BuyNowShop » Edward Caissie

Plugin: BNS Theme Add-Ins

Edward Caissie — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 23:26:46 +0000

This was an interesting week for coding. I really hadn’t planned to write a new plugin and get it released into the WordPress Extend repository, it just sort of worked out that way.

I started with the premise of putting into practice the ideas behind one of the core trac tickets I have submitted (#16395). This one deals with the Parent-Theme version and the “Template Version” a Child-Theme is created and maintained for.

The idea actually started from a post by Justin Tadlock at DevPress that follows very closely the idea I presented in the core trac ticket.

This brought about these add-ins:

`BNS Extra Theme Headers`
`BNS Child-Theme Version Control`

My involvement with the WordPress Theme Review Team and the idea of presenting the recommended documentation provided the ideas for the following items:

`BNS Readme Menu Item`
`BNS Changelog Menu Item`

This naturally led to the last Add-In function, as generally Child-Themes do not be default support internationalization:

`BNS Child-Theme TextDomain` and i18n (translation) support

… and so we have a new plugin that covers these items and does not require editing to add a `textdomain`; or menu items; or even a Child-Theme version versus Parent-Theme version test.

As I think of more “generic” functionality, or suitable suggestions, I will update this plugin; in the meantime, please use the plugin and feel free to provide any constructive feedback.

As a closing remark and a bit more back-story, this code was first written to be called with an `include` statement; then re-written to be a mu-plugin; and, finally, as a general WordPress plugin.

I suspect there will be at least some code optimizations to be made; let me know what you think … and, enjoy!

Shades 1.7

Edward Caissie — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 20:11:08 +0000

When I started working on the update for Shades I was completely surprised by how long it had been since I actually released the last version … one (1) year, to the day!!

Remarkable, and also very unusual. Although I must say, as I use a Child-Theme of Shades on my personal website, there really did not seem to be a great deal that needed updating … well, the changelog will bare witness that was not the case.

Aside from the addition of some post-formats (aside, quote, and status) that I thought would lend themselves well to the theme the rest of the updates were based in code improvements that have been brought to light or realized over the last year, especially with my involvement with the WordPress Theme Review Team.

To see the changelog for version 1.7, click here.To hide the changelog click here.

– Version 1.7
= Public =
- released September 11, 2011
- published September 13, 2011
= CODE Changes =
- added support for post formats: aside, quote, status
- added the `shades` loop template
- added theme page for support and a contextual-help readme
- NB: adding the loop template and support for post formats affected the following template files: archive, author, index, page, single
- added `shades_used_posted` function to provide a link to the single view of posts without titles
- updated `BNS_Dynamic_Copyright` function
- updated `BNS_Theme_Version` function
- updated WordPress Required Version to 3.1 to implement post-formats (NB: Theme may still function correctly down to version 3.0)
- removed featured image thumbnail from the single view
- removed direct IE6 support
- removed `show_avatar` function
- removed `shades_page_number` function
= CSS Changes =
- reduced vertical distance between posts by half
- modified style for tag elements; add bottom-right border to help define the post they are attached to
- set base font-size to 100%; updated most other font-sizes to use percentages creating an over-all easier to read text
- addressed image thumbnail sizes used by gallery shortcode to handle up to 10 columns
- changed ‘widgettitle’ to ‘widget-title’ (NB: not currently used by the theme)
= CODE & CSS Changes =
- updated menu code to better handle parent-child-grandchild etc. structures (NB: menu is no longer centered.)
- moved the “Comments” to be inline with the post title and made minor style changes
- changed #main-blog to #the-loop for more code clarity

I have really enjoyed the modifications I have made with the Child-Theme I use at EdwardCaissie.com and truly enjoy using the Shades theme for my own purposes. I hope others find it as useful and interesting. Enjoy the new Shades!

My New Desktop

Edward Caissie — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:08:26 +0000

Oops … this was supposed to be posted on my personal site here.

I was playing with the iOS WordPress app and the “Quick Photo” button.

BNS Twitter Follow Button

BNS Twitter Follow Button

Edward Caissie — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:04:22 +0000

Just gotta luv these emails:

cais,

Your plugin hosting request has been approved.

Within one hour, you will have access to your SVN repository at

http://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/bns-twitter-follow-button/ …

I received the above earlier this morning; and, for my readers who also follow me on twitter, this is what I was tweeting about yesterday. The first pass to a fully functional plugin was a little under 90 minutes. Although I did spend the rest of the day, on and off, tweaking and adding additional functionality until you now have the initial release just committed to the WordPress Extend Plugins repository: BNS Twitter Follow Button.

Here is the plugins description:

A widget to allow you to set the parameters of the Twitter Follow Button found here: https://twitter.com/about/resources/followbutton. This widget also creates a shortcode that can be used in posts and pages. Also to note, each instance of the shortcode or widget can use a different Twitter name so you can have multiple Twitter accounts listed on your website.

Enjoy! … and please feel free to leave comments with your feedback, too.

New Plugin: BNS Inline Asides

Edward Caissie — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 17:26:42 +0000

The idea for this plugin has been on my “drawing board” for some time but the code was finally completed recently with the help of Trevor Mills whom I met through the WordPress Toronto Meetup group.

To see the Note click here.To hide the Note click here.

The idea came from the concept to make it easier to add a note into a post with the ability to have the aside emphasized but not have to edit the Theme to create the additional styling.

Here is the “long” description from the readme.txt file included with the plugin:

Have you ever wanted to add a personal comment into the body of a post or page and have it stand out from the rest of the content?
Have you really wanted to throw a rant in a review because the subject just really got under your skin but you don’t want to dramatically disrupt the content?
This plugin will allow you to style sections of the post, or page, content with a shortcode that can add more emphasis by leveraging a style element from the active theme.
These asides can be left open as part of the content flow; or these asides can be closed to leave your readers the option of opening them if they choose to.

… and you can find more details on the plugin on its page here.

New WordPress Plugin: BNS Chess.com Badge

Edward Caissie — Sun, 16 May 2010 15:58:33 +0000

One of my all time favorite past-times is to play Chess. I enjoy the game on many levels from the artistry of the pieces to the elegance of their moves; the strategies of planning and the fruition of patience. I recently came across the Chess.com web site and started playing online via their free services. There are many sites that offer similar services but this one caught my attention.

I also found they offered a badge you could place on your own web site or page. I liked the look and feel of the badge but also realized it was completely static. You would need to copy and paste the code every time your “rating” changed. I thought this could be made into a dynamic plugin for WordPress and went about contacting the good people who run Chess.com.

After several emails I was happy to be provided with an API that I incorporated into the plugin by one of the developers, “Matt”. Now, once the plugin is activated and the widget placed accordingly, all you have to do us enter your Chess.com user name and the rest is dynamically maintained for you.

This plugin was quite quick to write. The turn-around time from blank page to publication in the WordPress Extend Plugins repository was less than 24 hours. You can find more information on the BNS Chess.com Badge plugin page, or on the WordPress page here.

PS: If you would like to see the plugin live, just visit my personal domain at EdwardCaissie.com and look for Your Move?

New WordPress Plugin: BNS Add Widget

Edward Caissie — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 02:37:27 +0000

I wrote this plugin inspired by a recent topic on the WordPress Support forums. I would like to thank Danylo for the discussion that lead me to the idea.

Here is the description for the BNS Add Widget plugin:

Add a widget area to the footer of any theme. Works just like the widget areas commonly created with code in the functions.php template file.

It essentially just adds a widget area to the footer of any theme by “hooking into” the standard WordPress function wp_footer(). This plugin will allow other plugins, like my BNS Corner Logo, to work when the active blog theme does not have its own built-in widget areas.

WordCamp Toronto 2010 #wcto

Edward Caissie — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:53:08 +0000

WordCamp Toronto 2010 is scheduled for March 27 & 28 and I will be there, will you?

I first found this news on the WordPress blog here. Which lead me to the more obvious (now) web site address of the camp itself: http://wordcamptoronto.com.

I managed to create a TinyURL link for the location map: http://tinyurl.com/wcto2010map, feel free to pass it around. The link will open a Google map.

I am looking forward to this event and since I know about it well in advance I am scheduling my time to be available for both days. It also helps the location is only about a 30-40 minute drive from home.

If you are not sure what a WordCamp is, then this little bit from WordCamp Central should help:

WordCamp is a conference that focuses on everything WordPress. WordCamps are informal, community-organized events that are put together by WordPress users like you. Everyone from casual users to core developers participate, share ideas, and get to know each other. WordCamps are open to WordPress.com and WordPress.org users alike.

I will be using the twitter hash tag #wcto for references to the event. Hope to see you there!

Happy New Year 2010

Edward Caissie — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 22:57:59 +0000

Tomorrow is January 1, 2010! The beginning of a new year in the Gregorian Calendar.

I thought I would write a post on what will be going on at BuyNowShop.com in the immediate future and the new year.

All of our themes will continue to be maintained and updated.
Every theme will undergo regular reviews to address all of the ideas brought to our attention.
All of our plugins will continue to be maintained and updated.
Every plugin will undergo regular reviews to address all of the ideas brought to our attention.
I will also be continuing to volunteer my time at the WordPress.org Support forums

There are still at least two themes on the drawing board and at least three plugins, too. We hope to see these released in the first half of the new year.

The last item being looked at right now is the incorporation of a forum. Maintaining themes and plugins via the WordPress comment system is possible but not the most efficient. We are seeing potential for a complimentary system offering support for our themes and plugins; as well as, a premium system to continue with our WordPress Services.

New WordPress Plugin: BNS Support

Edward Caissie — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 02:10:42 +0000

Yesterday was one of my more productive. I managed to strike a major item off my to-do list with the complete writing, submission, and go live of the free BNS Support plugin for WordPress.

The idea behind the plugin comes from my time at the WordPress Support forums and how often I have replied, or any number of other volunteers have replied, asking for a link to the blog in question that the issue at hand is being experienced on. Also, from time to time it is nice to know the theme and maybe the installed version of WordPress, too.

This lead me to put together a simple plugin that provides all this information, clearly labeled and easily copied and pasted in the body of the question being posted. This information, first and foremost, is only displayed if the user is logged in; and, by default, only logged in users that are administrators are able to see it.

I see this plugin as very useful, especially by WordPress support individuals and organizations.