Tao of the Machine

PyTextile

Mark Pilgrim: PyTextile. (Also see here.) I have been looking for a way to let people (optionally) write nodes in something other than HTML; this may just be what I need.

Posted by Hans Nowak on 2003-03-19 08:55:49 {link}
Categories: Python, Firedrop

How could it be otherwise?

People have been asking about the status of Firedrop. When will it be ready? One answer can be found in the Tao of Programming:

A manager asked a programmer how long it would take him to finish the program on which he was working. "It will be finished tomorrow," the programmer promptly replied.
"I think you are being unrealistic," said the manager, "Truthfully, how long will it take?"
The programmer thought for a moment. "I have some features that I wish to add. This will take at least two weeks," he finally said.
"Even that is too much to expect," insisted the manager, "I will be satisfied if you simply tell me when the program is complete."
The programmer agreed to this.
Several years later, the manager retired. On the way to his retirement luncheon, he discovered the programmer asleep at his terminal. He had been programming all night.

Truth is, at this point I don't know when it will be ready for us. I've been making some important progress lately... the Weblog part is almost usable, and I'm considering to switch to Firedrop, rather than using Kaa for my blog. (Converting your blog from Kaa to Firedrop isn't too painful... there's a script that does most of the work. When it's time, I will put a section on my page explaining how it works. You will have to edit your templates and embedded code in entries by hand, though.)

The Weblog part (or "content type", to add more market speak to the mix) currently lacks category archives (and user-friendly category editors for that matter, but that is not restricted to Weblog) and RSS. The (node) editor is usable, but will benefit from some editor helpers, like Kaa has the 'bold', 'italic' etc. buttons, and the 'Edit' menu option. Uploading works but isn't "smart" yet. And, I'm nowhere near releasing a Mac version using Swing... currently it's all wxPython.

Add user-friendly dialogs, better error checking, better database performance, new content types (FAQ, LinkCollection, StartPage, probably others), a decent macro/regex system, FHTML, ... and you'll understand why it might take a while before Firedrop is ready for prime time.

In spite of that, I might release a development version, so people can see what's it all about, and give (hopefully constructive) criticism. Just don't start creating a site with it yet. (This time I mean it! :-)

Posted by Hans Nowak on 2003-03-17 22:55:07 {link}
Categories: Firedrop

In a world gone mad

"Being together, writing and recording, we felt it would be irresponsible not to address what's going on in the world while the events are still current. It didn't make sense to us to wait until the entire record was finished to release this song." --Mike D

Read more and download the song here. Laat maar boemen en zoemen die bassen...

Posted by Hans Nowak on 2003-03-16 22:31:24 {link}
Categories: music

Bejeweled

Bejeweled. A surprisingly addictive game, yet simple; it has only one rule. :)

Posted by Hans Nowak on 2003-03-16 12:03:23 {link}
Categories: games

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