Back in February, I mentioned Field Kit was nearing a 2.0 BETA release. I regret I’ve left many of y’all hanging since then, with little progress and fewer updates. I’d like to make up for that now with some updates on when to finally expect the beta release, what exactly that entails, and what to expect going forward.
Beta Release: Timeline & Features
First and foremost, since I think this is what will most interest folks, here’s the rough timeline for development, starting from the already released alpha.7, or what I called at the time the “developer’s beta”. While I don’t have funding for these, I can’t guarantee anything on this timeline, it’s just what I’m personally hoping to get done when:
| Tag | Deliverables | Est. Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| alpha.7 | Stable API | Mar 24, 2022 |
| alpha.8 | Tasks Field Module | Jan 2, 2023 |
| alpha.9 | Observations Field Module | Jan 23, 2023 |
| beta.1 | Stable UX & API Docs | Feb 2, 2023 |
These releases will mostly achieve parity with what features were included under the “General” tab of the “Edit Log” screen in 1.0 Field Kit. So logs can be created, given a name and notes, and their status can be toggled between “pending” and “done”. Those features in particular will be part of the Tasks Field Module, focusing on the simple “To-do list” functionality that was originally at the core of Field Kit. Going forward, Field Kit will embrace a more modular architecture, much like farmOS itself, to keep the user interface and experience of each module concise, focused and uncluttered. Meanwhile, viewing log images and camera functionality will be moved to its own, separate Observations Field Module, where such features can be expanded and prioritized within a dedicated context, instead of shoe-horned into the already cramped confines of the Tasks screen. Notably, however, the features formerly under the “Movements” tab on the “Edit Log” screen of 1.0 Field Kit will not be included. Hopefully, a corresponding Movements Field Module (or perhaps more specific modules for pasture rotation or crop transplanting) will be implemented after the beta release, but the integrations with farmOS 1.0 that those features depended upon will need to be drastically rewritten for farmOS 2.0, and without additional funding, I just can’t commit myself to such an undertaking at this time.
Also not included:
- Field Kit User Guide
- Language localization & translation
- Comprehensive Dev Tooling (eg,
npx create-field-kit-module) - Fix & update Storyook for the component library
- Resolving sync conflicts
These were of course some tough choices, but the main intent was to reach a level of internal and external stability, in terms of both the Field Module API as well as general user experience, so that others could begin contributing independently (that’s part of the point of the module system) and I wouldn’t have to continue being the bottleneck for the project as a whole. These releases I hope will represent the bare minimum to achieve such stability, even if its at the cost of 100% parity with 1.0 Field Kit. That’s not to say there won’t be more changes to come, but hopefully once we can reach beta, there won’t be huge breaking changes that prohibit users from bringing Field Kit back into their normal workflow.
Same for the Observations module when it’s “done”.
), but the heaviest lift with that module will be working out a new way to cache images (and other files) together their associated data, and until I do that, I don’t want to get bogged down writing database migrations whenever a schema needs to change.
