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DisplayAnything

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:14:06 +0000

DisplayAnything is a gallery tool for SilverStripe CMS. It's primary goal is to replace the ImageGallery module as a file management tool for pages and dataobjects. It can also be used to manage galleries of other files such as PDF document lists.

Handles file uploads via XHR or standard uploads.
Security: uses a configurable mimetype map, not file extensions, to determine an uploaded file type
Integration: uses PHP system settings for upload file size
Multiple file uploading in supported browsers (Note: not yet supported by Internet Explorer)
Drag and Drop in supported browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari and possibly Opera)
XHR file uploading
Has Zero Dependencies on the third-party Silverstripe modules ImageGallery, DataObjectManager and Uploadify
100% Flash Free - no plugin crashes, HTTP errors, I/O errors or other futzing with incomprehensible Flash errors!
Import ImageGallery album items to a gallery
Uses jQuery bundled with SilverStripe
Well documented & clean code with extendable classes and overrideable methods
$_REQUEST not used
Uses Valum's Ajax Uploader (hat tip)
Drag and drop sorting of images & files in the gallery
File upload progress with cancel option

Source and Download

Source is located on Github, please review the readme.md file there for up-to-date instructions and changes. The module is currently considered beta quality and we are aiming to tag an initial 0.1 release by February 2012.

Use Cases

Image gallery - allows asynchronous multiple uploads (if the browser supports it)
File gallery - providing a document list associated with a given page or DataObject
Single file or image - in a has_one scenario, DisplayAnything defers to it's underlying library UploadAnything to provide a single file upload field. Note that Silverstripe's core FileField and FileIframeField provide much the same functionality
Video gallery - a sample extension of DisplayAnything is bundled to provide an example of a YouTube gallery. Each gallery item contains an image and an optional YouTube video URL and configuration area.

DisplayAnything is extensible using core SilverStripe programming techniques and does not rely on third party modules such as DataObjectManager or Uploadify.

Simple Gallery Example

To create a gallery associated with your Page model, you'll first need to add a gallery to the database schema. It's worth noting that this code is an example only so don't copy and paste it.

class SimpleGalleryPage extends Page {
	
	// this page has one gallery
	
	public static $has_one = array(
		'SimpleImageGallery' => 'DisplayAnythingGallery',
	);
	
}

You will then need to associate this field with the CMS interface for that page:

class SimpleGalleryPage extends Page {
	
	// this page has one gallery
	
	public static $has_one = array(
		'SimpleImageGallery' => 'DisplayAnythingGallery',
	);
	
	public function getCmsFields() {
		
		$fields = parent::getCmsFields();
		
		$gallery = new DisplayAnythingGalleryField(
			$this,
			'SimpleImageGallery',
			'DisplayAnythingGallery'
		);
		
		//where your files will be uploaded (e.g assets/gallery in this case)
		$gallery->SetTargetLocation('gallery');
		
		//add the field to a tab called 'Gallery', you can change the name if you want
		$fields->addFieldsToTab('Root.Content.Gallery', array($gallery));
	
		// other field declarations you may have
		
		return $fields;
	}
}

Once that is done, /dev/build your database (you must be logged in as an admin). Browsing to the page in the CMS you should see a 'Gallery' tab containing sub-tabs allowing you to configure each gallery. By default the gallery is set up to handle image uploads of GIF, PNG and JPG types.

Troubleshooting

If you run into trouble, try the following

Ensure you are using the latest code from the source repo (either bleeding edge or a tagged branch)
Put Silverstripe into dev mode ( Director::set_environment_type('dev'); ) in order to get verbose errors
Read the Issues list at Github, it may contain discussion of a similar bug
For upload errors, read the alert messages provided and ensure the assets directory is writable by the applicable system user and/or group
Ensure the module is in a directory called "display_anything" in your SilverStripe install

If you are still having trouble with setup, please log an issue describing the problem. Provide code examples and links to pages if possible. Be descriptive of the issue and include what you were trying to do during setup. The more information, the faster the issue resolution.

Frontend templates

Inumerable gallery plugins with varying licenses exist for image & file lists and viewing of images in a lightbox (Fancybox is good and open source). DisplayAnything stays light and does not bundle any of these galleries. It's up to you to implement the gallery the way you want it (this saves you having to undo & override any defaults DisplayAnything may set).

The readme.md file contains a simple example you can expand on for your frontend templates.

Gallery Usage

Display Anything allows you to configure galleries for different usages. 2 usages are bundled with the code "Image" and "Document". To edit or add these usages as instructed on the "Usage" tab of the gallery.
DisplayAnything uses mimetypes rather than file extensions to determine if a file can be uploaded. If you are unsure about the correct mimetypes, a good start is Google.

Management

The gallery tab allows you to manage:

Uploading of new files, either in batches (Chrome, Firefox, Safari) or in single file mode (Internet Explorer <= 9)
Reloading of the current file list
The sort order of each item (drag and drop each item)
Image deletion - hit the delete button
Editing - click an image/file to open the editable fields in popup
File replacement - in edit mode, choose File Preview and the standard file button to replace the file

Open Source

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 05:54:36 +0000

From time-to-time Codem releases code and libraries as Open Source. Here you'll support pages for that code, including instructions for installation and use cases.

Bookmarc

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 12:43:13 +0000

Bookmarc is an online Architectural specification library containing thousands of product binders and CAD downloadables from the entire spectrum of the building and construction supplies industry.

Bapple designed an innovative web interface to give architects and designers a quick method of searching for and previewing suppliers then adding them as bookmarks to their project lists. Codem designed a system to support this with room to scale. We implemented the site to be quick on the front and the back - interactions via AJAX using jQuery supported by a stack that runs Nginx, one of the fastest web platforms in the world.

Codem also designed and implemented the monitored hosting infrastructure.

Key points

Bespoke user interface implementation using jQuery

Super-fast web serving

Ability to handle massive uploads (tested up to 100MB)

System design to support fast download of CAD files and supporting files

Interaction with third party document storage service

Wordpress theme development

Single Sign On

Image thumbnailing on demand with gallery module

Vimeo web service integration

Facebook and Twitter sharing blog post integration

Search platform geared to supplier and service discovery

Content Management System integration

Ad serving application integration

Bespoke user interface implementation using jQuery
Super-fast web serving
Ability to handle massive uploads (tested up to 100MB)
System design to support fast download of CAD files and supporting files
Interaction with third party document storage service
Wordpress theme development
Single Sign On
Image thumbnailing on demand with gallery module
Vimeo web service integration
Facebook and Twitter sharing blog post integration
Search platform geared to supplier and service discovery
Content Management System integration
Ad serving application integration

Project notes and credits

Client	Bapple Creative
Project	Bookmarc - complete website
Design	Bapple Creative
Development	Codem

Capability

Sat, 09 Oct 2010 00:19:29 +0000

hosting

Sat, 09 Oct 2010 00:26:24 +0000

We provide various hosting platforms for all our clients, tailored to their requirements:

hosting in data centres located in Sydney, Australia or Los Angeles, USA
hosting in third party data centres

All hosting options include:

Choice of Nginx or Apache
Nginx and PHP-FPM option - the fastest way to run PHP on the planet - or Apache + FastCGI
stable software providing high availability for your web applications
either shared slots or dedicated servers
web application hosting
email management, including webmail
domain parking
data backups
database management
version control
SSH access on request
FTP access
servers using secure, Open Source operating systems

Our hosting support includes:

Administration access to servers 24/7
Data restoration as required
Notifications to system administrators of potential issues to reduce outage risks
Load management & tuning when and as required
Support across multiple time zones

To provide an easy to support service we recommend hosting web applications developed by us on our servers. By developing & hosting we can provide a full cycle service and avoid the quality variability of third party hosting providers.

As we tailor hosting to our client's requirements, please contact us for pricing options.

interopability

Sat, 09 Oct 2010 00:25:19 +0000

The best feature of the web is the ability to interact with other services that provide content or features that are of interest to your audience. We can hook your website up to these web services, retrieve data from them and integrate the information found into your site. Seamlessly & automatically.

We've designed and implemented

Large-scale image hosting systems
Twitter real-time tweet interaction and display
Search infrastructure
Booking and ticketing services
In-site payment gateways without redirecting to 3rd party banking sites
Exchange rate systems
Multi-tenanted systems

There are plenty of more options to consider, in fact there are so many web services out there that we can pretty much tailor a solution to any requirement!

design

Sat, 09 Oct 2010 00:22:08 +0000

Does your site look stale, is it rarely updated or worse yet, hard to update? Maybe it only works in and you want to capture a greater audience? It's not the end of the world! We implement tried & true processes to freshen up sites and give them a new lease of life.

Our designs work within the framework of accepted web standards and usability guidelines to deliver the audience your message and make to make it stick.

Slow website discouraging returns?

It doesn't end with great design, we pop the hood and ensure pages are delivered to your visitors as fast as possible, encouraging a solid returning audience.
Remember, a fast website encourages greater reuse and higher word-of-mouth referrals!

We can help

integrate your organisation's online presence with third social media sources such as Twitter and Facebook
integrate with web services, enriching your application with information from 3rd party sources
redesign & rebuild your site, from scratch if needed
encourage reuse of your website through great design and fast delivery
implement ecommerce systems to enable online payments

For further information and design examples, please contact us.

e-commerce

Sat, 09 Oct 2010 00:20:00 +0000

Imagine having a shop open 100% of the time. If you are an online shop, selling products over the Internet is a key goal for the expansion of your business and we can help.

If you are looking to start an online store, we can develop, implement and support connectors to common payment gateways such as Paypal, Google Checkout and eWAY. If you already have an online store but aren't getting the most out of it or are losing sales opportunities we can review your processes and provide technical and usability recommendations to get things back on track.

Online payments for some people may seem daunting and confusing so we aim to get the payment process streamlined and easy to use. This process includes items such as email reminders of transactions, transaction histories and when a transaction goes wrong, the ability to retry it if required.

Codem develops and maintains interfaces to the electronic transaction facilities provided by banks and organisations such as eWAY and PayPal. This gives you the flexibility to offer a number of payment solutions to your customers on your ecommerce website.

The electronic transaction itself is completed in one of two ways:

Hosted	Integrated
The payment itself is made by the customer at the transaction provider (such as the bank's website) after the customer performs a final checkout on your website. The result of the transaction is sent back to your website for processing and completion.	The customer completes the checkout and enters their payment details on your website. This information is sent from your website to the transaction provider (the bank, for instance) which processes and returns a transaction result. Your website then completes the transaction as required.

What do we recommend? While it requires an SSL certificate for your website (which is inexpensive and we can set up), the Integrated method provides the most streamlined experience for your customers. From their perspective they see a payment attempt and a result without seeing the transaction provider's website. While a Hosted option is generally cheaper to maintain, an Integrated solution is the more secure as it reduces the chance of a malicious user tampering with the payment process.

Call or contact us for more assistance in developing or maintaining your ecommerce project.

Product

Sat, 09 Oct 2010 00:15:01 +0000

Web applications in a box

The landscape of web development is changing at a remarkable pace. The advent of new tools and modern web browsers has made easier the development of web applications.

A web application is software usable via a web browser and made accessible over the Internet to your customers using one or more Internet enabled devices (a notebook, PC or mobile phone among others). Rather than distributing software for installation on a customer's desktop computer, you can install, update and support your software on a web server (ours or yours) allowing your audience to go about their business without the hassle of maintaining their own local copy.

One of the greatest ongoing rewards for providing your software as a web application is the ability to make it available as a product - something you can sell and support in a variety of interesting ways, depending on your business model. Here are three ideas to start with:

Make your web application available to the masses, Flickr style, with revenue via initial and renewing registrations.
License your product so that other organisations can use it on their systems. The license can be Open Source or otherwise. You can provide support for your product through updates, community forums or a commercial support channel.
Host your product as a multi-tenanted system for other organisations to tailor and provide to their audience. Each registered organisation gets their own copy of the product. Again, you can provide support to your customers in a variety of ways, paid-for or free.

Codem supports all these models in its web application implementation processes. Talk to us about implementing your idea.

Specix Blog

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 19:54:03 +0000

Note: this project is no longer online. For it's successor, see our Bookmarc page

Codem was engaged by Bapple Creative to develop and integrate a blog for Specix Pty Ltd. The blog is used to showcase work completed using materials sourced from Specix ID suppliers.

A key requirement was to integrate blog authentication with the pre-existing Specix ID account system, providing a Single Sign On capability for all Specix account holders, avoiding multiple logins across multiple systems.

Work completed includes

Wordpress theme development
Wordpress plugin development to enable single sign-on (SSO)
Theme extensions including an advanced image thumbnailing system
Facebook and Twitter sharing blog post integration
Administration moderation and post editing
'Email this post' functionality
Recent Comments and Tag Cloud
Search integration with current Specix ID search engine

Client	Bapple Creative
Project	Blog integration into current SpecixID system
Design	Bapple Creative
Development	Codem
Project start	October 2010
Project completion	November 2010