This has pushed me to start working back on getting 3mension up and running as soon as possible.

Given the Torquebay situation, I’ll focus the site initially on GarageGames related stuff. There are tons of real gems to be found on the forums at GarageGames, but the site isn’t really constructed as a catalogue. If you want to log interesting stuff, you’d need to use Delicious or some other bookmarking alternative.

The first iteration of 3mension aims to be a collaborative bookmarking tool for Torque engine users, with tags and categories to make it all easier to find what you’re looking for. I’ll start posting links to interesting stuff, starting on the GarageGames site, but maybe also looking on to other sites.

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This is a significant step, as the logo will be used as the base for the theme created for the website. It will also help with the development of the site, as it is the first really visible part of the site that falls into place.

It seems ImpressCMS 1.2 might come out before the 3mension site goes live. A beta of ImpressCMS 1.2 is forthcoming, and the package should be feature-complete by now. During the wait for answers on the queries for a logo design, I plan to migrate all the work that is done towards that version, in order to have the newly added functionality and enhancements at my disposal.

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The ImpressCMS 1.2 branch is particularly interesting, as it marks the end of Xoops compatibility. That doesn’t mean the developers are trying to break as much of the Xoops functionality just for the heck of it of course. It does mean that ImpressCMS can choose its own path to greatness, without having to think each time if the proposed change won’t break Xoops compatibility. The ImpressCMS 1.2 branch will have some very interesting additions and changes, especially for module developers

jQuery inclusion in the core: The standard inclusion of the jQuery library guarantees the developer that AJAX functionality will be available without any extra dependencies. The fact that the jQuery library is set as standard also means less potential juggling with different AJAX libraries and versions of those libraries.

IPF: The classes which started some time ago as the SmartObject framework, have evolved and extended to form the ImpressCMS Persistable Framework (IPF). These are classes that serve as a solid foundation for modules, without having to re-invent the wheel (or the hot water, depending on your preference).

EYODF or Eat Your Own Dog Food. A very healthy principle (unless you really start eating dog food, don’t exaggerate) that has been taken up by the ImpressCMS core and addon developer teams.
The first steps are already made towards converting the entire core of ImpressCMS towards using IPF. Most im* modules (imTagging, imBlogging) are also heavy users of IPF. That’s also the best way of testing the IPF design. Eating our own Dog Food

When the bugs found in Alpha 2 are resolved, ImpressCMS 1.2 will evolve towards the beta cycle. That means that no breaking changes will be made anymore. This doesn’t mean everything will be frozen. Already some nice layout work is being prepared on the installation procedure.

3Mension will be compatible with the 1.1.2 version of ImpressCMS at the moment, as the first release of the site is imminent (a few weeks at most). The new features in iCMS 1.2 look better and better as we get nearer the new release.

I can hardly wait.

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I am happy to announce that a major part of the core functionality has been written in its basic form. At the moment, it is possible to upload files accompanied by an image, a title and a description. It’s still butt-ugly at the moment, as no time has been devoted yet to the templates that should make everything look nice on the screen. Once the functionality is approaching what will be used on the production site, I’ll start looking at the presentation.

At the moment, the plugin is built with an old Xoops plugin to generate the classes. ImpressCMS 1.2 is still a bit too far off to wait for it to get to a state I am confident with to install on a website out in the open. That’s a shame really, as the IPF framework, in combination with the imbuilding plugin for iCMS 1.2.x is a very powerful and easy-to-use tool to develop with.

I started asking around about the feature set users would like to see. My first victims were on BlenderArtists. I plan to build a bit of momentum on the different forums towards the launch of the beta, which should be next month at the latest.

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There is much work to be done to get the loose modules working together and the Xoops platform has lost much of its momentum last year during the period of infighting that spawned forks like ImpressCMS, chasing many talented developers away.

I seem to be coping at the moment, but it just seems more work to get to a point where other systems can take you with a standard install.

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Unfortunately, setting up a website the way I imagined it, even in its most austere form, was not easy at all. Then the job got a bit in the way too, just to make things more interesting. I didn’t give up though, and I’m slowly building up the framework to run 3mension.com .

Firstly, I’ll build a Xoops-based version. I have most of my PHP development experience with that framework, and I think it will be a good exercise and a valid testcase for developing something other than a standard community site with news posts and a forum. Based on my experience, the decision will have to be made after the first version of the site whether to continue with Xoops, or if other frameworks provide more of the needed functionalities out of the box.

Right now, all I want is to do two things very well:

• Provide an easy and efficient upload experience to publishers
• Make it easy for non-publishing users to find the files they need.

That seems to be two trivial goals, but don’t let that fool you. The word ‘easy’ is not difficult to write in a post like this, but it is not so easy to write the code for that elusive little word ‘easy’.

Right now, there is this blog, and a holding page telling you to wait, and to leave your name and mail address if you would like to be notified of the new and exciting things that are coming in the future.

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