uPortal IRC Logs-2009-09-24

Owned by Apereo Infrastructure
Last updated: Sept 24, 2009Version comment
8 min read

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[13:27:21 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> athena: do you have any pointers to a howto on writing a 'good' jQuery plugin?
[13:27:35 EDT(-0400)] <athena> i don't know - i think i've given up on writing jQuery plugins
[13:27:38 EDT(-0400)] <athena> i don't like them that much
[13:27:56 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> why's that?
[13:27:57 EDT(-0400)] <athena> the style feels really awkward to me - particularly how you update the plugin
[13:28:05 EDT(-0400)] <athena> i've mostly been writing fluid components instead now
[13:28:10 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> ah
[13:28:26 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> you mean update as push out a new version of the plugin?
[13:28:53 EDT(-0400)] <athena> no, just update the functionality of the behavior
[13:29:09 EDT(-0400)] <athena> so if you've already initialized a plugin instance, trying to set a new property or call a new method on it
[13:29:30 EDT(-0400)] <athena> maybe in some part the fluid component style is just more familiar because it feels so spring-like
[13:29:36 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> ah
[13:29:39 EDT(-0400)] <athena> you can inject subcomponents to change the behavior, etc.
[13:29:46 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> ok
[13:29:48 EDT(-0400)] <athena> like w/ the fluid pager, when we wanted to implement batched server-side paging
[13:29:50 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> probably beyond what I need
[13:29:55 EDT(-0400)] <athena> we just wrote a new model sorter and injected that in
[13:30:06 EDT(-0400)] <athena> fortunately fluid has a really nice article on how to create a new component
[13:30:07 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> I was just wondering about references to $ and playing nice with noConflict
[13:30:16 EDT(-0400)] <athena> http://wiki.fluidproject.org/display/fluid/How+to+create+a+Fluid+Component
[13:30:21 EDT(-0400)] <athena> ah
[13:30:48 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> so I'm writing a little plugin to make reloading the page based on a cookie change easier
[13:31:07 EDT(-0400)]

<athena> so if you use the (function($)

Unknown macro: { myplugingoesinhere }

)(jQuery); style, you'll have no problems


[13:31:11 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> ok
[13:31:32 EDT(-0400)] <athena> i just added a new fluid component to the news reader portlet yesterday, if you're looking for a simple example
[13:31:34 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> so:
[13:31:35 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> (function($) {
[13:31:35 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> $.autoReload.reloadOnChange = function(cookieName, url) {
[13:31:35 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> };
[13:31:35 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> })(jQuery);
[13:31:45 EDT(-0400)] <athena> that one doesn't use events though - the events stuff is pretty cool
[13:31:58 EDT(-0400)] <athena> yeah
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[13:34:15 EDT(-0400)] <athena> anyway, i've found the fluid components stuff to be easier to work with
[13:34:31 EDT(-0400)] <athena> but i know matt polizzotti writes jQuery plugins pretty frequently and seems happy w/ them
[13:34:47 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> yeah
[13:34:59 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> no fluid available here
[13:35:05 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> and seems overkill for what I need
[13:35:14 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> which is likely ~50 lines in a jQ plugin
[13:36:43 EDT(-0400)] <athena> (smile)
[13:37:54 EDT(-0400)] <athena> sounds reasonable
[13:38:23 EDT(-0400)] <athena> i committed some changes to the manchester news reader portlet last night
[13:38:29 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> saw that
[13:38:30 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> looks neat
[13:38:31 EDT(-0400)] <athena> now you can choose a couple different display modes
[13:38:46 EDT(-0400)] <athena> and i also added a non-user-configurable single-feed portlet
[13:38:56 EDT(-0400)] <athena> so if we wanted, we could change the RSS channel type someday to use that
[13:41:43 EDT(-0400)] <athena> working on updating the weather portlet righ tnow
[15:29:48 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> my first attempt at a jQuery plugin: https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/dalquist/web/portletReloadDemo/jquery-pageReload-1.0.js
[15:29:54 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> seems pretty straight forward for simple stuff
[15:30:06 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> I can see it being a problem with complex functional scripts
[15:34:49 EDT(-0400)] <lennard1> anyone have a polling portlet they would recommend?
[15:37:29 EDT(-0400)] <lennard1> i.e. survey questions that sort of thing
[15:37:36 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> nope
[15:56:45 EDT(-0400)] <lennard1> what about the unconference feedback portlet?
[15:57:09 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> that was just feedback I think
[15:57:14 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> can't really remember though
[15:58:11 EDT(-0400)] <lennard1> athena should know something about it... she is listed as the author(smile)
[15:58:30 EDT(-0400)] * athena looks up
[15:58:33 EDT(-0400)] <lennard1> http://www.ja-sig.org/wiki/display/PLT/Unconference+Feedback+Portlet
[15:58:40 EDT(-0400)] <athena> yeah, the feedback portlet is pretty basic
[15:58:46 EDT(-0400)] <athena> no configurable survey type stuff
[15:58:54 EDT(-0400)] <athena> i think such a thing would be worthwhile, though
[15:59:20 EDT(-0400)] <athena> unconference feedback portlet hasn't really been touched in a couple years, and i haven't submitted it for incubation
[15:59:21 EDT(-0400)] <lennard1> think all they wanted was the ability to ask some questions and get some primitive stats on the responses.
[15:59:23 EDT(-0400)] <athena> for what that's worth
[15:59:51 EDT(-0400)] <lennard1> but the screenshots look so cool(smile)
[16:00:37 EDT(-0400)] <athena> hehe
[16:00:48 EDT(-0400)] <athena> yeah, i'm not saying it's not worth using
[16:01:01 EDT(-0400)] <athena> but there's isn't necessarily a clear direction for the portlet at the moment
[16:01:13 EDT(-0400)] <athena> but if people really wanted to use it we could do some refactoring
[16:01:26 EDT(-0400)] <athena> or maybe use it as a jumping off point to make a new survey portlet that's more configurable
[16:01:38 EDT(-0400)] <athena> this one is pretty tied into a specific use case
[16:02:28 EDT(-0400)] <lennard1> how are the questions added?
[16:04:25 EDT(-0400)] <athena> they aren't
[16:04:28 EDT(-0400)] <athena> there's only one question
[16:04:34 EDT(-0400)] <athena> "do you like this portal?"
[16:04:43 EDT(-0400)] <athena> with possible answers of yes/no/maybe
[16:14:57 EDT(-0400)] <lennard1> (smile)
[16:22:59 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> athena: do you have a link to the mobile uPortal example?
[16:23:04 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> we're being asked about mobil apps
[16:23:37 EDT(-0400)] <athena> here's an old screenshot: http://qwertied.com/iphone.png
[16:23:51 EDT(-0400)] <athena> hoping maybe i can commit some of that stuff at the unconference
[16:24:02 EDT(-0400)] <athena> fluid's gotten further along w/ the mobile theme
[16:24:31 EDT(-0400)] <athena> basically it just shows sets of tabs->channels
[16:24:39 EDT(-0400)] <athena> and each channel title links to focus mode of the channel itself
[16:24:46 EDT(-0400)] <colinclark> The iPhone them will be released in the upcoming version of Infusion, "any day now." (smile)
[16:24:51 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> great
[16:28:43 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> Nick and I were just asked about how long to do something like: http://mobi.mit.edu/about/
[16:29:13 EDT(-0400)] <athena> so i guess the answer is sort of "any day now"
[16:29:15 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> we're thinking that our fastest route is uPortal 3.2
[16:29:17 EDT(-0400)] <athena> yes
[16:29:18 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> with a mobile theme
[16:29:23 EDT(-0400)] <athena> uPortal 3.2, absoultely
[16:29:30 EDT(-0400)] <athena> of course, that screenshot is pretty webkit specific
[16:29:34 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> yeah
[16:29:35 EDT(-0400)] <athena> (is that right colinclark?)
[16:30:09 EDT(-0400)] <athena> there's some other more generic code lying around
[16:30:09 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> I'm assuming the fluid mobile support will do more than just iPone
[16:30:09 EDT(-0400)] <athena> we could potentially have two mobile theme versions
[16:30:09 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> and other smart-phones?
[16:30:10 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> right
[16:30:10 EDT(-0400)] <athena> i think that's a question for colinclark
[16:30:11 EDT(-0400)] <colinclark> The plan is to do more than iPhone.
[16:30:20 EDT(-0400)] <athena> but right now it's mostly tested on iphone?
[16:30:31 EDT(-0400)] <athena> i think eventually we need to think about how portlets participate in the mobile theming
[16:30:35 EDT(-0400)] <athena> but this will be a good start
[16:30:38 EDT(-0400)] <colinclark> For the time being, we're pretty focused on WebKit-based browsers, because nearly everything is WebKit-based, with the big exception of Blackberry
[16:30:50 EDT(-0400)] <colinclark> Who just bought a WebKit-based browser (smile)
[16:31:09 EDT(-0400)] <colinclark> We definitely have plans for non-WebKit browsers, but it might take some time, or we might need some help.
[16:31:09 EDT(-0400)] <athena> i was actually thinking of updating the tabbed search portlet to interact w/ the iphone
[16:31:18 EDT(-0400)] <athena> have the right stuff around the phone numbers, whatever
[16:31:27 EDT(-0400)] <colinclark> The iPhone theme works pretty well already on Android phones, too
[16:31:48 EDT(-0400)] <athena> the biggest blocker on mobile support isn't the theme - it's the multiple profile support
[16:31:51 EDT(-0400)] <athena> awesome (smile)
[16:32:33 EDT(-0400)] * athena sends a harrassing email to dmazurek
[16:34:32 EDT(-0400)] <athena> ok, i gotta go collaborate on some stuff
[16:34:34 EDT(-0400)] <athena> bbiab
[16:36:59 EDT(-0400)] <athena> ok that was short (smile)
[16:37:16 EDT(-0400)] <athena> adding JSR168 styles and label elements and such to the weather portlet
[16:37:21 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> does windows mobile use webkit?
[16:38:01 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> oh so we were pointed to m.mit.edu and asked what it would take to do something like that
[16:38:37 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> one interesting question for uPortal
[16:38:51 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> how does it handle UI customizations from both a moble and rich theme
[16:39:03 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> like tab-reordering makes sense with both
[16:39:11 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> but with no concept of columns in the mobile version
[16:39:18 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> if I re-order the portlets
[16:39:25 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> what happens in my non-mobile UI
[16:39:35 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> just guess which column to stick the portlet in?
[16:39:47 EDT(-0400)] <athena> well, right now none of the mobile themes allow layout editing
[16:39:52 EDT(-0400)] <athena> which is probably the safest way to start out
[16:39:52 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> yeah
[16:40:17 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> does fluid have any mobile support for the dynamic components?
[16:40:17 EDT(-0400)] <athena> i'm not sure drag and drop would be that awesome in a mobile environment
[16:40:25 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> check out the mit site
[16:40:30 EDT(-0400)] <athena> given that it would interfere w/ scrolling
[16:40:31 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> hit customize in the lower right
[16:40:33 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> works like a dream
[16:40:34 EDT(-0400)] <athena> ah, nice (smile)
[16:40:40 EDT(-0400)] <athena> ill have to take a look
[16:40:48 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> they use the little 3-bar drag handle that the iPhone does
[16:40:48 EDT(-0400)] <athena> so in theory, uportal supports multiple layouts
[16:40:52 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> right
[16:41:06 EDT(-0400)] <athena> so we could have separate layouts for mobile and regular use, which i think would solve that problem
[16:41:08 EDT(-0400)] <athena> except.
[16:41:09 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> so we just say that new profile==new layout
[16:41:18 EDT(-0400)] <athena> like multi-profile, that doesn't actually work
[16:41:23 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> of course not
[16:41:24 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> (smile)
[16:41:26 EDT(-0400)] <athena> (tongue)
[16:41:31 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> well
[16:41:36 EDT(-0400)] <athena> now, that certainly doesn't mean it couldn't work
[16:41:42 EDT(-0400)] <athena> we'd need to do some import/export refactoring though
[16:41:43 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> maybe I can get interest in MyUW as a mobile portal for UW
[16:41:50 EDT(-0400)] <athena> certainly something we could talk about next week
[16:41:53 EDT(-0400)] <athena> that'd be awesome
[16:41:55 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> and focus on that starting in a few months
[16:42:02 EDT(-0400)] <athena> i think good mobile support for uportal would be a huge plus
[16:42:13 EDT(-0400)] <athena> even if the first version doesn't allow editing, it'd still be pretty nice
[16:42:21 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> yeah
[16:42:34 EDT(-0400)] <athena> yale has done some work in the past w/ multiple guest users
[16:42:51 EDT(-0400)] <athena> you could even do something like use a different guest user depending on the user agent
[16:43:06 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> yeah
[16:44:28 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> my grandiose plans for refactoring the uPortal rendering pipe would address that multi-guest issue
[16:44:40 EDT(-0400)] <athena> nice (smile)
[16:44:47 EDT(-0400)] <EricDalquist> I think I have too many grandiose coding plans for uPortal though
[16:45:10 EDT(-0400)] <athena> i still have some code lying around that i presented on jasig conference that allowed multiple guest users and cookie-based login
[16:45:13 EDT(-0400)] <athena> yeah, me too, probably
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[23:41:23 EDT(-0400)] <athena> dear archiva, why do you hate me?
[23:41:43 EDT(-0400)] * athena sighs and goes back to stabbing the server