development corrupts

Creating and customizing a theme layer

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:57:07 GMT

Edited slightly, and posted to http://dw-styles.dreamwidth.org/13219.html

The basic settings to customize your theme can be accessed and modified via the Customize Journal Style page. However, if you're doing something more complicated, you may need to modify code snippets or manually set some variables. For these, you will need to know how to create a theme layer and attach it to your style.

First of all, a quick rundown of terms:

A style is what is applied to your journal, and it is made up of several layers. A layout layer is the basic structure or framework of the style. Customizations via the Customize Journal Style page will be saved as auto-generated customizations in a user layer. Any other modifications you make, you should do in a theme layer. A theme layer can contain system-provided default color settings; it can also contain any additional advanced customizations you wish to apply to your journal.

Technically, you can just modify a user layer, and it seems easier to do that, because it's already been created for you and you can skip the few steps required to create and attach a new theme layer to your style. However, this is a bad idea, because hand-edited changes to a user layer may be erased the next time you use the wizard. To be safe, always create a separate theme layer if you need to edit something manually.

(!! the links will work from single entry-view; they'll also work from read page, etc, when I post the final entry)

Find your current style information
Create a new theme layer
Copy existing theme layer settings to your new theme layer
Apply the new theme layer to your style
Tips

( on with the tutorial )

For the record, I now hate the advanced customization area and want it to die die die :-) Setting things up is way more complicated than it should be

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Custom reading list colors

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 06:56:16 GMT

ETA: Posted! http://dw-nifty.dreamwidth.org/4374.html (with minor edits, including removing exclamation points *g*)

So many people do not know that Dreamwidth has had custom reading list colors for a long time now!

Putting up a draft entry, shall polish and post to dw_nifty or dw_styles (but I think I may need to do a "here's how to create and start editing your theme layer" first, which I keep putting off)

Enable the custom reading list colors defined by your style

Custom reading list colors are disabled by default, so you'll need to enable it, but it is available for all styles (with the exception of Zesty).

Go to Customize Journal Style, under "Additional Options" select "Use my custom reading list colors"

Most styles implement it as a border around the userpic. However, some styles, such as Negatives, have implemented it as part of the entry border. If you don't like where your style puts the custom colors, you can also customize them by setting some variables in the advanced customization area.

( Read on )

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Coding, coding, etc

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 17:12:06 GMT

I find myself utterly in love with the creativity of people who can use CSS. Because, hey, I'm happy with black on white and everything in outline form and utterly utilitarian myself, but that doesn't make for gorgeous. (My heart flutters every time I see someone take a Core 2 style, and make it really pretty, because that's what they're there for.

My heart also bounces with glee whenever someone mentions that it's easier to customize styles here than they are used to, because that's what all we did was for. Seriously, ba-dump-thump.)

Styles still not done, though. On my list, once I'm no longer focused on open-beta-blockers and the styles usability bugs being reported to us, is, in no particular order:

sticky entry module

custom text module

hooks to let layout authors easily insert custom modules

segment and arrange the wizard properly (subheaders, etc)

pulling in information that's already available to us in other places, to be accessible using S2 (la la la la)

The one thing that I'm finding out is how easy it is to manipulate the S2 backend. Perhaps too easy. I find myself wondering whether my methods are hackish/messy and will cause problems down the line later on.

(I'm already trying to stop myself from trying to redo the grouping stuff as hashes with lots of automagic rather than arrays. Imagine being able to do property string{} module_customtext_group { grouptype= "module" }; and have it pick up the title/name/opts automatically instead of having to do a set module_customtext_group... Feel like I missed my chance on that one, now I have to do the grouping manually all the time. Bleeeeeh. (but it works, I'm happy with it))

But before that, business statistics, which I am working with, with pauamma. We've got some kind of framework hashed out, now just need to figure out how to do the selects for data collection (I say "just", but since that's the entire point of what we're doing... hah!).

The biggest problem with the SQL is that we're basically going to go through all the user accounts for data, e.g, account types. How to do this without bringing the DB to its knees? Suspect I shall need to talk to friendly neighborhood database administrator soon-ish.

Stuff like -- group by looks the easiest syntax-wise, but has to load everything in the database in one go, and that probably won't be pretty. bin/maint/stats.pl splits users into blocks, and iterates over each of the rows a block at a time. Or could you combine the two, split into blocks, and groupby within that block? Ponder, ponder, beard-stroke, etc. (Thinking out loud, will wander over to IRC and try to find a good time to talk at some point).

It's April 20. I'm so excited. Also, feeling the lack of time. (I do wish it was faster to get into the zone, though. I usually sleep Saturdays away, which leaves only part of Sunday to do code, and there's so much to do. Grr)

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I love me my little hacks

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 01:19:08 GMT

For instance:


    foreach var string module ( $*modules_available ) {
        # FIXME: get the values in less hacky manner
        var string section = get_plural_phrase( 0, "module_${module}_section" );
        var int order = int(get_plural_phrase( 0, "module_${module}_order" ));

        $*module_sections{$section}[$order]=[$module];
    }

(but I should probably not let something like that creep into core. Long list of if-statements, it is.)

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