As part of Theme Revamp, this page is to discuss, and plan an eventual transition to using Bootstrap in Tiki. As there is a general consensus we should move in the general Bootstrap direction (the minimum being the ability to use Bootstrap themes), the remaining questions are no longer "if" but more "how" and "when".
Will we still support the core/existing customisation approach that Tiki has - even with a Bootstrap theme (I'm probably showing my ignorance here! - Geoff) e.g
being able to take a standard theme but apply an 'option' (/styles/theme_name/options)that tweaks/adds different css etc., which includes:
option specific images
the Newsletter specific css
etc.
how will quirky browser tweaks be handled eg ie7, ie8 files etc
having a set of .tpl's that are theme specific (/templates) - with customised mail templates folder
be able to apply theme specific modules
[My view is that we should use Bootstrap to provide:
- Uniform styling (classes) for page components such as gadgets, buttons, tabs, and tables, etc. ("content"), and
— (First we'll need to clean up Tiki's tpl files to uniformize the construction of these things.)
- Page layout classes for grids, responsive web design, etc. ("framework")
- Tiki's CSS classes should be a superset of the Bootstrap classes IMO.
— A quick check of more-interesting "made with Bootstrap" sites shows this is common practice.
— Sites using only default Bootstrap classes seem to be pretty limited style-wise.
— We can offer more flexibility to designers and reduce their work by adding classes for styling.
— We can offer more page layout options by having a few more divs available (to support FiveAlive-style header and footer graphic treatment, etc.). ]
Evolution or revolution?
Do we go for a clean break / "burn all bridges" approach and force major changes on all legacy themes? or do we make an effort to try to make old themes still work?
Arguments for clean break
End result will be simpler code
End result will be closer to what people already know (people that use Bootstrap that is)
Most theme intense sites have more than enough features in the LTS versions and can use that until they decide to refresh their site design.
Arguments for legacy support
Makes it easier for heavily customized themes to upgrade
[I'm not sure how important legacy support per se is, but I think it'll be good to have a framework available that enables people to replicate their old designs if they want to go to the trouble. ]
Things to watch out for
Things that Bootstrap doesn't cover
Logo?
Presumably, Tiki's HTML classes will be a superset of the Bootstrap classes, so our current method for specifying the logo can still be used, in combination with the benefit of Bootstrap's layout.
RTL is not in v2
Licensing issue prevents us use Bootstrap 2 anyway
True, but Tiki's templates and CSS really need a major overhaul anyway. If that happens in a way that can take advantage of the Bootstrap bandwagon (as long as we still have design flexibility), so much the better.
CSS file reorganization
In parallel with the Smarty templates cleanup, CSS selector globalization, and use of Less-CSS, I suggest reorganizing Tiki's selectors into new "modular" files, which would be Less includes, perhaps similar to the breakdown in Bootstrap (not all will be needed: perhaps others will be.
Coming in Bootstrap version 3.0
No set release date, but probably sometime in 2013