Textpattern CMS support forum
You are not logged in. Register | Login | Help
- Topics: Active | Unanswered
Re: [wiki] textbook architecture
Looks rather useless as long as Bert keeps updating PHPXref.com. From a developer’s view, aligning any documentation with the file structure as a primary principle of classification is a rather uncommon approach, and in real life I wouldn’t expect the community to have enough qualified ressources to keep it up to date.
Offline
Re: [wiki] textbook architecture
wet wrote:
Looks rather useless as long as Bert keeps updating PHPXref.com.
Agreed, and that phpxref site seems more suited for this kind of info. But what about the Google repo, isn’t that sufficient at providing the same information as far as developers are concerned? Not to mention it’s maintained from the source.
From a developer’s view, aligning any documentation with the file structure as a primary principle of classification is a rather uncommon approach, and in real life I wouldn’t expect the community to have enough qualified ressources to keep it up to date.
Agreed again, on both points.
OK, then. I’ll let it sit for the time being until the Tag pages and other areas in focus are dealt with, but if no good arguments arise by then for keeping those file tree pages, we’ll axe ‘em.
Offline
Re: [wiki] textbook architecture
Destry wrote:
But what about the Google repo, isn’t that sufficient at providing the same information as far as developers are concerned?
Only partially. “What is used where?” is a question which the repo won’t have answers to, but PHPXref does. This is useful information, and its availability to developers depends on features of their IDEs if it wasn’t available from PHPXref.
Offline
Re: [wiki] textbook architecture
wet wrote:
Looks rather useless as long as Bert keeps updating PHPXref.com.
The Textpattern Xref gets updated whenever a new stable release comes out, since I run TxP as my main CMS.
When I started PHPXref, I went a bit crazy adding projects. There are many projects that are announced and then later abandoned after only a year of existence, the one year wonders I call them. I’m in the process of identifying which projects are actively developed and I will just concentrate on them. Fewer projects will make it easier for me to keep all the cross references updated whenever a new stable release comes out.
We Love TXP . TXP Themes . TXP Tags . TXP Planet . TXP Make
Offline
Re: [wiki] textbook architecture
hcgtv wrote:
The Textpattern Xref gets updated whenever a new stable release comes out, since I run TxP as my main CMS.
Good to know, and that confirms removing the pages in question from TxB. I’ve added a link to phpxref from the Extending Textpattern section.
Offline
Re: [wiki] textbook architecture
All those file tree pages (all 30+) are now gone. There’s a few more but I’m tracking them. To ensure there’s no heart ache, those pages were last touched in 2006 and there was no content in them outside of file tree navigation lists. I don’t think they’ll be missed.
I also axed all the old tag pages, which have since been recreated under the better titles and presentation in the Tag Reference. More here, if you want to follow-up on that.
I think there will only be one more bulk delete needed, and that has to do with the old translation pages once they are recreated/renamed under the improved convention; i.e., do not have two- or four-character language code prefixes like Zh-tw/txp:if article /. However, I’m beginning to see a potential issue here with regard to the language codes. Consider that tag page just noted, which is a traditional Chinese translation page. Although the page content is fully translated, the title is not, so if we remove the language code prefix and adopt the new titling convention for tag pages, we end up with a page title exactly the same as the English version. I believe this is a problem for any language because tag pages represent code syntax labels so there is no translation of them, right?
If that’s correct, we can solve this problem by putting the language codes as suffixes instead of prefixes (i.e., if_article [zh-tw] and article [fr]) on only those pages that need the distinction between the English mirrors (perhaps just tag pages). Thus, this would not be an automated thing, but an authoring thing at time of page creation. Thoughts on this?
Last edited by Destry (2008-10-24 08:57:20)
Offline
Re: [wiki] textbook architecture
As a reminder (rather quietly mentioned first here), part of the process of improving TxB is removal of dead/obsolete pages and recreation of others having need of better titles (to better indicate the subject matter of the articles). With regard to obsolete stuff, it’s just being removed quietly. With regard to renamed pages, I’m keeping track of those in Redesign Change Log (itself a poorly titled page…sigh). Sooooooooo, if you book marked a wiki page in 2005, or are the author of a page you seem not to find now, please do check the Redesign Change Log (and update your links accordingly).
Offline
Re: [wiki] textbook architecture
I was just wading through the Basic Preferences, psyching myself up for the Advaned prefs page and it seems there’s a bit of a problem; the headings have numbers in them according to numbers assigned to items in the various screenshots. The same is true of many pages (e.g. the Write tab).
Since options are shuffled around / re-ordered (a lot on the prefs tabs it seems), I see a couple of ways forward:
- Remove these numbers from the headings and put them in bold immediately underneath
- Pro: Future re-orders or mods to the screenshots don’t affect inbound links
- Con: All current links to specific items will need updating
- Leave the options numbered as they are and change the numerical order in the screenshots to match
- Pro: All current links to specific items remain intact
- Deleted, missing or re-orderer items (e.g. some items from Basic Prefs are now in Advanced Prefs) may be out of sequence in the page flow and some numbers may be skipped
Although possibly a greater amount of work, I’ve gone for Door #1 on the Basic Prefs and must now hunt down any inbound links to that page — where’s smd_where_used when you need it ;-)
It’s fairly easy to roll back and go the other way if anyone objects, but before tackling the far more complicated Advanced Prefs tab I’d like to gauge some thoughts on either approach (or any others if anyone has any cool ideas). I guess we can get away with numbering the headings on the Write tab because it won’t change much from version to version and is certainly nowhere near as volatile as the prefs pages. But maybe that should be revisited too? Thoughts?
The smd plugin menagerie — for when you need one more gribble of power from Textpattern. Bleeding-edge code available on GitHub.
Txp Builders – finely-crafted code, design and Txp
Offline
Re: [wiki] textbook architecture
I think the first choice like your doing is the right way to go. The numbers were originally concieved as a way to bring quick attention to the specific preference in question, but clearly it poses a maintenance problem over time. I would also say we need to change those graphics (removing the numbers/letters), and consider if it’s necessary to use numbers in text at all. I say strip down and build up only if clearly necessary.
As for links, it’s rarely a good idea to link to article subjections in one page from another in a wiki (something I’ve come to opinion about from years of wiki experience), because the page is subject to change over time and then there you go. I agree with: it’s better to improve content/architecture and break a few links, than otherwise not improve content/archtiecture.
There’s a nice tool in the wiki for finding what links to a give page (whether to or from). It’s the first link in the Toolbox list in the footer. This makes easier work of tracking detritus.
Last edited by Destry (2008-11-16 18:03:01)
Offline
Re: [wiki] textbook architecture
Destry wrote:
I would also say we need to change those graphics (removing the numbers/letters), and consider if it’s necessary to use numbers in text at all.
I’m down with that. Will remove those numbers from the gfx / markup forthwith.
There’s a nice tool in the wiki for finding what links to a give page
Haha, how did I miss that?! Thanks for pointing it out, that’s going to help a lot.
The smd plugin menagerie — for when you need one more gribble of power from Textpattern. Bleeding-edge code available on GitHub.
Txp Builders – finely-crafted code, design and Txp
Offline
#35 2008-11-16 18:06:00
- els
- Moderator
- From: The Netherlands
- Registered: 2004-06-06
- Posts: 7,458
Re: [wiki] textbook architecture
I give up… for the second time I deleted a – longish – reply because preview showed you two were faster; from now on I’ll stay out of it ;)
All I wanted to say is: I totally agree with both of you :)
Offline
Re: [wiki] textbook architecture
Els wrote:
I give up… for the second time I deleted a – longish – reply because preview showed you two were faster; from now on I’ll stay out of it ;)
:) Hehe, sorry. For once my fingers are warm enough to type with a degree of proficiency. I tend to be in your situation and someone (usually you :-) beats me to it!
Anyway, the Basic Prefs page is now done (EDIT: but if someone would care to verify the integrity of the Time Zone/DST stuff it’d be useful. I left the text as it was because time zone stuff does my head in).
That What Links Here thing is mighty handy. One question: does it show what naughty pages have referenced headings within the page? I’m sure I’ve seen some references to, for example:This depends on the [[Basic Preferences#Production Status (4)|production status]] you have set"If not, what’s the easiest way to catch those? Can a simple search pick them up so they can be eradicated and the link changed to the top level page?
Last edited by Bloke (2008-11-16 18:23:13)
The smd plugin menagerie — for when you need one more gribble of power from Textpattern. Bleeding-edge code available on GitHub.
Txp Builders – finely-crafted code, design and Txp
Offline