Ode 1.2.3 is available to download now from ode-is-simple.com/home/.

What's changed?

1 - Fixed a problem with anchor links introduced with the updated behavior for handling relative paths in themes with release (r1_2_1).

2 - Revisited how the script manages tags by reworking 3 key subroutines.

3 - Changed the order of the settings in the config file 'ode_config'.

Read the rest of this post

Ode 1.2.2 is available to download now from ode-is-simple.com/home/.

What's changed?

This release is nothing but a bug fix correcting a silly mistake introduced in version 1.2.1. Except that 1.2.2 works properly, it is identical to version 1.2.1 that preceded it.

Fixed a problem introduced in version 1.2.1 that resulted in the the first post on any page returned being repeated in the place of every subsequent post.

So, for example, given a request like:

http://sample.net/cgi-bin/ode.cgi?first_post=3&num_posts=23

The 3rd post (in post sorted order) would be repeated 20 times on the resulting page, and none of the other 19 posts would appear at all.

Read the rest of this post

Ode 1.2.1 is available to download now from ode-is-simple.com/home/.

What's changed?

1. Introduces a key change related to the handling of relative links in themes. It's now possible to use relative links to resources under theme directories (stylesheets, images, javascript files, etc), WITHOUT including the $found_theme_url variable introduced with the previous release (v1.2.0)

This new capability means that you can use relative links that look and behave just like the common relative links you may be familiar with from working with static sites.

The new behavior still takes advantage of the config file's $document_root_url setting to construct direct URIs to resources that bypass the script. But rather than requiring theme designers to manually work the variable $found_theme_url into into themes, the script now identifies when a relative link is used as the value for 'src' and 'href' attributes and takes care of building a direct URI on its own.

Read the rest of this post

Ode 1.2.0 is available to download now from ode-is-simple.com/home/.

What's changed?

1. Added new 'document root URL' setting to the config file.

   The new setting allows the script to easily construct direct links to files bypassing ode.cgi.

2. Added support for $found_theme_url to ode.cgi.

   By taking advantage of the new document root URL setting, this new variable is a URI pointing directly to the theme determined to be the correct one to use in answer to the current request.

   It allows us to replace hard-coded paths to linked theme resources with dynamic absolute paths that will automatically update whenever a theme is moved or renamed.

3. Reworked the pattern match that is at the heart of the interpolate routine.

   This sounds like a big deal but it shouldn't affect any existing Ode installations. I improved the pattern in the sense that it is now capable of recognizing more valid scaler variable forms (patterns).

   The previous version was intentionally more limited, as way to keep interpolation as straightforward as possible during early development. Now that Ode is released and others may be writing addins, I thought it prudent to expand the interpolation routine to recognize a wider set of Perl variable name look-alikes.

Read the rest of this post

The new release contains only one small change but corrects a big annoyance related to themes.

Right now paths to resources referenced by themes (stylesheets, images, etc.) must be set manually, which means it's almost certain that you'll need to modify the theme to point to the correct locations of these resources to fit the theme to your installation.

This is entirely unnecessary. The script can take care of it for us. It's an oversight on my part that this isn't how it works already. With this new release, as long as Ode can find the theme itself, which should never be a problem, references should just work.

Read the rest of this post

Ode 1.1.1 is available to download now from ode-is-simple.com/home/.

What's changed?

1. Corrected a problem which prevented the script from finding the correct dated theme in one specific case when the site_look_date parameter was included as part of the request.

This is a good example of what will be the typical upgrade procedure for Ode.

1. Replace the installed copy of odi.cgi with the new version.
2. Set the path to your existing config file in the configuration section of ode.cgi.

You do not need to modify your config file, themes, or any other aspect of your site for that matter. Upgrade and installation instructions are included as part of the release package. Given that these are not dramatic changes, I'm pretty confident that if you already have Ode running, the new this update won't give you any trouble.

Again, it's available now at ode-is-simple.com/home/. Enjoy!

Ode 1.1 is available to download now from ode-is-simple.com/home/.

What's changed?

In addition to some more minor tweaks (which you can read about in the changelog the release):

1. Corrects a problem related to dated themes when the site_look_date parameter is included as part of the client request.
2. Includes a change to the way that Ode handles next and previous page links.
3. Adds request and post oriented breadcrumb trails.

It's so new in fact that I haven't yet upgraded this site or ode-is-simple.com. I'll take care of that shortly. I have tested the release of course. :) Given that these are not dramatic changes, I'm pretty confident that if you already have Ode running, the new this update won't give you any trouble.

Again, it's available now at ode-is-simple.com/home/. Enjoy!

A new forum for Ode at the start of what promises to be a busy week.

I'm just about done with a new release (r1.1). In addition to correcting some typos and other minor 'cometic' issues in the annotated source, this new version of the script corrects a problem with dated themes and the site_look_date mechanism. It also improves navigation with support for request and post oriented breadcrumb trails, and a minor change to next and previous page links.

I also expect to release at least one, new theme (and maybe as many as three). The first, 'textpage', is a one column theme great for reading lengthier posts. (It also nice for printing.) Of course it's also a decent starting point for anyone looking to design their own one column layout.

I'm also hoping to make available the first few of the addins I'm working on.

Last but not least, there's a new discussion forum for Ode at ode-is-simple.com/vanilla2_forum. The forum software is Vanilla, which I've chosen because it at least wants to be straightforward.

!--jump--!

Currently there are no discussions posted, but I have defined some initial categories. Feel free to take a look. If you do have an interest in this project I recommend that you register as a member. Registration requires that submit only: an email address, which is used to login, a name, and a password. Also, gender for some reason. (I couldn't tell you why.) That and a captcha and you're in.

I hope to see at least a few of you there.

Rob