topic Re: So I get the obvious Simpsons reference but what are the MrSparkle files for? in Knowledge Management

So I get the obvious Simpsons reference but what are the MrSparkle files for?

Keysofsandiego — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 20:31:26 GMT

Re: So I get the obvious Simpsons reference but what are the MrSparkle files for?

sideview — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 18:53:18 GMT

When the implementation of Splunk 3.0 got underway, the ability to run either the old stable 2.0 User Interface or the new UI was key for many reasons. Thus a mechanism was built to allow the whole front end to be swapped out. If I recall correctly you could change which one was active on the CLI. This allowed the stable 2.0 UI to coexist with the then-newfangled 3.0 UI. A minor detail of the scheme was that a directory name had to be given to each UI available, and cleaning product names were chosen as a nod to the ajax craze at the time.

So the "search" directory suddenly became a dynamic choice made at runtime between "search_pinesol" for the old 2.0 UI, and "search_oxiclean" for 3.0 UI. The idea was that "pinesol" was good ol' dependable stable pinesol, whereas that "oxiclean" product was amazing, but ok it might damage or possibly ignite your sweaters, who knew. Take care.

Then when the 4.0 UI came along, which was another complete ground-up rewrite, and leaning even more into crazy ideas, we needed a cleaning product name that gave this same sense again, but this time with "oxiclean" in the role of the safe alternative. Leaning just as much or more into ajax conventions, but adding modularity and extensibility and the potential for the entire UI to be arbitrarily customized without the customer writing or maintaining any source code, an exceedingly strange name seemed in order and we landed on "Mr Sparkle". Thus the "search_mrsparkle" directory which is still there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Marge_We_Trust

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-S5PZb8MJE

And as an addendum - at some point long ago in 4.0.X or 4.1, when the ability to switch back to the old 3.0 UI was quietly removed, it would have made sense to rename search_mrsparkle back to just "search", but it didn't happen.

and last but not least, in old 4.0 builds, in the web_service.log the startup messages, I think in INFO, actually had the full transcript of the MrSparkle video.

Re: So I get the obvious Simpsons reference but what are the MrSparkle files for?

piebob — Wed, 11 Feb 2015 00:15:33 GMT

HE IS DISRESPECTFUL TO DIRT!!!

Re: So I get the obvious Simpsons reference but what are the MrSparkle files for?

dwaddle — Wed, 11 Feb 2015 00:27:34 GMT

CAN YOU SEE THAT I AM SERIOUS??

Re: So I get the obvious Simpsons reference but what are the MrSparkle files for?

jtrucks — Wed, 11 Feb 2015 00:35:58 GMT

I can't help but think of Mr. Hankey every time someone mentions Mr. Sparkles.

Re: So I get the obvious Simpsons reference but what are the MrSparkle files for?

Keysofsandiego — Wed, 11 Feb 2015 20:53:06 GMT

Thanks Sideview,
I appreciate the feedback. I am not new to Splunk, but I am new to the Splunk Development. Just a n00b getting to know the file system.
=)

Thanks again!

Re: So I get the obvious Simpsons reference but what are the MrSparkle files for?

Sp1unkin_it — Thu, 07 Sep 2017 18:09:42 GMT

I'm kinda sad Oxiclean didn't stay instead.

What about Mr. Clean or KaBOOM?!! Those would have been epic as well.

Hello from 2017, btw.

Re: So I get the obvious Simpsons reference but what are the MrSparkle files for?

lguinn2 — Fri, 30 Mar 2018 15:53:21 GMT

The difference between The Simpsons and South Park in a single comparison...

Re: So I get the obvious Simpsons reference but what are the MrSparkle files for?

rroberts — Fri, 30 Mar 2018 15:59:39 GMT

Marklar Marklar!!