Bloo v 0.14 release notes

Well, I have finally completed version 0.14 of Bloo, and it is currently powering the blog.

Some notes: This version represents quite a step-up in the Bloo software, even though most of the changes are behind-the-scenes type modifications. For those of you with an inner geek, I have moved all the Bloo SnapOns and Overlays into individual “packages” (Java style) that load dynamically. In other words, to add a new SnapOn to the Bloo system you can just create it based on the SnapOn API (still being finalized so I don’t have the docs yet) and place it in a package file in the packages subfolder. Once this is done, the SnapOn will load dynamically, and if you, for instance, reference it in the Overlay or containing SnapOn that controls part of a page, voila, it is now a part of Bloo. I’m geeking out over this. Future releases will allow for the dynamic, non-destructive modification of Overlays, which will allow the blog administrator to change the appearance of their Blog – in all its aspects – online and dynamically. I say “non-destructive” as I plan to build in the ability to always get back to previous versions of the blog’s appearance. Many blogs allow the user to modify a few templates, this plan should be like that, except on steroids.

And – eventually – I will add the ability to define a new SnapOn on-line and dynamically. That will be pretty cool . . .

By way of review: the term “Overlay” refers to a construct used in Phoo/Bloo which represents an interface, either to a database or to the web front-end. For instance, the post you’re looking at is defined/formatted by an Overlay. So is the Bible verse now appearing in right sidebar. The term “SnapOn” refers to the smart objects that populate Overlays. For instance, the overlay that formats this post is contained in and populated by the PostDisplay SnapOn. SnapOns contain overlays, which can contain embedded SnapOns, and so on.

Well, enough of that kind of talk 🙂 – below are the major new features introduced in this release:

  • Code Organization – Created the current concept of the SnapOn “package”, as described above
  • List Management – again, not something the casual reader has access to. But I’ve implemented a set of SnapOns that allow one to create and manage lists. For instance, the Bloogroll in the right sidebar is now a display of a List (before it was just a static overlay). This is a pretty important feature, since once you have the ability to create lists there are all sorts of pieces of information – both visible and behind the scenes – that can live inside a list
  • A new Weblogs Pinger. Not being happy with my pingomatic pinger (which doesn’t seem to work very well) I’ve re-written the pinger SnapOn and I’m now pinging other services (weblogs, technorati, blogrolling, etc) – we’ll see if this improves my pinging luck. I’m not holding my breath (I feel like I’m missing something here)
  • Small formatting changes – so, tell me, how much do you hate the new textured background in the sidebars and date header?
  • Did some slight cleanup on the RSS (that probably no one will notice)
  • Added the SnapOnDescriptor class – giving the developer th ability to create SnapOns that are self-documenting
  • Improved the error-rendering features of the blog
  • Added the “Daily Passage” SnapOn – this is retrieved from the RSS feed on the excellent English Standard Version website

That’s it! Version 0.15 will be coming out . . . eventually.

Watch me for the changes . . .

11 thoughts on “Bloo v 0.14 release notes

  1. Bill,

    Sorry I missed the other blue color… must have been way out there 🙂 BTW, what would your thoughts be on using something like this for small groups to meet and share on-line? We are going to need a low resource user (as groups proliferate) with lots of flexibility.

    Thanks for sharing it with us!

  2. The concept behind this seems pretty neat (I read up on the older release notes) and I’m anxious to see your source (if published). Do I have the terminology correct here?

    Overlay = Fliter, takes data in and transforms it

    SnapOn = Plugin, adds functionality some where

    Overall I am very impressed with what you have put together. I wish I had the time to work on fun projects, as opposed to home remodeling. Never again!

    Have you thought of a way to implement permalinks without using modReWrite? The way wordpress has it right now is to pipe everything through the index page (which looks terrible, IMHO).

  3. Andy – thanks for the translation 🙂

    Jason – thanks for the kudos. Yes, you’ve basically described the major components – but keep in mind that a SnapOn is not a Plugin, darnit! It’s a SnapOn! 🙂

    I haven’t gotten too deep in permalinks beyond the basics I already have, but I do plan on getting into meaningful permalinks eventually.

    All I need is time.

    I also need to remodel my bathroom, but my wife, who is very wise, is resisting. I think she realizes what a disaster that would be. I should stick to software 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *