jQuery

login panel

The new template got some jQuery love. I’m using a script found in a tutorial at web-kreation.com, which gives really exceptional results. I’m working on a theme for 3mension that will incorporate a panel like this. It’s very easy to install, and I think the uses are limitless. I just need to see if it has to be added to the top of the window, or if it can be added to the top of a block in ImpressCMS

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Image fading

Also, I added a fading effect  to the images of the different supported engines. Not that difficult, and it saves loads of space.

ImpressCMS Theme someday

At the moment, this is only a simple web page which I updated to work with the login feature of ImpressCMS, to imitate the ‘site closed’ feature. I’m working on a template that will add these features in ImpressCMS proper. That will mean the jQuery stuff will be available to the entire site, and the Site Closed page will mimic the design of the site theme. At the moment, ImpressCMS developers are discussing a standardisation of the different CSS classes, in order to make it easier to get themes on the platform. I hope this gets a boost and a first version quickly, as this is really needed.

This release contains many changes, enhancements and new functionality, with the most important ones listed here:

• Totally rewritten Imagemanager, with online editing
• Fully customizable Profile module, specifically aimed at social networks
• Content is now a full-size module
• Autotasks
• AJAX Redirect, no more redirect pages
• HTMLPurifier configuration in admin backend
• Captcha configuration in admin backend
• Themes for the admin area
• Separate home pages are now possible for each user group
• Textsanitizer plugins
• Installer – new look, using AJAX
• Search results page
• Adsense management in admin area
• Centralized Ratings and Mimetype management

The release has been well publicised on several sites:

• The Release announcement on ImpressCMS.org

• INBOX International can’t keep silent either

• The Announcement on CMSCritic.com

• CMSReport.com mentioning the release

• Also our friends at H-Online have noticed this release

The team is still working hard to get the release stable and secure. I you would like to see what is coming in the next release of this CMS, please consider helping out in the testing cycle.

The sooner this release is deemed stable enough for release, the developers can start working on all the cool things that have been held up due to the beta testing. So if you want to help out, I’m sure everybody will be delighted to assist you in setting up a test environment, or explain which bugs need to be fixed.

Join the ImpressCMS Team

Download the ImpressCMS 1.2 beta release

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.

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.

This is what I call an Infrastructure module. The main goal of it is to provide a service to other modules in such a way that they don’t have to reinvent the same functionality over and over again. In the first release of the module, there won’t be any fancy rating stars or javascript-based animations. The service will simply accept numbers for the individual votes,  and return numbers if the rating of an object is retrieved. All the fancy stuff is to be added later, or even provided by the module, if something weird is needed that nobody else thought about (or wants).

I’ve been working with the latest version of imBuilding in the SVN repository, and although there are some quirks consistent with the alpha-release status, it is working quite well as initial step. Next step will be to get a closer understanding of the do’s and don’ts of the IPF framework.

In ProjectPier, those are items on my current task list. I plan to have a working first version by the end of this month, and propose it to the other icms developers for review and suggestions.

My previous post, a long time ago, I elaborated a bit on the difficult choice between ImpressCMS and Xoops. As I read in the ImpressCMS forums, ‘A line is being drawn in the sand’, and these two CMS packages are each going their separate ways, without regard for compatibility between one another. That means one has to make a choice, and recently making that choice became much more difficult due to the evolving nature of the projects.

All is quiet on the ImpressCMS front…

Where ImpressCMS has been showing the best progress right after the split from Xoops, the situation seems to have been reversed. The Xoops website contains some high-profile messages (the return of former key contributors, mergers again with spin-off branches), while the ImpressCMS site is eerily quiet. This might entice people to switch again to Xoops, and I can’t blame them.

I joined the iCMS development team a bit more than a month ago, in order to have Subversion repository access. As an insider, I have seen what is going on in ImpressCMS development. I must say it’s quite strange that Xoops and ImpressCMS are doing the same things, but for their own platform. Xoops has announced that there is a blue movement going on, which aims to rewrite as much modules as possible using the Xoops Foundation classes. 

At the same time, the ImpressCMS 1.2 alpha release is being prepared, and a huge effort has been done to rewrite as much functionality with IPF classes (ImpressCMS Persistable Framework), performing the same functionality as the Xoops Foundation classes. The iCMS developers are ‘Eating their own dogfood’, as they say. The major difference is that there is no site-wide announcement before the first alpha version is delivered, contrary to Xoops.

Frameworks

ImpressCMS defined the IPF (ImpressCMS Persistable Framework) as the basic class structure that would be the foundation for any development.  The IPF still builds on many classes with the ‘Xoops’ name in them, but that will be changed in the future, I’m certain. Once everything is based on the IPF, one can easily change the underlying system internally without breaking everything that is built on top.

 This is all very nice, and good news for the iCMS people, but I’m trying to build a site here. What does that mean for 3mension? Well, the good news is that iCMS will release the first alpha of the 1.2 branch in the following days. That branch is compatible with the imBuilding module, which will make the build process much more straightforward, and much quicker. Developing a module would become possible in a single day, according to people testing it.

The 3mension site will go online in a short while, with the basic functionality available. Most of the community-building addons will not be there yet, but the upload and description will be. In fact, it will be based on a version of wf-downloads. In the meantime, development will continue on the iCMS 1.2 version, where a tailored platform will be created for the 3mension needs.

The near future

I still have lots of work:

• setup the right combination for the wf-download options
• decide on the new look
• find some testers
• look around for community managers (one for each community, which is defined by a specific engine or a 3D tool)
• setup a bug tracking tool that can be used by the tester team.

Much to do, but a lot of the difficult decisions have been taken. Now, all we can do is go forward.