Still working on the plugin

Still working on the plugin, but making great progress. Almost done with the update functionality, a chore which has been complicated by PHP's lack of typing and the need to use strings for manipulating binary data. And PHP's lack of unicode support (!). I'm a week behind schedule, but if I can finish these update messages in the next few days, I may be able to catch up. Can see the light at the end of the tunnel...

Still working on the plugin

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Working on the plugin

Still working on the WordPress plugin and it's going pretty well. PHP is a relatively easy language to pick up, albeit a quirky one, especially compared to stricter, strongly-typed languages I've used in the past. I've already finished implementing the SOAP endpoint that officially turns WordPress into a Content Provider and am now working on the real-time update functionality. After that I'll finish it with plugin semantics like installing the plugin and extending it to the multi-user version of WordPress, MU. All is going well!

Change of plans...

I have switched gears and am now working on a WordPress plugin that would allow WordPress bloggers to instantly and easily make their blogs subscribable, without any 3rd party support. Since I don't know PHP, it's going to be interesting going. This one may take a few weeks. I'll keep the blog updated with my progress.

Starting work on Subscribomatic

Since the AJAXification of Subscribable, I've switched gears and am now working on reviving the site that bloggers can use to make their own blogs subscribable, formerly known as Subscribomatic. Subscribomatic was kind of a proof-of-concept, and I'll be spending the next few weeks spiffing it up, renaming it, and adding some new features (no hints!). Hopefully, when I'm done, the-site-formerly-known-as-Subscribomatic will make it easy for bloggers to track who visits their blog, display their subscriber community on a blog's side panel, and allow subscribers to share the site with their friends.

Ajaxified!

The subscriptions page has been ajaxified! You can now move subscriptions, display more or fewer subscriptions, create folders, rename folders, delete folders, unsubscribe, and check for updates without an annoying page refresh. And it looks great. Thank you, ajax! Perhaps most importantly, this little exercise has taught me, after several years of merely tolerating JavaScript, that the language actually does have some redeeming qualities. I've learned to appreciate the wild, wild west that is JavaScript development. I will probably add some other minor ajax features to other pages as well in the near future.

Still working on AJAX

Still working on the AJAX stuff! Whew, learning new stuff takes a little longer than I expected. I'd say I'm about half-way done. This stuff is hairy too--there are portions that I have rewritten 5 times, just from discovering better and more efficient ways to do the same thing. The only thing I can really complain about is the lack of a good development environment for JavaScript. Browser error messages like IE's "Unknown Runtime Error" can test your patience!