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Version 1.2

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Version 1.2
It's got a neat look, but as you say, many features not connected or installed.

It might not be a bad idea to set up a 'beta' forum, to keep the discussions out of the general release area. Might confuse people looking for help/answers.

Until everything is connected up, it will be hard to comment. So, I'll hold off til next friday.

Looks like there is more modularity -- "admin", SQL, GT, Links (application).

It looks like the SQL and GT are "basic" libraries, and then application libraries - "Links" etc, are added in. The cgi-bin/admin/sub-dir layout is miantained, and provides logical continutiy/communication between installed applications ??!??

Just a small thing:

On the admin.cgi screen, help should be all the way to the right, in keeping with the uniform interface standards, and there should be a "home" all the way on the left, just for uniformity, and to give a user a place to go when they don't have any idea where else to go. :)



http://www.postcards.com
FAQ: http://www.postcards.com/FAQ/LinkSQL/

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Re: Version 1.2 In reply to
I agree...it will be quite confusing to parse out data with the inclusion of Links SQL v1.2 spread out with questions about earlier versions. May be a general Beta - Testing Forum would help.

Regards,

Eliot Lee

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Re: Version 1.2 In reply to
One of the things that is surprising is that Alex referred to it as 1.2....

It's really a 3.0, since it is not only a major upgrade, but it's a logic change that ripples through all the GT programs.

A beta forum would be a good idea.

http://www.postcards.com
FAQ: http://www.postcards.com/FAQ/LinkSQL/

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Re: Version 1.2 In reply to
The actual build interface doesn't seem enabled yet, but several of the things people have wanted seem to be planned, or ready.

Build Changed, Build Staggered, and Build All options are available.

For foreign character support, and organizational needs you can create a field in the category record that will be used to create directory names, rather than the "title". This was a mod (proposed mod?) to 1.x.

An option to set directory permissions to 777 so that you can gain access to them via Telnet!! (Great!)

Rather than editing the Links.pm file, there is a setup/config option that presents all the options, and allows you to modify them through a web interface. After setting up the major paths, the program fills in the others, or you can override them.

I'd like to see an "Images" directory added, so that there would be a place in the document tree ../pages and ../images (for example) where the site graphics could be stored -- the new, pop, stars, logos, etc. It's nice to have them all in one place, and to have that place defined in the config settings.

How easy is it to add configuration parameters?? Many of us have added $LINKS variables to the hash to handle other options we've enabled. This may be part of the "plug ins" system, but some times we just need to add a configuration variable to the setup. How about a "user options" page, that can be set to add values that are site-specific? It shouldn't be hard to do, and it would be better if it was done within a GT framework so it was standardized.

The more I poke around, the more interesting stuff there is...


http://www.postcards.com
FAQ: http://www.postcards.com/FAQ/LinkSQL/

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Re: Version 1.2 In reply to
Other additions:

1) A Date.pm module that does date/format conversion for output! :)

2) A bulk_mailer module seems to be in the works.

3) The template.pm has created a general template processor, that will
allow includes in includes (how do you screen for endless loops??),
BEFORE processing the <%tags%>

4) The category system seems to have been reworked, though the table
definitions seem similar, the logic seems reworked.

Hmmm.... more stuff. Anyone else poking around this??

http://www.postcards.com
FAQ: http://www.postcards.com/FAQ/LinkSQL/

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Re: Version 1.2 In reply to
Sounds like the admin interface is similar to UBB. I hope that it will be flexible to make changes like what you recommended with the image path. One of the major quirks of UBB is that the script is not very flexible to edit...the codes are spread out in an uninituitive manner.

I hope that with the new web based tools of Links SQL v.1.2 that there will be still be flexibility in terms of adding modifications.

Regards,

Eliot Lee

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Re: Version 1.2 In reply to
I'm not sure about the admin interface of UBB, but it looks a _lot_ like the HamWeather program, and you can get a peek at the interface on their site, I believe -- hamweather.com

I know there are similar ideas between the two programs, because I'm using both of them, and they share a certain common ground. Hamweather has plug ins, and it makes editing/updating nice. The more the interfaces of programs become similar, the easier it is for people to use, and develop for, them.

Just as there is a 'standard' GUI design interface, (as well as a "windows" interface), it would be great if there was a more standard web interface, and steps like this, and programs like these move closer.

I can't wait for the first beta of this program!

Right now it's a collection of modules, and an interface. A lot of things are not connected, and there is no "application" holding them all together yet.

But, this is probably a prime example of putting the work in on the front end, designing the right modules/calls (like the right database structure) and the time needed on the back-end (application development and maintennance) is greatly reduced.

http://www.postcards.com
FAQ: http://www.postcards.com/FAQ/LinkSQL/

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Re: Version 1.2 In reply to
Well...hopefully, the scripts and modules will maintain a sense of continuity that still allows you to edit the codes within the modules if needed rather than relying on a web interface. I prefer to be able to edit the codes...I guess I am saying that I hope the new version is flexible enough to edit both via codes in the modules/scripts and also through the web interface.

Regards,

Eliot Lee

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Re: Version 1.2 In reply to
The configuration is stored in a file, but I have not back-tracked enough to see how the web-admin works to know if there is a setup-script or if the values are hard-coded into the setup manager.

I think you'll find the web-interface to be really cool, and you won't really want to edit the values directly. It's easier, and not prone to errors.

The concern I have is adding values -- for all the user mods. Right now, we could just add them anywhere in the Links.pm file or HTML_Templates.pm files, and they were good to go. Now, under the old rules, that was acceptible.

Under the new rules, there has to be a more defined, compatible, and standard way of doing it.

If there was a "user added variables" page, the user could enter the "key" and the "value" into an editor, and the program would insert the correct codes into the web-interface pages/templates, and into the config file.

For instance, if you need a variable for $LINKS{my_variable_name}, you'd be presented with an "Add configuration parameter:" screen, and prompted for:

Name:
Description/help text:
Key:
Value:

then, when you checked back, you'd get the prompt:

Name: My_Variable
Description: Edit this value to make the site run like the wind (no trailing slash)
Key: $LINKS{'My Value'}
Value: Magic Code Number


One step better, would be a prompt to enter a value into the various passed user Hashes, such as $LINKS, $GLOBAL, $USER or one of the others, or perhaps create a _NEW_ Hash that is passed, $LOCAL_VALUES.

I hate to toss ideas like this out there when we haven't yet seen the working copy, but I like thinking ahead :)



http://www.postcards.com
FAQ: http://www.postcards.com/FAQ/LinkSQL/

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Re: Version 1.2 In reply to
Hello Pugdog,

How about a language translation table, is it in the new version ?

In version 1.1 you have to translate all files, that a hell of a job. I hope in the new
version there will be a language translation table so translation will be easy.

Regards startpoint.