract many more (advanced) users!

And even for my currently small projects, I would have a better feeling if I were able to export and transfer data easily anytime (and potentially import it into other systems, like for ex. Wordpress, if needed or wanted for whatever reason, like for an essential function that’s missing in Grav, or because of a client’s wish).

Thanks for your consideration, and I hope my feedback is helpful!

2

Could you please give us a link to the exported website data standard?

3

I don’t know if there is 1 standard (already), but I know that XML and CSV are quite commonly used export and import formats. And good import and / or export tools usually allow attributing certain columns of an old system to that of a new system (for ex. the article title from Grav to the article title field of Wordpress, and vice versa).

I guess Wordpress is a good reference regarding import and export tools and standards (see for ex. Tools: Import and Export | Learn WordPress). The Wordpress maker not too long ago spoke about its new approach of “data liberation” (you can see that part of the speech here: https://youtu.be/c7M4mBVgP3Y?si=s8F-xwHIVr9w8xZn&t=2064), so I think they’re also still in the beginning and learning process regarding interoperability and transferability.