Its been a while since I’ve made a post, and this is a sizable undertaking, I felt an update was appropriate. I’m beginning work on modularizing the Yurrachi AvCore so that it can be distributed and used to create new avatar sites. I’ve not yet decided if the AvCore will be distributed as an Mod, or to modify the existing phpBB install package, or offer both solutions. To do this I’m going to need to
- Do a general cleanup of Yurrachi’s code.
- Modularize data structures and place code libraries into proper classes, to minimize the number of native phpBB files that need to be modified for installation.
- Modify the default phpBB theme to be compatible with the AvCore (for distribution)
- Come up with default avatar bases and a few starter items.
- Modify the existing phpBB installer package and/or write an upgrade package for the AvCore.
I’ll be working on this bit by bit in my free time, so it is likely that it’ll take a while. I’ll keep you posted.
Yurrachi's new Resource Panel
Its been a while since I’ve posted an update, so I figured I’d catch the blog up on what I’ve been up to.
I’ve made a few adjustments to Yurrachi’s layout to keep things looking a little cleaner. This should suffice until I get around to making a whole new layout.
I’ve also written a basic template engine in PHP to make it easier to separate function, layout, and content, and better manage projects in a team environment. Layout guys don’t need to stare at PHP, and code monkeys don’t need to be bothered with the layout elements. I used the template engine as an example in a tutorial at ZeroZaku.
I’ve completed the modifications necessary to get the Rough Playground up and running. I decided to once again take a more flexible approach and developed a penalty subsystem. This way, additional forums could have a penalty to post and/or reply within them, and the existing Rough Playground penalty can be easily managed.
I see you!
I’ve given Yurrachi’s chat a major overhaul and tied it into the avatar system. I find this to be a much improved look, and will be adding more features for interactivity into the chat shortly.
Anyone interested in producing something similar is welcome to contact me for assistance or further information.
Yurrachi forums are now located in /forum/ instead of /phpBB3/
I learned a valuable lesson about why to never let Dreamweaver automatically adjust links on folder rename. Actually, it was more like 336 tiny lessons.
I’ve added a timestamp to the AJAX chat messages, and did a little more work modularizing the Avatar system, preparing it for use in other solutions and other sites.
The AJAX chat I mentioned yesterday is now in place on Yurrachi. I’ve taken precautions to ensure the system should be free from abuse, by employing time restraints on chat posts, input sanitizing, and a chat token system to ensure users and outsiders can’t pose as someone else.
All that’s left is to implement moderation tools, properly modularize the solution, and write an installation package. Although any web developer worth their salt could come up with something similar without much hassle.
I’ve completed the processing script for a live chat system that I’m planning on placing on Yurrachi. Nothing major at the moment, but its working. Next up is the JavaScript half of the back-end, then some work on a front-end.
On another note, I’ve extended functionality of the ZZ User Tree again to allow for a deeper, smarter search.
Yurrachi using native $db
I’ve fixed most of the Yurrachi codebase to use phpBB’s native database library, and also added sql_numrows() to said library to facilitate mysql_num_rows() functionality to the native library. This has allowed the Yurrachi core to move closer to becoming modular, and gives hope that one day i may be able to market the system itself as a product.
Zerozaku's new Feature
Just a little update today. I made a few critical changes to the MCP module earlier created, to allow it to be further integrated into the site. It can now be launched from within a users profile, just for additional ease of access.
You maid?
A couple of quick updates for ZZ:
I’ve given the mods a neat little way to see which counts are connected by IP addresses. I may release this MCP module to the public at a later date, after refining.
Also, I whipped up a new emote of everyone’s favorite beverage/cleaning-lady combination ever.
That’s all for now.
