[wp-hackers] GSoC 2010: Visual CSS Editor

[Daryl Koopersmith]

I'm currently abroad in Italy and just got internet for the first time since
this has been posted, so pardon the long post full of replies. ;)

Also, I'm not going to retype it all, but Beau's earlier post makes a bunch
of valid points, especially 1, 2, and 5.

***

Eric,

The UI is definitely a crucial part of this project, as is maintaining
cross-browser compatibility. Any CSS that the editor outputs will be
standards compatible, as it will be automatically generated. Since the
project will also have to parse the user's CSS, that will have to be valid
as well. Standards compatibility all around!

***

Andrew,

I'd seen your proposal and had the same thought. As Beau said, it'd be great
to just tie into the theme revisions API. I'll be in touch. :)

***

Mike,

While I'm not sure if storing items in the database will be the approach I
take (in fact, a theme revisions API would be the ideal option), it will be
possible to alter the process through multiple hooks within the plugin.

I plan on including MS support, and database storage is one potential way of
achieving that goal.

***

Beau,

Thanks. ;)

***

Jeremy,

I plan to include a more interactive experience than the current WP.com
plugin offers--namely the ability to directly interact with the theme and
make live changes. Think Firebug's "Inspect" feature.

That said, I do plan on looking at all available CSS editor plugins and
determining if any features are adaptable (for example, WP.com's
restrictions for MS users).

***

Andy,

I think that would be a FANTASTIC feature, though definitely oriented
towards advanced users. I'm planning on creating a JS core with a
centralized events system (based on the EventBus/MVP paradigm found in
Google Web Toolkit[1]). Implementing this would require tracking editor
sessions server-side and pushing certain events across sessions. It will
definitely fall into the category of "harder features". Whether or not it
would fit into the scope of GSoC remains to be seen, but either way the
infrastructure necessary to support multiple sessions will exist. That said,
I'd love to give it a shot!

***

Thanks for reading, everyone.
—Daryl


[1] To clarify, I don't plan on using GWT, but the concept of a centralized
events system (EventBus) is incredibly useful when attempting to synchronize
a UI. If you're curious, check out the slides/video here.
http://code.google.com/events/io/2009/sessions/GoogleWebToolkitBestPractices.html

On Wed, Mar 31, 2010 at 9:15 PM, Andy Skelton <skeltoac at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Wed, Mar 31, 2010 at 12:35 PM, Jeremy Clarke <jer at simianuprising.com>
> wrote:
> > It seems to me that this should be part of the custom CSS plugin
> > recently released by automattic (based on the paid feature in
> > wordpress.com) and that it should be in the realm of canonical
> > plugins.
>
> The Automattic Custom CSS plugin is just one simple implementation; it
> doesn't necessarily deserve to be canonical. It could stand to be
> improved or a better plugin could be written from scratch.
>
> My killer feature in a web-based CSS editor is sadly absent: edit CSS
> in one window while any number of preview windows in any number of
> browsers simultaneously receive style changes.
>
> In general, I wouldn't mind seeing proposals to improve existing plugins.
>
> Andy
> _______________________________________________
> wp-hackers mailing list
> wp-hackers at lists.automattic.com
> http://lists.automattic.com/mailman/listinfo/wp-hackers
>