Calendar:Lightning: Difference between revisions

'''Lightning''' is the working project name for an extension to tightly integrate calendar functionality (scheduling, tasks, etc.) into [[Thunderbird:Home Page|Thunderbird]].

This page was last updated on January 24th, incorporating edits to this page and the discussion area (though not by any means completely).

'''A.''' "Lightning" is simply a project code name to keep from having to type or say "Thunderbird extension for tightly-integrated calendar functionality" all the time.  You can think of it as analogous to "Seamonkey", which was never used as an official product name.  The Mozilla Foundation has not yet announced any plans to add Lightning to its set of supported products under any name; indeed, such an announcement would be premature, as the exact composition of Lightning is still very much under discussion.

'''A.''' The Mozilla Calendar extension for Thunderbird is a separate project and codebase, though all Mozilla Calendar projects (the extensions, Sunbird, Lightning) will share the core calendar components and protocols.  While the Mozilla Calendar extension for Thunderbird acts essentially as an alternate launcher for the Sunbird application window, Lightning is designed to integrate into the main Thunderbird UI and user interaction model as tightly as possible.

'''A.''' Given Outlook's immense share of the email and calendaring market, it would be foolish to ignore its capabilities and characteristics, from both user and administrator perspectives.  While Lightning will certainly incorporate concepts from Outlook -- as from other email/calendar applications, such as Evolution, Remail and Chandler -- it is not designed to be simply an "Outlook knock-off".  Just as Thunderbird improved the email experience beyond what is provided by Outlook and Outlook Express, Lightning is designed to improve the calendaring experience for Outlook converts and newcomers to calendaring applications alike.

'''A.''' As with protocol/server support, Lightning will inherit all its sync support from the Mozilla Calendar core.  More information on the state and goals of the sync support in Mozilla Calendar can be found on the [[Calendar:Device Sync]] page.

'''A.''' This wiki section will collect more documents about Lightning.  Also, the mozilla.calendar newsgroup is a good place to read about Lightning, and ask questions.  '''Please use the discussion tab above''' (or in another lightning-related entry!) to add comments and additional questions.  I'll come back through here as frequently as time permits and incorporate them appropriately.