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Topic: [ANN] Second Site-Configuration Wizard: Pattern Installer
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Hello Again Everybody,
As I mentioned last
week,
I've been working on some big new features for Conversant.
Specifically, some wizards that should make it very easy to share "look
and feel," and features, between different Conversant sites.
The first wizard, called Pattern Maker, creates an XML file (called a
pattern) based on your site. You tell it which items to put in, it
spits out a file called "pattern.xml". It can include
anything from a single template to an entire site configuration with
pages, folders, templates, stylesheets, javascripts, and resources.
The second wizard, just released this evening, is called Pattern
Installer. It's the opposite of the first wizard. You provide it a
pattern.xml file created by you or someone else, and choose which items
to install. It warns you of 'conflicts' between items in the pattern
and items already in your site, and lets you choose how to deal with
them. Then, it reconfigures your site based on what you've selected
from the pattern file.
There's still more to come, but these are the biggest and most
important parts.
Please note that it's still all in beta. We really need everybody to
test (and play with) these features. Let us know what works, what's
broken, what's missing, and what you love or hate about it.
If you find a problem, please PLEASE PLEASE report it (here)!
Include all the information you think might be pertinent. If you found
the problem while trying to install a pattern, please include the
pattern file as an attachment (enclosure) to your bug report.
Did I mention that we need feedback on this system? We do. Please test
it and let us know what you think and what you find.
Thanks!
Seth
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Hi again,
Is there some obstacle to testing these features that I haven't
considered?
Would it help if we provided some sample patterns right from the start?
Is the problem that you don't have a spare site to test with? Anybody
who wants to sign up for another free-conversant site, for testing
purposes, is welcome to do so. Let me know about it, and I'll even turn
on the "Weblog 2" plugin for you. :-)
Seth
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On Jul 1, 2005, at 6:09 AM, Seth Dillingham wrote:
>
> Hi again,
>
> Is there some obstacle to testing these features that I haven't
> considered?
>
I am making a pattern now, but there appears to be a bug in the
pattern maker wizard. I did not choose anything in the javascript
step and the wizard failed:
> 500 Internal server Error
>
> The server has encountered an error processing your request.
>
> Please report this error to the Webmaster.
>
> Error: Can't evaluate the expression because the name
> "javascript" hasn't been defined.
> Time: Fri, 01 Jul 2005 13:45:41 GMT
>
> URL: http://www.voicesofunreason.com/__wizards__/createconfig/
> 0000004$session=xuRH4Jhl6DF7
> Object: ["F:FrontierGuest Databasesops
> ConvZones_D.root"].["Dreamzone-Redux"].websites
>
Checking anything in the javascript step lets it go through.
------------------
Mark Morgan
[email protected]
http://www.voicesofunreason.com/
"Too bad dark languages rarely survive."
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On 7/1/05, Mark Morgan said:
>I am making a pattern now, but there appears to be a bug in the
>pattern maker wizard. I did not choose anything in the javascript step
>and the wizard failed:
Fixed!
Mark.browniePoints++
Seth
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Installing the pattern I made at voicesofunreason.com/pattern (test
site), I got to the final step and hit continue on the "Review"
section but it didn't do anything as near as I can tell. I let it run
in the background while I browsed other sites. Hitting the continue
again just now still didn't do anything.
------------------
Mark Morgan
[email protected]
http://www.voicesofunreason.com/
"Too bad dark languages rarely survive."
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On 7/1/05, Mark Morgan said:
>Installing the pattern I made at voicesofunreason.com/pattern (test
>site), I got to the final step and hit continue on the "Review"
>section but it didn't do anything as near as I can tell. I let it run
>in the background while I browsed other sites. Hitting the continue
>again just now still didn't do anything.
Does it indicate that the page is loading, or just nothing at all
happens when you click the button, or what?
What browser are you using?
Seth
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On Jul 1, 2005, at 8:32 AM, Seth Dillingham wrote:
>
> Does it indicate that the page is loading, or just nothing at all
> happens when you click the button, or what?
>
No browser activity, alas. I missed that the first time in an ADD-
fueled bout of tab bouncing.
> What browser are you using?
Firefox 1.0.4 OSX 10.4 Tiger
To test it, I first made a pattern by selecting everything at
voicesofunreason.com. Then I used the Create New Converstion Wizard
to make /pattern. I left each step of that Wizard at its default.
Then I selected everything in the Pattern and tried to upload it.
Update: I started the Wizard over from scratch it went through. At
least I think it did--it's still uploading. It's a fairly hefty
pattern so it may just be churning through it all.
The "Select all from all tabs" generated a bunch of errors, telling
me there was nothing in templates or javascript.
------------------
Mark Morgan
[email protected]
http://www.voicesofunreason.com/
"Too bad dark languages rarely survive."
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On 7/1/05, Mark Morgan said:
>To test it, I first made a pattern by selecting everything at
>voicesofunreason.com. Then I used the Create New Converstion Wizard to
>make /pattern. I left each step of that Wizard at its default. Then I
>selected everything in the Pattern and tried to upload it.
Yeah, that's got to be a HUGE pattern, and is probably outside the
scope of what I'm trying to accomplish here.
I don't blame you for trying it, at all, but this really isn't intended
to be a way to duplicate an entire established site. Know what I mean?
>Update: I started the Wizard over from scratch it went through. At
>least I think it did--it's still uploading. It's a fairly hefty
>pattern so it may just be churning through it all.
Actually, after the review stage there is nothing to upload. It's
actually creating all the items in the new site.
There's a performance issue with creating lots of pages in a single
folder, and it gets progressively worse with every new page or folder
you add. It's usually not a big deal if you're just adding one page,
but the wizard (in your case) is adding loads of pages all at once.
Let's leave it at, "this is a known performance issue with patterns
that contain many pages, and we're looking into it."
>The "Select all from all tabs" generated a bunch of errors, telling me
>there was nothing in templates or javascript.
Fixed. Mark.browniePoints++
Seth
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I hit stop, but it seems to have worked.
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