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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!

Desk Mess Mirrored 1.8.7

Edward Caissie — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 03:23:15 +0000

I just released a new version of Desk Mess Mirrored. It needed a few corrections as shown via the latest Theme Unit Test data being used by the WordPress Theme Review Team. Coincidentally, WordPress version 3.2.1 was also released today so it is safe to say the most recent version of Desk Mess Mirrored has been tested with the most recent stable release of WordPress … and all is good!

Here is the recent changelog for those that want to have a read before installing and/or updating to the current version:

Changelog as of July 12, 2011:
-- Version 1.8.7
  - tested compatible up to WordPress 3.2.1
  - removed inline styles affecting `the_tags()` in index, single, category, author, and 404 templates
  - chronologically arranged the 'Basic FAQ' in the readme file (most recent addition first).
  - hide comment "balloon" if post is password protected
  - miscellaneous clean-up in the style.css file
  - re-worked dropdown menu CSS to better handle multiple child menu items from one parent menu item
  - re-worked "sticky note" image to handle longer menu item names before repeating the image

  ******************************
  * Internet Browsers Reviewed *
  * ========================== *
  *                            *
  * Apple Safari v5.0.5 (Mac)  *
  * Apple Safari v5.0.5 (PC)   *
  * Firefox v5.0 (Mac)         *
  * Firefox v5.0 (PC)          *
  * Google Chrome v12.0        *
  * Internet Explorer v9.0     *
  * Opera v11.11               *
  *                            *
  ******************************

Enjoy!

Creating a Poker Site with WordPress

Jonas Adamson — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 20:25:51 +0000

More and more website designers are turning to WordPress as their preferred tool, as it not only greatly simplifies the process of creating a stylish website but it’s also free, open-source software. If you’ve wanted to create a poker site, blog, or poker affiliate site, WordPress is an excellent choice for getting your site up and running.

Once you’ve registered a domain name and have a Web hosting plan set up, installing WordPress is fairly easy; some Web hosts even include installation wizards for WordPress that can handle all of the installation and set-up with just a few clicks. With WordPress up and running, your real work will begin, as now you need to flesh out your new poker site with content and make sure that search engines and users can find it.

The type of site you’re building will steer the direction you go with content, such as offering reviews of sites to play poker online at if you’re targeting a general poker audience, or more specialized strategies and tips for a site about playing Omaha poker. Reviews of poker books and videos are also popular content, as are tips and guides to finding good poker bonuses and other freebies.

Before you start building your poker site, you’ll need to brush up on some basic search engine optimization (SEO) skills. With online poker sites paying affiliates very generous commissions for referring new players, the competition is fierce as far as poker content and it’s much more difficult to get your site ranked at the top of search engines than it would be for other less competitive topics. That doesn’t mean you should abandon the dream of building a poker site with WordPress, just that you’ll need to be sure to also devote a little time to learning the basic dos and don’ts of good SEO.

Paid Contribution

WordPress 3.0 BNS Plugin Updates

Edward Caissie — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 01:14:35 +0000

WordPress 3.0 is now officially in beta … beta1, but its still beta! That means the beginning of the final review and release of my BNS series of plugins. The first two, in no particular order (actually they were alphabetically first on my list) that have been tested compatible with WordPress 3.0 and released to the WordPress.org Plugins repository are:

Simply follow the plugin links to see the latest changelog for each plugin; and, remember to check back to see the release announcements of the rest of the BNS series of plugins.

Following the plugin updates will be the update releases of our themes.

NB: A minor issue in the BNS Corner Logo plugin using non-Gravatar images has been discovered and a temporary fix (version 1.3.1) will be going into the WordPress.org Plugin repository within the hour. EAC.

Desk Mess Mirrored 1.4.5

Edward Caissie — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:17:13 +0000

Although I have been working on smaller and smaller issues with the Desk Mess Mirrored theme I am still looking for improvements and a finer tuning of the core theme files. Last night I finally said it was time to draw a line in the code and put the update out, thus we now have version 1.4.5 approved for download from the WordPress Extend Themes repository earlier today.

The following is the changelog for this update:

Changelog, as of Jan 20, 2010:
-- Version 1.4.5
  - corrected positioning of 'cancel-comment-reply-link'
  - corrected positioning of 'logged-in' message for comments
  - added query reset to correct for possible is_home() issue?!
  - corrected deprecated parameter 'siteurl' to 'url' in header.php
  - editted footer.php template file to better handle possible lengthy text fields
  - CSS: cleaned out empty elements
  - CSS: added #bottom-container within #bottom-extended
  - CSS: reviewed IE6 conditional style sheet -> reduced theme elements being displayed; please upgrade!
  - CSS: added better styling of page list elements
  - moved theme version display to functions.php
  - minor updates to Multi child theme included
  - Multi version number should reflect Desk Mess Mirrored version
  - NB: The image files twitter.png and flickr.png will remain but are not used in the theme.
  - NB: Multi will no longer be included with Desk Mess Mirrored to reduce theme size after version 1.4.5
  - NB: Multi will be available to download at http://buynowshop.com/themes/desk-mess-mirrored

    ******************************
    * Internet Browsers Reviewed *
    * ========================== *
    *                            *
    * Apple Safari v4.0.4 (Mac)  *
    * Apple Safari v4.0.4 (PC)   *
    * Firefox v3.5.6             *
    * Google Chrome v3.0         *
    * Internet Explorer v8.0     *
    * Opera v10.10               *
    *                            *
    * IE 6 - basic functionality *
    ******************************

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!