Alternative Web Content Server Layout

[BigRedBrent]

I guess I will have to look into finding one of those calibre web site generators. Because I really don't like the latest content server. The current desktop web based content server is almost impossible to find what I am looking for, when the previous one was absolutely perfect to navigate through.


I found this php script that works well with the xampp apache server:
COPS (Calibre OPDS PHP Server)
https://github.com/seblucas/cops/releases

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by BigRedBrent

I guess I will have to look into finding one of those calibre web site generators. Because I really don't like the latest content server. The current web based content server is almost impossible to find what I am looking for, when the previous one was absolutely perfect to navigate through.

? I haven't noticed any change in the caliber catalog when accessing it from KOReader. I just used it today to add 5 ebooks.

Luck;
Ken

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by BigRedBrent

I guess I will have to look into finding one of those calibre web site generators. Because I really don't like the latest content server. The current web based content server is almost impossible to find what I am looking for, when the previous one was absolutely perfect to navigate through.

You might want to try the mobile version of the site. That is basically the old version. I think the link is shown on the page somewhere, but, from memory, add "/mobile" to the URL.

[gbm]

Originally Posted by BigRedBrent

I guess I will have to look into finding one of those calibre web site generators. Because I really don't like the latest content server. The current web based content server is almost impossible to find what I am looking for, when the previous one was absolutely perfect to navigate through.

Click on the search:

Then pick a category, we will pick Authors:

We will pick "N":

Pick Andre Norton:

It shows all my ebook by Andre Norton:


See that box labeled search type the name of a book and it will find it for you:

What is hard about that?
bernie

[BetterRed]

Moderator Notice
The preceding posts were moved from this Development thread ==>> Content Server - Web

See ==>> PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING - Purpose of Development subforum

BR

[bossanova808]

I am also very much not a fan of the new content server. Nor are a bunch of folks I share a server with. For browsing and discovery, i.e. as a library, it really does not work well (considerably less so than the previous version) - and the design is straight out of 90s.

I'm curious why the content server in Calibre was not built to support a standard modern contemplating system to allow for easy replacement? I would have though that would attract good web devs. Twig, or the python equivalent.

Running a separate server is much more of a pain. I am aware of the various replacement projects but I just can't see why Calibre itself, given it was clearly being re-built in this area, would not have been updated to a more modern approach?

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by bossanova808

I am also very much not a fan of the new content server. Nor are a bunch of folks I share a server with. For browsing and discovery, i.e. as a library, it really does not work well (considerably less so than the previous version) - and the design is straight out of 90s.

I'm curious why the content server in Calibre was not built to support a standard modern contemplating system to allow for easy replacement? I would have though that would attract good web devs. Twig, or the python equivalent.

Running a separate server is much more of a pain. I am aware of the various replacement projects but I just can't see why Calibre itself, given it was clearly being re-built in this area, would not have been updated to a more modern approach?

Curious - can you give me a link to and example of such a thing. Maybe something to do with artificial intelligence.

FWIW : On Windows I've run the old server alongside the new library manager e.g calibre-server.exe from 32 bit install of version 2.xx alongside calibre.exe from 64 bit install of version 3.xx. Of course, should anything go awry I wouldn't expect any support.

Aaah - I twigged as what a standard modern contemplating system might be; are sure that shouldn't be a [. . .] co-templating [. . .].

Perhaps it results from a contretemps with one the so-called spelling correctors, rather than a novel interpretation of contemplor, contemplari, contemplatus

BR

[bossanova808]

yeah, just templating system, not sure where the con came from.

Twig is pretty much the standard in the PHP world. I think maybe Jinja2 is the python equivalent?

Seems like an open, modern templating system would have been a much better way to spend the time than re-developing the server as it was...

[HarryT]

That's the benefit of Open Source software: if you don't like it, you can do something about it yourself.

[bossanova808]

And in many cases, I absolutely do. But I don't have the time to contribute to all of the projects I use to a significant level. One has to pick and choose. Doesn't mean one is not able to discuss the relative merits of approaches.

If you open up the project to a standard templating system, rather than (as per threads here, I've not looked into the code) - make the content server some sort of non-replaceable embedded thing - then you of course open up the project to a whole group of developers you didn't perhaps have access to before as a project. That is - there are legions of folks with HTML/JS/CSS web dev skills (many more than Python skills I would venture to say)....that might be willing to help if it is creating a nice set of templates - which is for many a more digestible task than getting stuck into a full blown bit of Python dev.

It's easy to always say 'if you don't like it then *you* fix it' but here I am trying to work out why it was done as an embedded thing - in the first place, and certainly I can't work out why it would be done as a re-design effort - seems like that would have been the perfect opportunity to create a better modern infrastructure for future development work.

Indeed the already existent external projects (calibre-web etc) - that dip into the calibre db and present a web interface show that people DO want to do this, but it's just an awkward approach really.

[gbm]

Originally Posted by bossanova808

yeah, just templating system, not sure where the con came from.

Twig is pretty much the standard in the PHP world. I think maybe Jinja2 is the python equivalent?

Seems like an open, modern templating system would have been a much better way to spend the time than re-developing the server as it was...

You do know that calibre has a template for custom views of the web server content.


bernie

[bossanova808]

No, I didn't - but that looks to be a very limited thing anyway, just for the single book view (on first glance).

Ideally, there would be a standard way of querying the calibre db (GraphQL perhaps?) for objects (i.e. books, series, authors etc) - and then each of those objects would have the appropriate meta fields available....and the templating system would not impose any structure/nav etc on the project at all. (Basically, like say Craft CMS and other modern CMSs do it, but with Calibre as the back end).

[gbm]

Originally Posted by bossanova808

No, I didn't - but that looks to be a very limited thing anyway, just for the single book view (on first glance).

Ideally, there would be a standard way of querying the calibre db (GraphQL perhaps?) for objects (i.e. books, series, authors etc) - and then each of those objects would have the appropriate meta fields available....and the templating system would not impose any structure/nav etc on the project at all. (Basically, like say Craft CMS and other modern CMSs do it, but with Calibre as the back end).

But the calibre server is a plug and play for the %99.999 of people who have trouble with the concept of "you have to enter a password to connect to wifi".

bernie

[bossanova808]

Except...it isn't. Have you actually watched a 65 year old try and use the new content server - to browse a library and find interesting books to read, and then attempt to get them on a device like a kindle. Because I have, several of them, and it does not go well.

And it goes significantly worse than with the previous content server...they just find it much harder to browse around etc. The mobile first approach means all the controls (already obscure through use of icons) - get further lost into tiny corners on desktop monitors, and things like pages with infinite scroll (vs. easy to understand paging) - are not helpful to precisely that tech novice demographic.

Finding one book, if you know exactly what you want, is ok via search or author. But then the new browser reader further confuses them on the download side of things (and there already a bunch on in browser reading plugins (or inbuilt mechanisms) that do a much better job of the actual reading anyway).

(And the look of it in general - well, it's really straight out of the 90s...it looks like some of the pages on Halt and Catch Fire this season )

[theducks]

Originally Posted by bossanova808

Except...it isn't. Have you actually watched a 65 year old try and use the new content server - to browse a library and find interesting books to read, and then attempt to get them on a device like a kindle. Because I have, several of them, and it does not go well.

And it goes significantly worse than with the previous content server...they just find it much harder to browse around etc. The mobile first approach means all the controls (already obscure through use of icons) - get further lost into tiny corners on desktop monitors, and things like pages with infinite scroll (vs. easy to understand paging) - are not helpful to precisely that tech novice demographic.

Finding one book, if you know exactly what you want, is ok via search or author. But then the new browser reader further confuses them on the download side of things (and there already a bunch on in browser reading plugins (or inbuilt mechanisms) that do a much better job of the actual reading anyway).

(And the look of it in general - well, it's really straight out of the 90s...it looks like some of the pages on Halt and Catch Fire this season )

I have no problem USING the new content server and my 65th was quite a while ago . I 'pass' on the rounded cover look.
It works! Thats what is important.