Blog Stage 2 questions : Mikhail's technical Answers:
STEVE: From another development group trying to provide a bid. Mikhail, most of
these questions need to be answered by you I think...
- Which Java version is being used on the project? 1.4 ?
1.4 but I'm sure it will work on 1.3 too.
- What is the webserver name and version for JSPs?
Tomcat 3.3.1, so it's JSP 1.1.
- What is the application server name and version for the Beans?
I didn't use EJB, i.e. Beana is just java class that implements database
interaction for a table.- Can we develop our work off-line, i.e.. can we replicate the current
system structure here to develop the work locally and then send the
final version?Of course, it's possible and it's preferable. All they will need is Apache
1.3.x + Tomcat 3.3.x + PostgreSQL 7.2.3 and even Tomcat + PostgreSQL would
be enough for development purposes.- Can we have the database schema diagram?
Of course, I'll include it in the Email-to-Blog docs.
- If we need access to the database, how would this take place
(locally/remote)?All the development tasks can be performed with the locally installed
database server, so no need to access database at Liquid server.MINOR SUGGESTION:
Regarding e-mail parsing attachments, the format proposed for the files
that will be stored at the server through FTP is:
03apr12-filename.jpg
But we would recommend the following format to provide a better lexical
order:
030412-filename.jpgI think it doesn't matter because FTP folders won't be browsed directly.
Blog messages will contain links to the files on FTP server.ADMIN
- The subdomain http://username.invisiblerevolution.net/admin is created
automatically by the server or this has to be done programmatically?I wouldn't recommend to use the subdomain approach (too many configuration
issues will be involved). Maybe http://www.invisiblerevolution.net/~username
would be sufficient.WEB
- What type of images need to be resized?Frode: Do they really need to be resized?
- There is no current way to automatically resize for movies, correct?
I guess so.
STEVE: If this is ok, I assume the information is still as follows...
Let me know if it has changed.I didn't change it.
2.. It is not quite clear for the moment, if the INPUT part is already
realized or not. And if it is realized, how it is done - with or without
the attachments parsing support?STEVE: Mikhail, I assume this will be part of your blog description
tomorrow, so maybe we can wait till then?No attachment parsing so far. And yes, I'll explain the "INPUT part"
implementation in the "Email-to-Blog" docs.3.. What formats of attachments are to be supported by e-mails
(graphics, video:)?STEVE: I assume that different types of attachments will have to be handled
differently by the blog viewer; if so, then we'll need a list and
directions for each type (sound, video, pictures, pdfs, etc.).I think "pictures" can be showed in document inline, other file types should
be represented as links to the target file.4.. How does the BLOGROLL work? Should a user download the OPML file
to the server so that it can be processed? Or the BLOGROLL is to be
processed in some other way?No OPML. Our Email-to-Blog is not a common blog. We are not harvesting
blogs, we are creating blogs by ourselves. We have the admin panel that
allows us to create/modify blogs.5.. Is it required to develop the RSS? If YES, could you please
specify more exactly how it should be realized?STEVE: I thought you covered this well on your pages, Frode, so I'm not
sure if I understand this question.I think they will have to create a servlet that will convert the blog
messages stored in database table into RSS format. At least was planning to
do so.P.S. That was just my technical thoughts. Frode will correct my if I've
tampered his initial ideas.
Blog Stage 2 questions : Frode's Answers & Comments:
MINOR SUGGESTION:
Regarding e-mail parsing attachments, the format proposed for the files
that will be stored at the server through FTP is:
03apr12-filename.jpg
But we would recommend the following format to provide a better lexical
order:
030412-filename.jpgI think it doesn't matter because FTP folders won't be browsed directly.
Blog messages will contain links to the files on FTP server.Fine by me.
ADMIN
- The subdomain http://username.invisiblerevolution.net/admin is created
automatically by the server or this has to be done programmatically?I wouldn't recommend to use the subdomain approach (too many configuration
issues will be involved). Maybe http://www.invisiblerevolution.net/~username
would be sufficient.I agree. Silly idea to start with.
WEB
- What type of images need to be resized?Frode: Do they really need to be resized?
Yes. Only jpg's though
- There is no current way to automatically resize for movies, correct?
I guess so.
No need.
2.. It is not quite clear for the moment, if the INPUT part is already
realized or not. And if it is realized, how it is done - with or without
the attachments parsing support?STEVE: Mikhail, I assume this will be part of your blog description
tomorrow, so maybe we can wait till then?No attachment parsing so far. And yes, I'll explain the "INPUT part"
implementation in the "Email-to-Blog" docs.3.. What formats of attachments are to be supported by e-mails
(graphics, video:)?STEVE: I assume that different types of attachments will have to be handled
differently by the blog viewer; if so, then we'll need a list and
directions for each type (sound, video, pictures, pdfs, etc.).I think "pictures" can be showed in document inline, other file types should
be represented as links to the target file.This is covered in the documantation now: Emails will be able to include attached images, which will be parsed and put into the blog in the same location they appear in the email. Unless the user has set a preference for the attachments to appear as a list of links only. The images will be processed to be 75 pixels tall (max) and when clicked on, open the original file/image in a new window. The only supported initial format is JPG.
If movies are smaller than 160 by 120 then they will be shown inline with autoplay=false. If they are bigger, they will be listed at the end of the post as an attachment.
Other attachments will appear at the end of the email as a link - they will not be inline.
As for RSS, the images will only appear as links in the RSS feed.
4.. How does the BLOGROLL work? Should a user download the OPML file
to the server so that it can be processed? Or the BLOGROLL is to be
processed in some other way?No OPML. Our Email-to-Blog is not a common blog. We are not harvesting
blogs, we are creating blogs by ourselves. We have the admin panel that
allows us to create/modify blogs.We have no blogroll, so this would be done from scratch, possibly simply as a list of URL's the user specifies, nothing automatic. I haven't even specified where this should go so this is not a high priority for stage 2. Sorry for the confusion!
5.. Is it required to develop the RSS? If YES, could you please
specify more exactly how it should be realized?STEVE: I thought you covered this well on your pages, Frode, so I'm not
sure if I understand this question.I think they will have to create a servlet that will convert the blog
messages stored in database table into RSS format. At least was planning to
do so.Yes, this is the way to go. As for which RSS flavour, I suggest, 2.0 but I'm willing to listen.
P.S. That was just my technical thoughts. Frode will correct my if I've
tampered his initial ideas.It's all good. :-)
On Sunday, June 22, 2003, at 04:30 pm, Steve Schmidt wrote:
Q: What browsers should be supported by the WEB-site?
Good question. Mozilla ones primarily, like Safari on the Mac, and Explorer. No old browsers need concern us.
Q: Will there be one Admin for all the system and this Admin administers
everything?No.
If so, is it required to realize the functionality described
in the ADMIN part, which grants users with rights of message editing and
chosing the journal appearance?No. Appearance editing is not required for now.
Editing would be nice, but unless you can do it easily and quickly, then it's a Stage 3 feature. Sorry for the confusion here.
Q: When can we get the document describing the current system?
[Mikhail's doc]Wed/Thu.
Q: Is it required to develop the BLOGROLL that is described in the point
"Stage 2 Spec"? If yes, please provide us with some more information of
how it should be done.No.
Q: If RSS is required, could you please specify more exactly how the
blog messages should be converted into the RSS format and how it should
be processed then?Don't know. 'Normal' Blog style. We'll need to do that same as other blog services which allows their RSS feeds to be aggregated.
Blog Stage 2 questions : Final questions before the new team starts
Here you go:
On Thursday, July 10, 2003, at 09:06 am, Steve Schmidt wrote:
Analyzing the final documentation, my programmers
raised a few more doubts/issues:1) The JPEG images need to be pre-processed into
another thumbnail file or should it just be
dynamically re-scaled using HTML width and height
parameters?I would much prefer scaled, so that the page won't be too heavy. Please tell me how much this would add to the cost. Only JPG, and only one type of JPG would be used.
2) What movie formats can be attached in a message?
How should we find out if the movies is smaller than
120x160? By processing it (more costly) or are there
any parameters in the e-mail message?I can promise to only send one type of movie at this stage, so don't worry about anything for this one. If there is a movie, list it under 'attached' to open in a new window. I will be my responsibility to make sure no-one uses a silly format at this stage.
3) How should Blogroll be implemented? I´ve read
somewhere in the past that we could leave this for
phase 3? Is this still the case?Don't need one :-)
4) There are missing specs in the RSS feed. Questions
such as where to post the RSS files and how to manage
the RSS sources (through the admin interface?) are a
few that my programmers raised.No idea. It will be as simple as possible. Real RSS support is not needed at this stage. We just need to be able to say we support it and let someone come get it if they want to, including an aggregator. So if we can ping them, great, but even though this is a blog, it's still mostly for internal testing and viewing at this stage, so it's not something we need to worry about much. Please give me your suggestions as to how to simplify this part of the project.
Anyway, I believe that none of the points above should
have a big impact on the overall project spec. Maybe
the Blogroll feature is the most complex, and in that
case we would further look into it.So it's good we're not doing it then :-)