On Mon, Jun 23, 2008 at 4:25 PM, Simon Budig <simon@xxxxxxxx> wrote: > Mark (wolfmane@xxxxxxxxx) wrote: >> On Sun, Jun 22, 2008 at 4:24 AM, David Greaves <david@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: >> > I suggest that, generically, import/export is a subset of sync. >> > >> > Sync to an empty service (using a CSV backing store?) = export. >> > Sync from a full service (using a CSV backing store?) = import. >> > >> > Sync can also do merges and therefore sync is more powerful. >> > >> >> You have that backwards. Sync is more of a subset of import/export, >> because sync only works for a very small number of the machines and >> situations for which import/export works. But actually neither is a >> true subset of the other, because there are some areas where they >> don't overlap. You need a refresher on set theory. > > If Sync can do everything that im- and export can do then it is a > superset of im- and export. Davids set theory is correct here. And he > does describe exactly how he thinks about this. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Sync can NOT, and never will, be able to do everything that import/export can do, any more than import/export will ever be able to do everything that sync can do. And the scenario above doesn't qualify as import/export, because import/export deals specifically with non-native file formats. If you are dealing strictly with native formats or protocols, it isn't import/export. Which is the whole point: sync and import/export are NOT the same thing. Some sync apps include import/export functionality, but that is *extra* and is *not* part of sync. Sync cannot, and will never be able to, transmit data between apps that have completely different functions, such as word processor and spreadsheet, or spreadsheet and the body of an email message, or database and spreadsheet. Sync alone cannot export data to a file that I can view (and edit) with even the most basic text editor, then turn around and import it into some other program. So no, import/export is NOT a subset of sync. Some functions overlap, yes, but that doesn't mean anything. You *can* edit text in your email program, but that doesn't mean it is a word processor, or that it's the best place to do that. It definitely doesn't mean that word processors are subsets of email clients. It only means that there is some overlap of functions. That's ALL. Mark _______________________________________________ maemo-users mailing list maemo-users@xxxxxxxxx https://lists.maemo.org/mailman/listinfo/maemo-users
