I'm getting pretty close to finishing my secret goals for the next iteration of CFMenuCal. To be honest, I don't remember what information I was planning on sharing before it becomes available so I'll tell you a few things now. I've got to keep some secrets though. ;)
- It's getting a new name! I was never terribly fond of the name "CFMenuCal" but I was anxious to get the project posted on RIAForge so I just gave it that boring overly descriptive name. Hopefully the new name will provide a little bit of "branding" or something. The new name doesn't contain "CF", because it's no longer a tool that requires you to use ColdFusion…
- It will be a free online service! In other words: A site where you can go sign up for an account and log in every now and then to create some meal calendars from your stored settings. That means I've already registered a domain and started setting it up. Can you guess what it is?
- Model Glue! This may not be terribly exciting to you, but I'm thrilled about it. This is my first real Model-Glue application, and I'm excited to have a real-world application in an MVC architecture and using a ColdFusion framework.
Rewriting everything to fit into the MVC architecture was a pain in the butt because the code was an absolute mess to begin with. But it has helped because I've already thought of and implemented new features with just a few lines of code.
So, what kind of features would make it an even more appealing service to you?
- Would you want an iCal feed so that you can import your menu calendars into your Google Calendar or other Calendaring tool of choice?
- What about saving the finished product as a PDF, so that you don't have to print from your browser?
These are just a few of the things I've been rattling around in my head. What other things would you like to see added? Nothing is off limits here… ask for anything!
Posted in
CFMenuCal |
Model-Glue |
My projects
February 11 2008
When I wrote yesterday's post asking whether I should continue putting off porting the alpha1 code to pre-ColdFusion 8 syntax, I pretty much knew what the answer would be. It took me less than an hour to go through the whopping 9 files and convert things like --, <=, {}, and [] into =x-1, LTE, StructNew, and ArrayNew; and I'm going to have my hands full with the rewrite and new features for at least a few more months.
This is all just a roundabout way of saying that CFMenuCal alpha1 for MX7 is now available at RIAForge! I've put the code into the /versions/alpha1 for MX7/ folder in the Subversion repository, or if you're not interested in dealing with SVN, you can just download the zip!
It includes a readme.txt file that explains how to configure the application, but I'll give a bit more detail here. Everything you need to edit is in config.cfm.
The first thing you need to do is create a menu (think restaurant-style). Your menu is an array of meal structures. I've left some example data in the code so you can see how it's intended to be set up:
[viewcode] src="cfmenucalalpha11.cfm.txt" showsyntax=no geshi=cfm[/viewcode]
After you have your structures defined, just drop them into the menu array by making sure they're all appended:
[viewcode] src="cfmenucalalpha12.cfm.txt" showsyntax=no geshi=cfm[/viewcode]
Exceptions are what allow you to skip a specific day, and you can put the reason on your calendar. You configure them with the same general idea as setting up your menu:
[viewcode] src="cfmenucalalpha13.cfm.txt" showsyntax=no geshi=cfm[/viewcode]
The "exception" key is the "reason" that no meal is needed for the date, and the "date" key is the day of the month that the exception is for.
Don't forget to append all of your exception structures to the exception array:
[viewcode] src="cfmenucalalpha14.cfm.txt" showsyntax=no geshi=cfm[/viewcode]
And lastly, a few settings to define what month/year you want your calendar built for, and how close you want your dishes and side-dishes:
[viewcode] src="cfmenucalalpha15.cfm.txt" showsyntax=no geshi=cfm[/viewcode]
When you need a new calendar for the next month, the only things you need to change are your exceptions and the month/year variables. Then all you have to do is refresh the page (or click the randomize button – same thing) until you get a calendar you like.
Bon Appétit!
Posted in
CFMenuCal
October 27 2007
It's getting dusty around here. I'm keeping quite busy with my work, and when I do have free time that I spend on the computer, I'm trying to spend at least 50% working on CFMenuCal. So far I've been focusing my efforts on new features and the aforementioned surprises, but today it occurred to me that there are a few of you who have expressed interest in using this yourself — and I know that means sooner rather than later.
When I originally wrote my proof of concept — the alpha that's posted at RIAForge — It served two purposes: the first being making something useful for my wife and myself, and the second being getting my hands dirty with ColdFusion 8. So it's got a lot of the new syntaxes woven in pretty tightly — specifically rampant use of the new { } structure syntax and [ ] array syntax.
I guess I would estimate that it would take about a week, maybe two, for me to convert the alpha to use old syntaxes and make it usable on a ColdFusion 7 and I'm fairly certain even a ColdFusion 6 server.
I think I already have my answer, but I'd still like to hear what the user base has to say. Would you rather I work on converting back to ColdFusion 7 syntax, or continue working on new features (which in all honesty could take months)? On the other hand, if you all have ColdFusion 8 easily accessible to you, it may be a moot point.
In addition, I know that before I started using Subversion at work I couldn't be bothered to setup a client and check out something that I was interested in, so I can relate if you feel the same way. Would anyone prefer if I packaged up everything you would need to run it in a nice downloadable zip?
Posted in
CFMenuCal
October 25 2007
I am eagerly awaiting this year's update to the list of things that have happened since the announcement of Duke Nukem Forever, and if I may be allowed to conjecture a bit, I think we can add CFMenuCal alpha2 to the list. I'm planning to have three surprises, one of which is a new name!
At this point, there are very few people who know what the new name will be, and even less who know what the other major change is. If you are on that list, consider yourself quite privileged. And if you do know? Please don't spill the beans!
I hope to have the changes done within a couple of weeks, but that depends on my availability. This time of year always seems to be packed with weekend trips, and when we do have a weekend at home, it's spent doing housework. But I promise that aside from my job and my family, this is not only my top priority, but the thing I am most interested in, which means it should be getting a fair amount of attention.
Now that I have a proper name for the project, if anyone is interested in designing a logo for it, please get in touch with me via Instant Messenger or email, or heck, even just leave a comment and I'll contact you!
Posted in
CFMenuCal |
My projects
August 02 2007