David Smeringe weblog

http://bugs.typo3.org/view.php?id=7982

Due to common confusion of TYPO3 and it’s current version it’s now set to be renamed to TYPO4.

That was a really funny April’s first joke (my kind of humor at least) 

When developing extensions for TYPO3 you often create one or more new tables and/or fields. Quite often you get an annoying report when updating or installing your extension in the EM that says something like:

• ALTER TABLE tx_tentipifr_fieldText CHANGE field_uid field_uid int(11) NOT NULL;
  or
• ALTER TABLE tx_tentipifr_fieldText DROP KEY parent;
• ALTER TABLE tx_tentipifr_fieldText ADD KEY parent (pid);

while the fields are actually just fine and untouched in your db since last update.
This is because the EM is quite strict to how your ext_tables.sql is formatted. Here is a solution to get rid of the two cases above (example from my ext_tables.sql file):

change

to

The integer field notice is fixed by adding DEFAULT ’0′ to the statement and the primary key drop ‘n add thing is fixed solely by removing an extra space right after the field name.

I think these or similar things are fixed or to-be-fixed, but I’m not sure. Just didn’t care to google it. Please let me know if it is so.

Ajax is definetly the thing to go with the web as it enhance the user experience as well as allowing more logic to be on the server side (okey, your pages javascript usualy tend to get slightly more bloated as well..).

Anyway. It’s not ajax in general today, but the good looking PHP/ajax combination found with the xajax project. Xajax allows you to have PHP functions that you mapp/register as javascript calls. There is an extension for TYPO3 called – xajax! You guessed it! There are two tutorial/example extensions as well that describes how it works. But for my memory I’m writing a short guide here as well with my own words. Maybe it helps someone else.

Using ajax in your backend module:

• Do the obvious. Install the xajax extension from TER (ie TYPO3 Extension Repository).
• Launch your favourite editor and open your module file like – /typo3conf/ext/myext/mod1/index.php
• Include the ajax class

• Somewhere in your init() method register your PHP function

• In your printContent() method add this to ensure that xajax does whatever it wants (ie handle requests..) first

• Then create your nifty PHP function where you want to do magic, and add a responce object like this:

• Now finally add a call to your function. This is probably done in moduleContent() or referenced functions

Note that we got an extra xajax_ added to the beginning of our function which is added automatically.

That’s it folks!

A short one. TYPO3 is amazing when (amongst other things) it comes to localization of website contents. The documentation is quite good to around the subject, which is quite rare when it comes to TYPO3 otherwise. However, today I had totaly forgotten how to, or even if it was possible to, only localize the text part for text w/image elements. After some reading I found this great typoscript key

What this actually does when put in you TS template (together with the rest of the localization settings) is saying that TYPO3 should softly and nicely merge the image and header fields of a content element if it’s not translated into the other translated materials.

Go TYPO3 I say

I’ve modified the TYPO3 extension vc_javascriptslideshow from ground up. The vc_javascriptslideshow is a javascript/css based slideshow that flips images and I needed to be able to control it fully from TS. That ended up in adding a few extras as well.

The extension now includes

• added full support for TS configuration
• added support for multiple slideshows on one page
• Added settings for border and background for the slideshow (stylesheet settings on a surrounding div)
• Changed the file rezise to use IMG_RESOURCE instead of custom exec of IM and now use width/height attributes there. This makes it also possible to define w/h as ie 200m or 200c for cropping or relative resize (see the static ts template).
• added support to (in TS only so far) define a path from where all images should be taken.

TypoScript example setup, included via TV element:

The extension probably contains some bugs, but works for my purpose. I will try to add some documentation soon.
I have e-mail the original author hoping that he will include it in the official release. Otherwise I’ll probably add a new ext.. (*hrhr*).

Download the modified ext. (unpack, upload and update ext in EM).

Actually, I didn’t find an old cup of coffee (even if that can happen once in a while) but while talking to some friends of mine today I got this stupid desire to do some java game development. As if I would have time to do that. Well, despite lack of time I’ve come to realise that I’m also lacking knowledge of java in general and game construction in specific. What an adventure.

The first thing I usually do when I’m about to start of with a new project based on technologies or ideas that’s normally of topic for me, I turn to my friend google. This time the search term was ‘java game development’ *puhe*. I found two rather interesting urls in the result – Robocode (http://robocode.sourceforge.net/?Open&ca=daw-prod-robocode) and and Light Weigh Java Game Library (www.lwjgl.com). Check ‘em out. I’m seriously thinking of getting into the lwjgl library, but honestly – how far do I really think my game dev plans will go? :S nahh. clasic double buffer repaint will do for me. The other link – Robocode – sound really nerdy and fun. Hopefully there will be time to play with that as well.

Ok. So what’s my big plans? The great game plot? Well first, or rather simultaneously, I will together with two other friends start to build a network camel racing game… and secondly I will try to revitalize an old game idea called TWISEM. I let you know the meaning of that acronym later..

So, stay tuned. Maybe an applet game or similar may popup here within a year or so..

Hm, yeah. I think I would make it with flash today and not java but it just ain’t as cool…

We’ve been working on a site for a customer for some time now based on TYPO3. As the the respect to typographical issues where important we decided to go forth using GMENU and GIFBUILDER for menus and headings. I really like the concept of GIFBUILDER and working with it. Sadly we got problems with non ascii characters like our swedish åäö and such. They where replaced by ugly boxes.

So, why on earth did this happend I questioned my self.. and people on #typo3 @ irc.freenode.org.

I ended up with these suggestions/requirements:

1. Make sure you use utf-8 all the way. Gifbuilder (probably GD/freetype really)
2. Check that the font you use is unicode
3. Check configuration for mbstring (or iconv) that gifbuilder uses

I did all this. Utf-8 was a requirement for the project as the site will be on both chinese, swedish and english. The font seemed to be in Unicode as well (as far as I could tell). And mbstring was working like a charm..

It’s importent to mention that the development server was a windows server.

Anyway. I copied the site to my local windows computer and tested it. The same buggy result. The I copied it to my own webserver running on debian linux and there it worked! Why? Donno.. However. I went back to my local computer and replaced the font with arial. I got nifty åäö all the sudden. This at least allowed me to assume that it had something to do with the font file (a .otf file btw). The only solution I could think of now would be to convert the font hopfully to utf-8. I got merely no experience with typographical things so this was a blank area for me, but after som googleing I stumbled upon fontforge (http://fontforge.sf.net). It’s actually a *NIX application but I installed Cygwin (along with xfce4), and the cygwin port of fontforge. Wow what an app! A really crappy gui, but wow!

So, I went on and converted my .otf font forcing it to Full unicode, replaced it in my exsisting font on the site. It worked like a charm!

My final configuration on every aspect turned out like this:

localconf.php:

Typoscript

Database was set to full utf-8 charset in all tables from the beginning.

See http://wiki.typo3.org/index.php/UFT-8_support about utf-8 support for TYPO3.

I just recently found out about Delphi for PHP – a PHP RAD environment. Actually the first real PHP RAD environment I’ve seen. Delphi was (and still is I guess) a fast and easy to use RAD for MS Windows solutions based on the the Pascal language. I more or less started my programming path with Delphi so there are special feelings still there for it

Delphi for PHP can be found at http://www.codegear.com/products/delphiforphp. Take a sneak peak at the demos. I really like the table grid and database connection.

I think that a RAD like Delphi for PHP is a great thing for the PHP language though not required. But developing complex, custom tailored solutions for your clients by hand is time consuming and demanding even if you use frameworks like cakePHP or symfony (which both are really great btw). Using some kind of IDE like eclipse (with php plugin), PSPad or JEdit is a requirement for any development.

What I fear is that I might loose to much control over the source code and it’s parts. To much happening automaticaly. A bit like using Microsofts development tools . I’m also a bit worried when using proprietary libraries like the vcls as I can’t enhance or redefine them in the same way as with open source ones. The good thing here on the other hand is that these libraries are object oriented and therefore easily extendible. Thinking of it, it would also be interesting to know a bit more about layout support and application flow controls.

Well I’m hoping to fetch a trial of it before I mumble to much about pros and cons.

So please codegear. Release a trial version so we can give it a spinn. I’m definitely considering to start use it. If it can increase productivity and efficiency, while still leaving me with full control over my sources it’s worth a lot. I’m ready to let go of total control and “notepad mentality” in benefit of that. Maybe I might actually be able to start earn some money on the projects then.

I recently had to change the title of my files in filelinks with typo3. As I’ve become customed with the thought of having mostly either a full or partial solution to every problem with Typo3, I headed off to google and looked for ways to modify the filelinks.

This got me to css_filelinks. A nice way to modify most appearance aspects of filelinks. I think it’s actually a good example of how T3 can be modified by behaviour and function.
Anyway, with that one you can change the FE (FrontEnd) display to your likening with a template/marker styled way. Instead of displaying ###TITLE### (filename) I choosed to use the description field that you can add in the filelinks setting.

Configuration reference: http://typo3.org/documentation/document-library/extension-manuals/css_filelinks/0.2.11/view/1/3/

I’ve never done any c# coding before, but honest to say, I do have been a (tiny) bit curious on it. It looks a lot like my old favourite java, and it almost smells like java.

My case now was that I needed to extract the first instance in ~1500 zip files from a folder in windows and rename each extracted file to the same name as the zip file (not the extension name of cource). Furthermore the zipfiles where named with “two file extensions” meaning they could be called blabla.eps.zip (or even worse – blabla.jpg.zip which is really odd).

Anyway. As a none Microsoftish or .netish guy in most aspects I found a great IDE/RAD for c# that is GPL:d – SharpDevelop. The install file is around 4.5mb (compared to MS Visual studio for C# cd image beign ~440mb). They also ship a native GPL:d zip library (http://www.icsharpcode.net/OpenSource/SharpZipLib/Default.aspx) for C# that’s really easy to use.

My small but efficient result examplifies how to read a directory, file info, zip contents and how to extract zipfiles:

To summarize I use the following components (not noting gui stuff):
* DirectoryInfo – read/modify directory data
* FileInfo – read/modify file data (not content)
* ZipFile – a zip file representation and functions.
* ZipEntry – a file or folder in a ZipFile.
* FastZip – easy to use utility to ie extract files from zip.

Also note the use of Environment.NewLine to create correct newline/carriage return (std \n\r) in a string. … I tried to use escape style but that seems not to be valid..

Go ahead and download full source code including my sharpdevelop project file attached to this post as zip archive. MultiZipExtractor source codes

Note that to use the ziplibrary you need to add the compiled version as a reference. In sharpdevelop that’s done by selecting the project tab to the left, and right click on references in your project. Browse the dll file and add it. Then just add an extra use line in you code.