Collaberite

I wish I had better news, but this feature is being a giant pain in the backside to make.

I had an idea of how I wanted it to work. So I started that. Then I found some code that was supposed to do exactly what I wanted. So I erased what I had done and started doing that instead.

Turns out it did what I wanted to do, but VERY poorly.

So I’m back to doing what I started with. Which meant re-writing everything again.

Also, there’s a bunch of needed things that need to work in order for this to function properly, and they don’t work right yet either.

So as for when you can have friends? I don’t know. But hopefully by the end of this week. I hope.

I’ll keep you posted.

But quite a long way from being finished.

Going to start simple, and create a way to add friends, which will later be used to limit who can see/add to your stories.

I’ll keep you updated.

Who needs features when you have a fancy new header?

Well, I do. And you probably want some. But it’ll have to wait until tomorrow before I start.

Next up, groups. Friends, blocked users and whatever else I can think of.

Perhaps custom groups?

While not a really awesome feature, it’s a new feature none the less.

You can now change your username, email or your password via the profile link in the menu.

The “forgot my password” code should be fully functional as well now.

I also added new username validation so that you can only have alpha numeric characters or dashes, underscores and the @ symbol.

Need a character that’s not on the list? Let me know and I’ll probably add it (security first though).

Ok, so as long as there’s either bugs, or new features, testing is never “really” done. But I think I’ve caught up to the current feature set. (Not including integration tests. Which I still need to learn how to write, and can take a back seat for awhile)

I’m glad that’s out of the way. And from here on in, I can rest easy knowing that if I change something, I probably have it covered by a test.

Next, on to a NEW FEATURE!

Still not sure what to pick, but I’ll keep you posted.

Tests.

They always seem to take longer than I think they should. It’s a shame though. I love having them, but they drive me nuts writing them.

Otherwise, nothing’s changed that you can see today, and probably not again until next week, since progress on the testing side has slowed development to a virtual standstill.

And yes, I know I can just skip them. But they’re worth the time. Many a bug has been caught by having good, and thorough tests.

I believe that the first feature is fully tested. I hope it is at least. If not, it’s not for lack of effort. Man am I tired of fighting with the tests to make them do what I want.

Still need to add tests for the mailers, but that can wait until tomorrow.

On top of tests, logging in should be a bit smother if you accidentally get yourself logged out mid stream, and you are now provided a sign in / sign up link when reading a story as a guest.

Up until now, I’ve been relying on my keen eye and few users to ensure that everything is working ok.

No more!

The first batch of tests are now in place, and I’d like to have all of the current features tested for all user types by the end of the week.

Once that’s all done, it’s on to starting feature 2. Next feature gets tests as it goes though. Doing them after the fact is a bit of a pain.

I did a bunch more things you won’t see today, but  I also added something that you will. Emails on updates.

Every time you edit a story point that isn’t your own (which you can do as the story owner), an email is sent to the creator with the changes.

And this isn’t a “new” feature, but if you set your story to “No” for the “Public?” option, it will only be visible by you, and any administrators (just me so far).

Lastly, I think I have the rack issue sorted out. Took a lot longer to figure out than I expected, and I’m still not sure it’s fixed yet. Time will tell though.

Feature 1b is complete. Every time a new story point is added to a story, an email will now be sent out to all participants in the story.

As an added bonus, I think I’ve found a font I’m happy with for the story text.

Before I get to the next feature, I’ve got a lot of back end work that needs to be done.

I’ll keep you posted.