Jan
26
At the end of May of 2009, I prematurely announced that SkyBlueCanvas version 2.0 was nearly ready for an alpha release. It was a little embarrassing to have to redact that announcement but SkyBlueCanvas is an one-man outfit supported by my day job, so it can be difficult at times to find the time and energy to work on the software.
I have, however, been hard at work on the new version. Originally the next release was going to be an incremental release (v1.2) but I decided that it would be better to delay a little longer and get this next release right the first time. The code is essentially at alpha stage, meaning that all of the functionality that is intended to be in the software is there. It is not yet fully tested (that comes next) but it is there. Version 2.0 constitutes a complete re-write of the code without a complete departure from the concepts that have made SkyBlueCanvas such a success. Above all else, I have not only maintained the ease-of-use, but I have actually greatly improved it.
I am very pleased with the new version. It is not quite a lightweight as the original but that doesn’t really concern me at all. Disk space was never my concern to begin with so I am happy to take up a little more room if and when it makes sense to do so. The new version still uses XML for data storage by default, but will also now support the use of any storage mechanism you like. It will take a while to build a collection of the necessary wrapper classes (technically DAOs) but the capability is there. I am already working on an Oracle DB-compatible wrapper and intend to get a MySQL wrapper out just as soon as possible.
The Road Ahead
There are two main tasks to be completed at the moment. The first is the most daunting: I need to transfer my knowledge of the system into a collection of documentation. I truly believe that when I get all of this out onto (virtual) paper, developers will be very pleased with the design.
The second task may or may not be so daunting. The finishing touch on the software will be the Admin UI (user interface). I have decided to purchase a stock admin theme from ThemeForest.net. You have seen me pimping their themes on all of the SkyBlueCanvas sites. I do it to make a few extra bucks but also because I really do like their templates. I have personally bought about as many as I’ve sold (thus canceling out any commissions). There are two themes I have selected as the final candidates:
Administasia
Developer License: $500.00
Flexy Admin
Developer License: $600.00
You can click the image of each theme to view more screen shots and a live demo of each. As you can see, these templates are not cheap. I need to purchase a developer’s license in order to be able to redistribute the theme with the software. The prices are very good prices but a little too much for me to pay for out-of-pocket. You can help purchase one of these templates by using any of the Chip-In donation widgets throughout all of the SkyBlueCanvas family of sites.
That is where things stand at the moment. I am working as hard as I can to get version 2.0 out to the public and especially to my loyal users. As we move further into 2010, I will be releasing more and more content on this site covering SkyBlueCanvas and general web-related topics. Than you for your support and thank you for reading.
Comments
3 Responses to “SkyBlueCanvas Update for February 2010”
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Hi scott. i was browsing skybluecanvas.com to see how much the last chip-in donation run went, but i couldn’t find the widget.
Anyway, the themes look sweet. I think i like Administasia better though. It’s hard to tell before looking at the finished product…
Keep up the good work (don’t overwork yourself though)! Looking forward to version 2 point o. I think you’ll attract a lot of attention with that one.
Hey Pelle.
I still have the old site running on my local machine with the widget and for some reason forgot that it is no longer on the live site. I will need to figure out an appropriate place for it on the new site.
I’m pretty excited about v2.0 as well. I think users will be pretty happy with it. As soon as I raise the funds for the theme I will release an alpha version with the hope of moving very quickly to beta.
Thanks for your continued support.
Scott
BTW, I really like Administasia, but it doesn’t work as well with the architecture of SBC so I have decided to go with Flexy. It looks pretty good and fits with the structure very well. I will try to get a demo of the new version up as soon as possible. The current SBC site is running on v2.0 and I have been pleased with the performance. There have been a couple of minor bugs but nothing that causes me great concern. You always expect bugs with new releases so everything seems to be on track for a very successful release.