BioRUST Forums - View Single Post - Pre-Biorust v4 Design Proforma

**Man1c M0g** · 04-30-2005

As some of you know, I am working on the backend of the website before I work on the new design. Some of the changes I have planned are actually quite complex, so I've decided to write this little list, not only to remind myself what's needed, but to give you all a general indicator of how i'm getting along with the next revision of Biorust. I'll be sure to keep this thread updated and cross out the different stages as I get through them. So, without further ado, here goes...

Unify the tutorials resource page into one easy-to-use solution. I intend to eliminate the menu part of the side-bar menu in the next revision and make the menu a part of the header, so this is essential. - COMPLETE
Renovate the tutorial category pages to allow listings via section, with options to sort by alphabet, date added, etc, in both ascending and descending orders. - COMPLETE
Do the same as above, but with the downloads section. - COMPLETE
Rewrite the affiliates system and move away from the PhpAdsNew-2.0 system, which works well but is VERY resource hungry and overly complex. - COMPLETE
Decouple the Website Index from its integral template system. The Eagle made a very flexible system, but its impossible to integrate properly with the new membership system, and a simpler approach would work better, and make it easier to implement new designs. - COMPLETE
Make site voting & dead link reporting in the Website Index a member-only feature. This will keep the spambots out and maintain the integrity of the database. - COMPLETE
Write a form to allow users to submit downloads! - COMPLETE
Integrate proper search functionality into the Biorust design, so resources can be found more easily. This may look a little odd at first, but Biorust v4 will be designed around it, so it'll look right then... - POSTPONED
And lets not forget the addition of mod_rewrite to make our URLs simpler, easier to follow, and much more search engine friendly! - COMPLETE
Code a server-side script for weekly remote backups of all files and databases. I do this manually at the moment, but its very time consuming. - COMPLETE
Re-code the news page so that it doesn't use complex external interpreting scripts. - COMPLETE
Fix the annoying issue where random affiliates & tutorials occasionally show a blank. - INTERMITTENT ISSUE
Expand site membership to include more user statistics & generally just spruce it up a little more... - COMPLETE
Write a nifty control panel for Admins/Mods that allows us to commit changes (i.e. add downloads, process links, etc) without direct database editing... which can be confusing for everyone but me! - POSTPONED
Add voting and comment controls to the selected resources section on the main page. These will be available for members only. - COMPLETE
Add the ability to track new photo comments *AND* more specifically, photo comments relating to your pictures in particular. - POSTPONED
Final Step: Clean up all new code and make the site truly ready for the next incarnation of the Biorust design. This is a moderately-sized step, but is expected to cause great disruption as certain site features are re-written, optimized, and moved around... - COMPLETE

With a little luck I'll be able to get through a section each week. Is there anything you'd like to see added to this list? Well, post it and let me know!

04-30-2005	#1 (permalink)
Man1c M0g Sheep Worrier Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Portsmouth, UK. Posts: 4,105 Blog Entries: 14	Pre-Biorust v4 Design Proforma As some of you know, I am working on the backend of the website before I work on the new design. Some of the changes I have planned are actually quite complex, so I've decided to write this little list, not only to remind myself what's needed, but to give you all a general indicator of how i'm getting along with the next revision of Biorust. I'll be sure to keep this thread updated and cross out the different stages as I get through them. So, without further ado, here goes... Unify the tutorials resource page into one easy-to-use solution. I intend to eliminate the menu part of the side-bar menu in the next revision and make the menu a part of the header, so this is essential. - COMPLETE Renovate the tutorial category pages to allow listings via section, with options to sort by alphabet, date added, etc, in both ascending and descending orders. - COMPLETE Do the same as above, but with the downloads section. - COMPLETE Rewrite the affiliates system and move away from the PhpAdsNew-2.0 system, which works well but is VERY resource hungry and overly complex. - COMPLETE Decouple the Website Index from its integral template system. The Eagle made a very flexible system, but its impossible to integrate properly with the new membership system, and a simpler approach would work better, and make it easier to implement new designs. - COMPLETE Make site voting & dead link reporting in the Website Index a member-only feature. This will keep the spambots out and maintain the integrity of the database. - COMPLETE Write a form to allow users to submit downloads! - COMPLETE Integrate proper search functionality into the Biorust design, so resources can be found more easily. This may look a little odd at first, but Biorust v4 will be designed around it, so it'll look right then... - POSTPONED And lets not forget the addition of mod_rewrite to make our URLs simpler, easier to follow, and much more search engine friendly! - COMPLETE Code a server-side script for weekly remote backups of all files and databases. I do this manually at the moment, but its very time consuming. - COMPLETE Re-code the news page so that it doesn't use complex external interpreting scripts. - COMPLETE Fix the annoying issue where random affiliates & tutorials occasionally show a blank. - INTERMITTENT ISSUE Expand site membership to include more user statistics & generally just spruce it up a little more... - COMPLETE Write a nifty control panel for Admins/Mods that allows us to commit changes (i.e. add downloads, process links, etc) without direct database editing... which can be confusing for everyone but me! - POSTPONED Add voting and comment controls to the selected resources* section on the main page. These will be available for members only. - COMPLETE* Add the ability to track new photo comments AND* more specifically, photo comments relating to your pictures in particular. - POSTPONED* Final Step: Clean up all new code and make the site truly ready for the next incarnation of the Biorust design. This is a moderately-sized step, but is expected to cause great disruption as certain site features are re-written, optimized, and moved around... - COMPLETE With a little luck I'll be able to get through a section each week. Is there anything you'd like to see added to this list? Well, post it and let me know! __________________ Last edited by Man1c M0g; 08-17-2005 at 07:36 PM..