Sandbox

Everyone,

We need ideas of extensions that we should tackle. Think of this as an Extension Wishlist.

Description of the Extension:

I suggest this mambot-plugin which I modified back when 1.0.9 started providing utf8 feeds (thanks to Rey).
It has to be made 1.5 compatible/native as we now use simplepie as the rss engine instead of domit.

http://forum.joomla.org/index.php/topic,75917.0.html

It lets users present rss feeds in content and is considered as quite useful.
Interface would not require much change, except if simplepie provides more infos/parameters than the old obsolete domit.

Several times I have unsuccessfully started a petition component for 1.0.  One shouldn't be too difficult, I wouldn't think. Something that would allow some of the functionality provided by sites like:

• PetitionOnline:http://new.petitiononline.com/petition.html
• PetitionSpot:http://www.petitionspot.com/
• Care2:http://www.thepetitionsite.com/, or
• Petition-them:http://www.petitionthem.com/

I'm open, though, and eager to learn on any chosen project.

I created a simple petition component once by making some very simple mods to a component called "perForms". It's crude, but it works. I gave the mods to the author over a year ago. Perhaps they've been incorporated into the component by now.

Considering this is going to be for J!101, I'd like to try and keep these simple. Remember we're looking at a directed study for 'junior' developers who will not have a great deal of experience.  It would be much easier to keep things small to start, and work towards some larger projects later down the road.

Okay, here's an idea that will illustrate my lack of knowledge of certain technologies a bit.

There are extensions that provide RSS feeds and others that do AJAX. Is there any general-purpose module out there that can pull these two technologies together in a general-purpose sense? Is it possible to filter an RSS feed and display select information from the feed using periodic AJAX updates? Is this even realistic considering that most RSS feeds are cached?

We could use a simple example, such as sports scores or stock quotes since feeds of that sort would seem widely available. People working on this project would learn not only how to write a Joomla module (the simplest type of extension to write), but they'll also learn about XML/RSS and AJAX (javascript,HTML,etc.), which are technologies that can really spiff-up a Joomla site, and how to research different sources of live information. In other words, it's a project that's got "pieces" to it, which can be divvied out to multiple project team members. If this is a bit too much, how about writing an AJAX module that displays the most recent members to log into a community site? This would be an improved version of the old mod_whosonline module and considerably simpler than one which uses RSS also.

The neat thing about a project like this is that it can potentially pull from non-Joomla experience in the group on these "external" technologies. The objective of the project would be to pull multiple technologies together in a very simple, general-purpose way that would serve as a great example for further use of these concepts by other extension developers. It would not be a microscopic-sized project, yet it would also not be very large. And it's got good bite-into potential. This would not be a good project for people with near-zero programming experience.

Thoughts?

I *think* that most of the items on this list should be suitable for beginners. For the most part, the heavy duty coding has been accomplished and it's a matter of creating a plugin, module or component in Joomla! to display it or drive it from a menu or display pictures on the side. I also think these are good candidates because they are newer technologies, many use the social networking sites, and some are things that bloggers would expect available.

Photos
SmoothGallery http://smoothgallery.jondesign.net/showcase/gallery/
- Easiest - a plugin
- More complicated - certainly could build a richer photo album component

Slideshow (Mootools) http://www.electricprism.com/aeron/slideshow/

Small Simple Gallery http://forum.mootools.net/viewtopic.php?pid=24209

Video
Videobox - Lightbox (Mootools) http://www.gobekdeligi.com/videobox/

Also - just a basic plugin for running YouTube and Google videos (and produce complaint XHTML)

Google (http://code.google.com/apis/)
Google Calendar (http://code.google.com/apis/calendar/overview.html)

Google Maps (http://www.google.com/apis/maps/) and maplets (http://code.google.com/apis/checkout/)

Google Sitemap (https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools ... about.html)

Yahoo - YUI ***
Rich text editor w Flickr support (http://yuiblog.com/blog/2007/07/31/yui-2-3-0-released/)

Weather (http://developer.yahoo.com/yui/examples ... ather.html)

Flickr ***
Type 1 (easier) - Three billion "webapps" that can be embedded into your site
http://www.flickrbits.com/#webapps

Type 2 (more control/difficulty) Use the Flickr API
http://phpflickr.com/ (class written in PHP4)

Delicious  *** SUPER easy
- Network badge (http://del.icio.us/help/networkbadges)
- Linkrolls
(http://del.icio.us/help/linkrolls)
- Tagrolls
(http://del.icio.us/help/tagrolls)
- Daily blog postings
(https://secure.del.icio.us/settings/Amy ... ng/posting)

Small Simple Gallery http://forum.mootools.net/viewtopic.php?pid=24209

Yes!  Amy, this is *exactly* what I was going to suggest.  You beat me to it! 

Here's an idea. Can't seem to find it anywhere online yet. It would be nice to have a component that works with, say community builder, that can keep track of how many registered users a given user refers. So when a user is logged in, they can go to this "refer a friend" page, put in their friends' email addresses. then, their friends would get the invite email. if/when their friend/s register, there would be an admin section that allows you to track which user is referring the most registrations.

a bonus would be if in the admin, you could crunch some stats like:

a. exactly which users a given user referred
b. number of referrals in a specified time period

this way, you could reward the people who refer lots of friends!!!

anyway, just a thought. would be nice to have. maybe this is out there already?? like i said, i've looked around. doesn't seem to be...

i'd be willing to pay up to $100 for a slick product like this that works really well. ha ha.

thanks for reading all.

@ AMY this could help to learn how to turn a code into a component for joomla. Maybe it is a good starting point I am not sure. But it may be hard to handle a code that we never touched right? I mean I don't know, I did not look at the tutorials yet, but you probably need to know the inputs and outputs of the code before you can turn it into a joomla component right? But still ok this must be rather easy with a few of the things you mentioned like the videobox-lightbox for example or your super easy ones. So this could be a good start.

But I thought that a lot of beginners would like to actually learn how to code something from A to Z. So that all aspects can be learned. But maybe this will come next? Once we know how to adapt a simple code and make it into a component or module or mambot for joomla then we can make a whole one?

@docdj You mean this is like an invite plugin but each time someone registers after being invited it counts. I know this exists in a commercial plugin for CB. I don't think the other current invite components offer this feature but you can ask them there is one free invite tab and one other component to invite people that already exist in the extensions page. But this is definitely something worth learning.

ok let's try to give other ideas although it is hard to find something new but still simple
Description of the extension:
To try to better organize content: A component that would show last contents with an image next to it in the frontpage. This could evolve later on to show contents from only one or from several sections/categories and organize them in a table a bit like an e-magazine. I think the first part is simple enough and has some nice possibilities of evolution in complexity if necessary. And in the free extensions, the closest one is I think flexcontent (unless a new one appeared recently) which anyway is not exactly the same.

Ok hope I was not too messy in my explanations let me know what are your thoughts

Small Simple Gallery http://forum.mootools.net/viewtopic.php?pid=24209

I would like to see this to.

[EDIT]
For something like this in Joomla! see: http://forum.joomla.org/index.php/topic,171868.0.html

I would like to create a Component/Plugin Combo that will allow users to use "PHP", "Javascript" and other code into their content items. Solutions currently exist for 1.0, but I am not sure how well they play with 1.5. I know the one that I use for 1.0 is not the most user-friendly solution as it is just a mambot using parameters to hold everything. It has limitations and a component/Plugin combo could remove those limitations as well as being easier to use.

dartagnan32 wrote:@ AMY this could help to learn how to turn a code into a component for joomla. Maybe it is a good starting point I am not sure. But it may be hard to handle a code that we never touched right? I mean I don't know, I did not look at the tutorials yet, but you probably need to know the inputs and outputs of the code before you can turn it into a joomla component right? But still ok this must be rather easy with a few of the things you mentioned like the videobox-lightbox for example or your super easy ones. So this could be a good start.

But I thought that a lot of beginners would like to actually learn how to code something from A to Z. So that all aspects can be learned. But maybe this will come next? Once we know how to adapt a simple code and make it into a component or module or mambot for joomla then we can make a whole one?

I agree.

1. I think the very, very, very first step is to learn to make a component, module and plugin from scratch.
2. Then, adapt these listed/bundled technologies into that framework.
3. Then, we might be ready to work on projects with a team, or independently.

Good ideas! Thanks!
Amy

How about a plug-in that sends an email to a list of members registered to receive notifications when a new article is published to a particular section or category the user selects (like being subscribed to forum notifications)? This is a feature that has been in pretty high demand as long as I have been messing with Joomla. I don't believe there is any built-in feature in 1.5 that will do this, nor have I seen a plug-in that can do it, although there are some newsletter components that do. My only personal experience with plug-ins (mambots in 1.0) was text replacement. This one would not replace any text, but instead would take the article's HTML, fashion an email message from it, and send it to an email address registered with the applicable section or category. The plug-in should support a reasonable number of sections/categories. This would work like a newsletter component, but would leverage the existing editing and publishing power of Joomla.

Of course, to do this we will also need an email list system for our site. The only one I have experience with is Dada Mail, which is a very complex Perl script (http://mojo.skazat.com). I wrote a component earlier this year to bridge a Dada Mail installation into a Joomla site using only the database tables as the bridging mechanism. We could use that as part of our test bed. Of course, any email list system could be used (e.g., listserv, Mailman, ezmlm), but the Dada Mail component can be setup so that only Joomla site members can subscribe to the lists and they can do so using the email address associated with their Joomla account.

The primary goal of this project would be to write a simple plug-in. I would not want to get caught up on the email list part.

Some very interesting, creative, and just exciting ideas here.  We have the mode of communcation picked.  Next is to find familiar ground on a IDE, and then we'll work out our starting point for our initial work.  Keep the ideas coming: we'll compile the list and see what will be best to start with soon.

How about an extension providing a true usable Archives system?

This has been a draw back since the Mambo times.

What we now get as default in 1.5 is a listing only searchable by date. A sort of semi-blog where nor Section or Categories are listed or searchable.

What professional sites need is a menu that lets display Archives as a table list of Articles for a said Section or Category or multiple categories with table headers where one can switch categories, filter also by date (between dates), etc.
Multiple menus should be created, each one displaying its own section or category.
No blog display necessary.

this maybe nice for beginners.

there was a request ealier in the general questions area for a email to database function.
the webmaster wants emails sent by users using the contact form to be kept in his database.

i think this is an important function, as when users are allowed to send each other emails via the contact form, the only record of it is in the receivers end, not at the website. if this is done, one has what is effectively a simple webmail facility using joomla.

this is perhaps not for the very green beginner, yet way too easy for the experienced people who probably made like 10 components already.

i'd put it at beginners level. i call it Webmail Form instead of Contact Form.

Joomla! Webmail Form Version 1
Brief Specification

When a user sends mail to a contact using a contact form, a copy of the mail is saved into joomlas database.
The section and category where the mail is kept as an article should be a configurable parameter in the component,
Also, a maximum number of mails per user may be needed so that the database is not flooded.

When it not must start from scratch, what is with extending/rewriting an existing Joomla core component?
I look here at the massmail function in the admin panel, it´s not very big and maybe a good point for beginners to start.
Why this? hmm the way it works atm I guess nobody want use this, because all user mails will display in the "to" field.
And no not only put the user mails in bcc field, thats to simple  some more options for i.e.
user select - this way we can select users from different groups
some more preferences like on small sites a yes no select that every user gets an own mail - extends with text replacement like ##username## or ##realname##

So now you can punch me for the idea

Now, RedEye, why in the world would we punch your for an idea? Sounds good! Keep 'em coming! 

This is a WordPress plugin I just noticed this morning. It makes it easy for end users to lock down the administrator folder (wp-admin) in that environment by maintaining Apache .htpasswd and .htaccess files. Pretty smart.

I think this would be an excellent hardening technique to add for Joomla! and we should be able to reuse - with proper credit - much of the GPL'ed code. Could make a very good system plugin, I think.

Amy

Blacklist component

Instead of manually using .htaccess to block known spammers and likewise rejects, have a component that
- can blacklist by IP and host name
- can import blacklist file (text based, csv, from other server-useful for designers to offer clients) edit: scheduled/cronjob
- can sync with external (read and write: two way syncing) edit: scheduled/cronjob
- can automatically block anyone that is trying to get to known invalid url (i.e. known invalid sql inserts/attempts)
- can exclude known bots (i.e. google) from being accidentally blocked (just a safety measure for previous spec)
- can redirect them back to where they came, custom page, custom forbidden page, custom "busted" page
- can blacklist someone for specific time period or forever
- etcetera, probably lots more ideas out there

Good stuff, Dylan. To add to your ideas - Michiel Bijland, creator of the Gallery2 plugin for Joomla! has been warming up development efforts for J! v 1.5 and recently created five new extensions. One is called http:BL Plugin:

http:BL System Plugin allows you to verify IP addresses of clients connecting to your website against the Project Honey Pot database. It checks whether your visitor is an email harvester, a comment spammer or any other malicious creature. Communication with verification server is done via DNS request mechanism, which makes the query and response even quicker.

Another tool to consider to integration into your project plan is Bad Behavior. That has been a useful tool for WordPress, Drupal and recently Joomla!. Micheal Hampton, Bad Behavior author, is supportive of the Project Honey Pot effort, as well. He also has whitelist capability to help get good friends off of the bad list.

Also, Akismet integration will be helpful. I have found the combination of Bad Behavior and Akismet to be an excellent 1, 2 punch against SPAM.

I certainly want to see strength in Joomla!'s commenting functionality increase. Yuri has been working on that. So, the more protection, the better, when Joomla! starts accepting input from the outside world more frequently.

Good ideas, Dylan, thanks for your contributions! Am looking forward to working with you!
Amy

Amy? :tilt head little: I Love You. Please Marrrrry Me!!

Thank you. I dared not approach you before, especially with such a candid come-on. But I DO always read your posts with great intrest. You are so well-informed. You don' t spend all your nights with tons of Joomladocs and code, now do you? That'd be a shame. But either way: you're the best... It should say MyJoomla! Hero [edit:typo] at your Userinfo

I'm just new here. Now that I've almost run out of money, I need to get off my lazy butt and get some things done. Which is why you'll probably see more of me from now on.

Thanks for all your additions. Yes, indeed: all good. Again. Thanks for the compliments too. And yes Amy, flattery will get you everywhere

LOL!  Yes, Dylan, I am an old, married geek! Today, I take my daughter to the University.    But, you are right, I love this project and find more and more interesting things and people all the time. You are a lot of fun. You will like it here, I am certain.

There is so much potential building and I feel honored to be amongst our fabulous, positive group!

Amy

I could have known. That there is someone out there who'll never let you go. Well, in that case... I think I'll just sit here and drink. Have fun at campus. Tell her to watch out for smoothtalkers.

I love the idea of creating an extensive anti-spam, anti-naughty person extension. I think it could really help in creating a safe and maintainable environment for Joomla. It might be interesting as well to allow for a component based blacklist (sort of plugins). So for comments, you have a different algorithm, but for file downloads, or even file uploads you have another.

Hi

I'd like to suggest an extension to fix a problem that will effect all user of 1.5

At the moment - other people can control your urls

If you turn on sef urls can be altered & will return a page with a 200 code which can/will be indexed by the SE, I think that could result in a lot of damage to a site. All someone has to do is change the words & make more incoming links than you have (or use pr sites) to get it to be the dominant url indexed. (part of googles dupe url priority handling)

examples that work with the sample data

an seo site
faq/27-I-screwed-up/40-google-has-banned-all-my-customers-sites

a church site
news-feeds/4-free-porn-vist/1-www-sexsitename-com

a charity site
the-news/1-federal-investigation/1-we-admit-we-kept-all-the-money

a site for children
web-links/2-sex-toys

a pet site
faq/31-xxx-  < I'll leave this one to your imagination


Can you see how damaging links like these could potentially be - people may think you changed the content on the page - but they will NEVER believe that the url wasn't under your control - racial slurs could cause tremendous backlash.

Incoming pron words could also trigger content filters & get your whole site blocked

all its takes is someone linking those pages
your competition could neutralise your site buying forum signatures
malicious kiddie & friends could googlebowl your site
they could submit bogus urls to the SE

I once had this in my htaccess (not a joomla site)
RewriteRule ^(.*)\.html index.php?name=$1 [NC,L]
and even after 3 years some of the bogus urls are still around & they will always be in the waybackmachine


If I am being overly concerned I apologise, but, been there - done that, has made me aware of url manipulation, and I would love to see an extension to fix the problem before 1.5 stable is released.

............................

solutions?

I don't know because I'm not a coder - this is the only thing I could think of

Automatically generate a txt file that contains the good urls - anything not in the list returns a 404 without a db query

$good    = file('goodurls.txt');

............................

hehe and while you are at it - any possiblity of changing slug behaviour
if you change $url to $url.'/' it would make anyone converting from 3pd sef in 1.x easier to match their old urls for sections & categories


After my eye surgery next month I'm going to try learning php, instead of just trial & error hacking, uberlandia JObject was the first time I didn't go glassy eyed - its amazing the difference between how blue & foo effect my understanding.

Hmm...it's seems that latter ideas getting hard to follow for the beginner coder....like me...

I've just release my first trial coding - a module - that bring Frontpage component into a module called MiniFrontPage. And I really enjoyed building this more when so much good responses have made this module to be on the top rated ext on the first week it launched, and so much features requested to adapt.

I've been thinking, this will gonna be a good start for beginner coder to start their effort learning J!1.5 modules/components creation process, don't you think?

it's my first joomla idea, i'm so excited!!

It's a helper bot for php.ini

I found some scripts that help with it, but it could be part of joomla.  maybe it could be scheduled to see if there are changes to the main php.ini.

here we go...

This is where the code is...
http://tips-scripts.com/php_ini

and then here..

http://tips-scripts.com/php_ini_copy

you could have it use phpinfo() to get the path name.

or if it turns out this is outdated info or something...let me know? discuss?

Hmm... php.ini is a server-wide file. Changing it affects every PHP application running on the server. This will not help people running Joomla sites on shared servers or probably anything other than a dedicated server. Most hosting companies probably don't provide access to such system resource files at all. Similar settings can be added to the .htaccess file on a per-domain basis on some hosted servers. My experience with that is by default the user account owns the .htaccess file and cannot be overwritten by a PHP script, which is often running with system-level userid (e.g., "nobody", "httpd"), without making it world-writeable. But on a home server used only for testing, this might be a handy little trick.