SmallBlog - Going Forward
Last updated at 11:57 am UTC on 17 January 2006
Now that the Squeak Weblog Server challenge has been completed, the next interesting exercise is to take the result and turn it into a fully featured project. This process involves two points, figuring out where we are currently, and figuring out where we want to go. I'll just start sketching out some of the questions that I have, some of the things I think we need. Please add your comments.
Things To Do
- It should be easy to build the package
- A script or predefined image would be nice
- It should be easy to build blogs
- When no blogs are present, the server should not give a DNU
- Edgar thought it would be nice to see a list of the blogs on the 'home page' of the server
- The RSS feed seems a little confused in version 59, but this is the latest version that Mark is running on http://smallblog.wellthot.net/.
- The distribution will be a 'snapshot' of the needed packages that work with 3.6. In other words, the needed packages will all be included in .mcz files so we don't have to support moving targets of development. This includes Kom 6.2, Seaside, and the XML-RPC server.
Do we need a development version in addition for packaging purposes?
Needed Packages
- Monticello reader
- Kom 6.2
- Seaside
- XML-RPC Server
Updates - 8 November 2003
The demo server is now at http://smallblog.wellthot.net.
The SmallBlog package has been registered on Squeakmap.
An email alias has been created for the sblogteam. Send mail to sblog at wellthot.net. Let Mark Schwenk know if you want to be added or removed from this alias.
Questions
Using Seaside brings up several questions:
- How do you give out a 'static' front page or archive entry URL. Here's what happens: You navigate to the front page of a blog. Naturally you would want to book mark this, and give it to your friends. Unfortunately, the 'true' address has been supplanted by the session info which is a little confusing.
- The RSS page has the same problem. Most of the aggregators that I've used get confused by the redirection.
- How does Google wander around? In this product space, Google needs to have room to wander around and take a look.
Features to Add
- Categories
- Ping weblogs.com ; Notify weblogs.com when you have made an entry into your weblog so that the whole world knows whatas up
- Easier control of weblog CSS; the user should be able to select one of several different 'skins'.
- Add things like 'blog rolling' capabilities; typically HTML that as been 'given' to you from an outside source to be included in a sidebar. We may want to also have a three column layout.
- Add an 'About Me' page, that is, the capability to add a static page (or three ;) for blog related information.
- Here's an interesting way of presenting the RSS feed: http://www.mezzoblue.com/rss/2.0/ This approach uses XSL and CSS files to pretty up the feed itself.
Testing
- Posting to weblogs via Blogger API using XML-RPC.
SBlog Challenge Participants Area
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