120 lines
6.9 KiB
Markdown
120 lines
6.9 KiB
Markdown
# Rogue Agenda project ledger
|
||
|
||
Last updated: 2026-08-16
|
||
|
||
## Product direction
|
||
|
||
Rogue Agenda is a Rust, Ratatui, and SQLite reimagining of Lotus Agenda 2.0.
|
||
The goal is functional fidelity to its information-management ideas and visual
|
||
rhythm, not binary or document compatibility. Documents use `.agnd`; each is a
|
||
self-contained SQLite database. Every product string uses **Rogue Agenda**.
|
||
|
||
The central principle is “capture first, organize later.” An item is stored once
|
||
and may participate in many category relationships and saved views. The TUI keeps
|
||
the original's high-information gray workspace, blue title bands, red selection,
|
||
columnar item view, and function-key strip, while adding dynamic layout, mouse
|
||
interaction, conventional shortcuts, UTF-8, and modern durability.
|
||
|
||
## Research basis
|
||
|
||
- Lotus Development Corporation, *Lotus Agenda User's Guide 2.0* (1989), scanned
|
||
at Internet Archive. The contents identify items, notes, hierarchical and
|
||
mutually exclusive categories, explicit/conditional assignments, sections,
|
||
live views, datebook views, alarms, numeric calculations, filters, dependencies,
|
||
bulk marking, sorting, automatic conditions/actions, import/export, printing,
|
||
backups, managers, macros, and accessories.
|
||
- Lotus Development Corporation, *Starter Applications 2.0* (1990), scanned at
|
||
Internet Archive. It documents Activities Planner, Account Manager, People
|
||
Manager, priorities, contacts, expenses, weekly tracking, and status reports.
|
||
- Tavis Ormandy's hands-on “Lotus Agenda” article and animations. These establish
|
||
the actual screen grammar: two-line blue file/view header, gray unboxed canvas,
|
||
section and column headings, dot-prefixed category values, red selection,
|
||
blue F1–F10 command tiles, and examples of natural-language extraction.
|
||
- Bob Newell's Agenda FAQ and James Fallows' contemporary account. These clarify
|
||
the distinctive behavior: single-copy items, category inheritance, negative
|
||
assignment, aliases/abbreviations, incremental structure, and named live views.
|
||
- Period reviews from the Los Angeles Times and HUMANIST archives corroborate
|
||
long notes, free-form entry, priorities, Boolean reports, and automatic filing.
|
||
|
||
Research URLs:
|
||
|
||
- https://archive.org/details/lotus-agenda-users-guide
|
||
- https://lock.cmpxchg8b.com/lotusagenda.html
|
||
- https://www.bobnewell.net/agenda/agfaq.txt.html
|
||
- https://www.bobnewell.net/agenda/atlantic.txt.html
|
||
- https://dhhumanist.org/archives/Virginia/v02/0410.html
|
||
- https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-07-28-fi-9745-story.html
|
||
|
||
## Implemented in this prototype
|
||
|
||
- [x] `.agnd` SQLite documents, schema migration metadata, foreign keys, WAL,
|
||
transactions, integrity-friendly soft deletion, and automatic checkpoints.
|
||
- [x] Items with free text, note, priority, When, Done, alarm, numeric value,
|
||
recurring schedule, creation/update timestamps, manual order, and prerequisite
|
||
links. Completion advances recurring work and carries alarms and filing forward.
|
||
- [x] Categories with hierarchy, inheritance in queries, kinds (standard, date,
|
||
numeric), match phrases, mutually exclusive siblings, and many-to-many links.
|
||
- [x] Explicit assignment and automatic text-based assignment.
|
||
- [x] Explicit negative category assignments that override automatic filing.
|
||
- [x] Natural-language date extraction for common relative, weekday, and ISO forms.
|
||
- [x] Live saved views, datebook presentation, category/done/date/priority filters,
|
||
search filtering, configurable sort, and responsive columns.
|
||
- [x] Interactive creation, editing, and deletion of saved live views and category
|
||
definitions, including hierarchy, match phrases, kinds, and exclusivity.
|
||
- [x] Persistent per-view fields, headings, widths, order, numeric aggregates,
|
||
filtered multi-section layouts, collapsed sections, and view reordering.
|
||
- [x] Parsed Boolean expressions with `and`/`or`/`not`, parentheses, text/note/
|
||
category matching, numeric comparisons, state predicates, and relative due dates.
|
||
- [x] User-authored category conditions with live match preview and deterministic
|
||
assign, exclude, priority, numeric value, When, alarm, recurrence, and Done
|
||
actions. Rules apply iteratively, respect explicit overrides, and detect
|
||
non-convergence.
|
||
- [x] Default All Items, Tasks, Upcoming, Recently Done, and Datebook views.
|
||
- [x] Agenda-style item workspace, View Manager, Category Manager, command menu,
|
||
item editor, property editor, notes, category chooser, help, and status messages.
|
||
- [x] Marking and bulk completion; Trash view, soft discard, and recovery.
|
||
- [x] Responsive wide/compact rendering and mouse row/command/view interaction.
|
||
- [x] Text and iCalendar import; view-scoped CSV, JSON, Markdown, styled HTML,
|
||
and iCalendar export with notes, categories, dates, priority, completion, and
|
||
recurring `RRULE` schedules.
|
||
- [x] Demo data, CLI help, README, MIT license, and unit/integration tests.
|
||
|
||
## Supported with a modern interpretation
|
||
|
||
- [x] Numeric calculations: per-item numeric values and view total/average are
|
||
supported; arbitrary category formula programs are intentionally represented
|
||
by the safer aggregate model.
|
||
- [x] Conditions/actions: category match phrases and date parsing run on item
|
||
changes; assignments are immediately re-evaluated. Shell-executing actions are
|
||
omitted by design, while deterministic filing actions are supported.
|
||
- [x] Printing: view-aware Markdown and styled HTML reports are the portable
|
||
print/preview path, alongside CSV and JSON data exports.
|
||
- [x] Backups: SQLite durability plus explicit checkpoint replaces proprietary
|
||
backup-file rotation. Ordinary filesystem backup tools work on `.agnd` files.
|
||
- [x] Clipboard/accessory capture: terminal paste into the new-item form replaces
|
||
the DOS resident accessory.
|
||
- [x] Macros: conventional keys and direct commands replace keystroke-replay macros.
|
||
|
||
## Delayed / unsupported
|
||
|
||
These are the few features that either depend on obsolete DOS integration or need
|
||
a larger follow-on implementation:
|
||
|
||
- [ ] Arbitrary formula columns that reference several numeric categories. Current
|
||
view columns support `sum`, `avg`, `count`, `min`, and `max` aggregates.
|
||
- [ ] Rich-text/font markers, printer control sequences, page-layout preview, and
|
||
named printer configurations.
|
||
- [ ] Lotus Metro/List Manager/STF compatibility, DOS accessories, and Agenda macro
|
||
compatibility (explicitly outside the project's format-compatibility goal).
|
||
- [ ] Password encryption. A description field is supported by schema metadata;
|
||
weak historic password protection will not be imitated without real encryption.
|
||
- [ ] Desktop notifications while the application is closed. Due alarms are shown
|
||
prominently while Rogue Agenda is running.
|
||
|
||
## Near-term plan
|
||
|
||
1. Add desktop alarm integration and in-application snooze controls.
|
||
2. Add encrypted documents and secure unlock handling.
|
||
3. Add property-based tests for complex hierarchy and rule combinations.
|
||
4. Add a structured text definition-file importer for unusual legacy datasets.
|