Verse-O-Matic Upgrade in the Works

Posted on February 15, 2006 by Chad

I am working on an upgrade to Verse-O-Matic 3.0. It will include features that were originally intended to be in the 3.0 release, but due my impatience, I left them out so I could get 3.0 out the door.

Some of the features include setting a “Verse of the Day” (VOTD) as opposed to the random selection every page load that it does currently. The VOTD feature can be set to either reset itself randomly each day or you can set each verse with a date so you can display specific verses on a daily schedule. You will also be able to set a single static verse that will remain until you change it. It will still retain the fully random feature as well and you will be able to toggle the setting in the admin panel.

The biggest delay in the release (which will be 3.1.0) is that it requires a database upgrade. I was trying to get the install process on plugin activation to determine if this was a new install or an upgrade, but I just could not get it to work the way I wanted. So… In order to get this out the door, I’m going to create an upgrade file. The only people that will need to run the upgrade anyway are those upgrading from 3.0.0. Previous releases did not use the database so they will be able to simply activate from the plugin management panel.

Also, I always try to keep things as seamlessly backwards compatible as possible so you won’t need to change anything where you call the verse-o-matic function.

Once this version is out there, I think this will be the most versatile Bible verse display plugin available.

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Verse-O-Matic 3.0.0 Released

Posted on January 31, 2006 by Chad

I have released the new version of Verse-O-Matic, version 3.0.0.

This version looks like the previous version on the output, but the backend of it is very different.  I have totally changed the way that the verses are stored and handled, choosing to use the WordPress database installation instead. This makes it MUCH easier for all users to manage the verses stored in the database.

Not only are the verses stored in the database, but the they are added and edited using the WordPress admin panel.  The settings are managed in the admin panel as well, making it easier to set the toggle for turning off the translation link bar.  Now you don’t have to be a php developer to manage this plugin.  This release takes a huge leap toward what I wanted this to be.

The plugin is available here.

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Verse-O-Matic 3.0 Beta

Posted on January 25, 2006 by Chad

The Verse-O-Matic 3.0 Beta release is currently being tested on this site. The new version is fully compatible with the new WordPress 2.0. The changes were significant and will warranted moving to a new version number.
The new Verse-0-Matic begins to incorporate some of the features I have been wanting to add for some time. The verses are now all stored in the WordPress database. I also added an admin page to add and edit verses. Also in the admin is a feature to leave a verse in the Verse-O-Matic, but turn the display off.

So, I am finishing up beta testing on the site this week and should have the first release of 3.0 out this weekend. I still need to finish up new installation instructions and package the release. In the meantime, here is a screenshot of the new admin:

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Verse-O-Matic 2.1.0

Posted on January 15, 2006 by Chad

Following the update of the blog to WordPress 2.0, I have released an upgrade to the Verse-O-Matic Plugin. The new release, Verse-O-Matic 2.1.0, works with WordPress 2.0, 1.5, and should work with 1.2.

This update includes a slightly more versatile alternate translation bar.

I am working on a couple of new features that will be released in version 3:

  • Admin panel management
  • Database storage instead of txt file
  • Addtional variables and toggles (stored in db)

Until then, check back for updates.

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WordPress 2.0 Upgrade

Posted on January 15, 2006 by Chad

Well, I completed the upgrade to WordPress 2.0 last night.   Things went as smooth as can be expected.   No problems with the database, and most of my modifications since the last install were built into the theme pages so no problems there.

I did run into an issue that some folks seem to have had as well and that was with the wp-settings.php file at line 38.

//if ( strpos($_SERVER['SCRIPT_FILENAME'], 'php.cgi') == strlen($_SERVER['SCRIPT_FILENAME']) - 7 )
//‚ ‚ ‚  $_SERVER['SCRIPT_FILENAME'] = $_SERVER['PATH_TRANSLATED'];

This line is a fix for php as cgi and doesn’t really effect me, so commenting it out fixes the problem.

So far so good.   I like the new admin interface as it has a nice wysiwig editor and some other on-the-fly editing tools.   One thing I have to get used to with the wysiwig editor is that I need to break the habit of hitting return twice for a double-spaced paragraph since the editor does that already with a singe carriage return.

Next step is working on the Verse-O-Matic.   Verse-O-Matic 2.0 seems to be working fine with WordPress 2.0 so upgrading doesn’t seem like it will be a requirement.   However, there are still some features I would like to implement into the plugin, including an admin interface, so I will be working on that for (hopefully) beta testing this weekend.

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Date-O-Matic Javascript Day/Date Display

Posted on January 13, 2006 by Chad

This is a very simple date script that I wrote years ago. I have used it in some form or another on just about every site that I have worked on. It is a nice, simple, client-side javascript to display the day and the date.

To use it, place the following in the of your html document:


In the location that you want the date to display, place the following:

This will output the date. You can apply CSS to the output as necessary, or, for those lacking the necessary skills, you could wrap this with a (yuck!) tag.

Obviously (or maybe not so obvious), there are a number of changes one could make based on desired output. For example, the days or months could be abbreviated in the script if you wanted “Thurs, Jan 12, 2006″. Or, the more savvy could change it to an output of “Thursday – 1/12/2006″ by changing the month names to appropriate numbers and then changing the document.write section to:

document.write(d[today.getDay()]+" - ");
document.write(m[today.getMonth()]+"/");
document.write(today.getDate()+"/");
document.write(""+today.getFullYear());

Or, if you need scientific or European dating, switch the date and the month lines to get this:

document.write(d[today.getDay()]+" - ");
document.write(today.getDate()+"/");
document.write(m[today.getMonth()]+"/");
document.write(""+today.getFullYear());

If you are an old javascript hack, you probably had all that figured out (or already wrote your own), but if you are a js noob, tinkering with the output and maybe adding or subtracting from it, is a good way to “get under the hood” so-to-speak and learn how to use javascript.

Have fun!

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WordPress 2.0

Posted on January 12, 2006 by Chad

WordPress 2.0 is out. I will be attempting to upgrade the blog sometime this weekend. During this process, the blog may be unavailable.

Once that is complete, I will be upgrading the Verse-O-Matic to make sure that it works with WP 2.0. I may also further tinker with the gears a little to finish some of the upgrades that I’ve been wanting to add.

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A Midwestern Perspective on Politics and Economics

Posted on January 12, 2006 by Chad

This is so funny I wish I could say I thought of it myself. But I didn’t, so I’ll provide the link:


A Midwestern Perspective on Politics and Economics

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Slow Walkers

Posted on January 4, 2006 by Chad

Here is a random thought for the day:

Have you ever noticed that the people who walk the slowest always walk side-by-side, making it impossible to get around them. I wouldn’t doubt that these are likely to be the same people that drive 50 mph in the passing lane.

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It’s Finally Here

Posted on November 3, 2005 by Chad

For those of you that are, like me, big fans of books, information, knowledge, and just plain cool stuff, one of the best things since Project Gutenberg is finally here – Google Print.

I’ve been waiting, no, salivating for the release of the Google Print beta, and it has finally come. This will likely be the world’s largest virtual library and will contain text and content that many of us have never before had access to. Google has been working with partner libraries at the University of Michigan; Stanford, Harvard and Oxford universities; plus the New York Public Library since announcing last fall that it planned to digitize the world’s libraries.

print.google.com

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