A Website » PostBits

PostBits 0.1.0 alpha

Keith Constable — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 03:07:06 +0000

Fall semester is over. I’ve been working on PostBits since my last exam, and I have a nifty little zip file to show for it.

I present PostBits 0.1.0 Alpha. Please note the lack of positive digits in the version and the prominence of the word “Alpha.” This plugin is not complete, and it probably has some bugs. As it stands, it should be able to replace Cricket Moods, but do not run it on your live blog.

Things to note:

Does not import moods from Cricket Moods. I will write a separate plugin to do that later.
The plugin seems to work with WP 2.6, but the interface is designed for 2.7.
Currently, only one category is available. It has the ability to handle more, just not the interface to manage them.
There is no README—you’re on your own.

If you’d like to try it out and/or help help me ferret out any bugs, you can grab a zip file from the PostBits Google Code site. If you find any bugs or have any suggestions, please post them on the issue tracker. Please don’t e-mail me or post any blog comments about bugs you find.

Moving Bits

Keith Constable — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 04:52:26 +0000

PostBits development is moving along. My initial goal is to release the plugin with at least the same functionality as Cricket Moods. I’m not too far from that goal, but I need to take a break for college work.

Stalling and sputtering

Keith Constable — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 22:50:10 +0000

The development of PostBits has stalled. I apologize to anyone still holding their breath in anticipation. I recommend exhaling.

As I mentioned in my previous post on the subject, the core functionality of the plugin is finished. That’s all well and good if you like to hammer on your database by hand to get things done, but not so good for most people.

The Problem

The truth is, I’m bad at UI design. Show me a mockup of what you want, and I’ll whip out the code to make it work. Unfortunately, when it comes to designing it myself, I freeze up.

Also, I want to AJAX-ify the UI to some degree. For example, I’d like the mood postbit creation process to be more elegant than Cricket Mood’s current two-text-box approach. I’m thinking something drag-and-drop powered. For some reason, I find the documentation for jQuery and script.aculo.us very confusing, so I’ve never learned how to use them.

The Bottom Line

I’m not mentioning all this to defend myself or to garner sympathy from readers. I’m mentioning it because I have identified these two areas (UI and JavaScript) as things I need help with. I need some creative folk to work with me to finish this plugin.

The Solution

In an effort to accelerate the development of PostBits, I have registered it as a Google Code project. I urge any interested parties to take a look at the code and contact me if they’d like to help.

As a final note, I should mention that, in its current state, the plugin should not be installed on a live blog.