Factor out import/export ui elements to a sub-module [#1496184]

Pro:

They make the UI a bit clunkier.
Many people import from files directly, so they don't need the functionality.
Admin UI breaks sites with lots of rules, so might as well slim down where possible.
It's a simple enough change that can be easily rolled back if users respond in favor of returning it.
Allows us to prioritize the API and UI in core and pay less attention to config-to-code solutions
Opens the door to another maintainer taking over its maintenance. See also #350881: Make exporting to module easier for a circumstance that would have benefited from this, more examples to come

Con:

Leaving it included/required in the core UI provides a canonical solution for quickly sharing configs

Comments

Comment #1

dasjo

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CreditAttribution: dasjo commented 25 March 2012 at 07:15

con
- having quick access to rules export code helps sharing them, for example when posting issues on drupal.org

Comment #2

mitchell CreditAttribution: mitchell commented 25 March 2012 at 07:57

>> having quick access to rules export code helps sharing them, for example when posting issues on drupal.org
Agreed. However, Features UI and Rules UI Import / Export are comparable addons at that point. Both tools would then be available optionally.

Comment #3

dasjo

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CreditAttribution: dasjo commented 25 March 2012 at 16:37

rules doesn't depend on but only integrates with the features module, therefore i wouldn't consider this issue being related to the features ui

Comment #4

mitchell CreditAttribution: mitchell commented 25 March 2012 at 18:27

Priority:

Normal

» Minor

>> rules doesn't depend on but only integrates with the features module, therefore i wouldn't consider this issue being related to the features ui
Rules' export options appear by default in the ui, rather than as an optional feature, and this can be seen as a problem. CCK's Content Copy is a good example of how another project didn't include this functionality by default, and then when moving to 7.x completely reevaluted their mentality of the sub module. I would like to to see this level of agility in Rules maintainership.

dasjo, I don't want this to be a bikeshedding issue, because this only affects the Admin UI usability and performance in a small way. So, let's see what others think about the benefits and assumptions on which the tools are built. I would much rather see your support on issues with more wide-reaching changes, especially reviewing more important user interface issues and where you've already been active.