Vscode-extension-for-zowe: Rename the repository to `zowe-explorer`

[VitGottwald]

The fact that our repository is called vscode-extension-for-zowe on github, but ZOWE Explorer elsewhere (marketplace, ZOWE docs) is somewhat confusing.

Could we consider renaming this repository to zowe/zowe-explorer?

[t1m0thyj]

I support the idea of renaming the repository 🙂 When I want to access the ZE GitHub repo, I often type "zowe explorer" in my address bar expecting the URL to appear from my browsing history, but it doesn't because ZE isn't the repo name.

Edit: Perhaps "vscode" should still be kept in the name (e.g., "zowe-explorer-vscode"), to avoid confusion with the other Zowe Explorer? This could also set a naming convention in case Zowe Explorer is ported to other platforms in the future (e.g., "zowe-explorer-intellij").

[IgorCATech]

This might have greater doc repercussions. If the decision to change the name is made, we'll need to communicate this to all stakeholders. Maybe, we should identify all possible issues that this change will bring and estimate the amount of work that needs to be done to address those issues/consequences.

[crawr]

Hi All,

As per our last discussion, it is our squad's decision if we want to go ahead and change our repository name. The suggested new name would be zowe-explorer-vscode. We would like to call for a vote if we want to proceed with this change.

Before voting, here is a reminder of some of the implications brought up during the discussion:

1. Documentation changes. There would be a huge amount of change in docs including zowe doc-site, zowe website, readMe files from existing extensions, blogs and other articles. GitHub might have mitigation for this in the form of link redirects for a short amount of time.
2. We need to inform other squads and stakeholders about this change.
3. Does the unique identifier also need to be changed in the future?

Please vote using the reactions below:
❤️ -> I agree with the change of repository name to zowe-explorer-vscode
😕 -> I have more questions, comments, concerns
👀 -> No change

[jellypuno]

Just a note so we wont forget, this change in repo name will be implemented in time for ZE V2

[IgorCATech]

I think we should be more mindful of these potential changes. Can I ask everyone to answer the following questions before making any decisions:

• What value do we get from this rename?
• Who amongst our customers had/has concerns about the current name?
• What's going to happen to SEO? Currently, if one Googles "zowe explorer repository", the first link s(he) gets is exactly the link to our repo. See https://prnt.sc/10ud474 that illustrates the point.
• Are we cognizant of all our users who have saved the existing link to the repo? Can we provide a redirect link?
• What are the repercussions for marketing/education/other departments?

Here's the list of products/teams, that I can come up with off the top of my head, that will be affected:

1. Brightside docs
2. Code4z
3. Zowe Docs/Zowe website
4. Marketplace ReadMe
5. Some blogs where the links to the Marketplace ReadMe was used
6. Presentations/Demos/Videos (?) Maybe these are not so important
7. Stakeholders that are part of the abovementioned products.

It's probably not a complete list.

[phaumer]

I would like to vote for the original name proposal zowe/zowe-explorer. As we are the Zowe Explorer squad we should be able to claim that name. Plus, there are packages in the API that are meant to be independent of VS Code and can be reused in other scenarios such as CLI plugins. Plus, if we would support other IDEs in the future we would want to do this in the same repo reusing common code as much as possible, which was one of the reasons we switched to a monorepo. Also, we already do run in other environments such as Theia, Che, VSCodium.

[VitGottwald]

What's going to happen to SEO? Currently, if one Googles "zowe explorer repository", the first link s(he) gets is exactly the link to our repo. See https://prnt.sc/10ud474 that illustrates the point.

Actually this is part of the problem. People do not type the extra word repository when searching. When we enter zowe explorer to google the link to the repo is the last one on the first page. On the other hand when we type in zowe cli the github repo is the first link that google returns.

So if we renamed the repo to zowe-explorer I believe the SEO will clearly improve. If we rename to zowe-explorer-vscode, I would still expect it will get better, but I am not sure.

[VitGottwald]

Can we provide a redirect link?

Github redirects to the new name automatically. Searching around, it looks like the redirect will be in place, until a new repository is created with the original name. https://github.community/t/how-long-does-github-forward-renamed-moved-repos/582

[VitGottwald]

What value do we get from this rename?

Making the repository easier to find when people search for zowe explorer.

[jellypuno]

More info about renaming a repository: https://docs.github.com/en/github/administering-a-repository/renaming-a-repository