RichRock : Running Free

NOTE - this applies to the Joomla 1.0.x series, as I am not actively developing on 1.5 yet.

This will be a short series of tips and tricks to help optimise Joomla for various applications. The first tip is this:
Modify. Careful planning and execution can lead to a site that is set apart from the generic ‘copied the template, changed the images’ type of site. There will probably always be a difference between graphics and programming, and you can nearly always tell the programmer’s sites - they are poor in graphical terms. But this should not always be the case. I am fortunate enough to have a graphics guy who does the hard creative side, I just sit there and make the site work. Like this morning, I have edited the mod_login.php to reflect the design of the site, not to just put the module in there. It is already unique, and I haven’t even applied CSS styling to it yet! So look at the module code when you’re developing those templates, think about what it would look like if for example, Login and register were on the same line, or reversed…

Next: Actual code examples - a modified Login Form for Joomla

That’s right - richrock is never a static dude. The Wordpress blog will soon be going, or at least changing into a fully fledged Content Management system. As I am starting to do dev work in PHP and Joomla, I will be releasing a couple of modules, the first is planned to be a drop-down specific search system, using the access to the MySQL database to dynamically create fields. It also means you can register to receive updates, I’ll have more flexibility with the layout as well.
I’ve got the ideas in my mind, so this won’t happen quickly but it will be started real soon.

Thank you. Why? In the two weeks I’ve been online as richrock.co.uk, I have had very nearly 170 visitors. Wow. I’m 3rd in Google if you search for Richrock. Okay, richrock might be a slightly specific search term, but I’m getting results. Search Optimisation is the future dude.
If I look at my old blogspot site, which I tried to ‘optimise to hell’ as my work colleague would put it, it never worked. Changing to Wordpress was a smart move. Next step is to provide a visually unique site, not dependent on anyone’s template but my own. This one I use at the moment is nice, Redoable by www.deanjrobinson.com is pretty cool though. I have used some other trick to get myself up the top of the lists. I’ll be continuing to work on this as my skills improve in SEO.

Well, finally, the weekend is here. I’m sitting here in front of my PC, listening to some mixes by Jonah and Gabriel, you can check em out at http://stickybeatz.com/wordpress/ for the awesome funky/tech/house mixes they post online. My favourite at the moment is Stickybeatz Volume four, about 37 minutes in. There’s an awesome tune that still gives me goosepimples!
Anyway, the babe came over tonight, we watched some Simpsons, had dinner together, and just talked about a few things I’m not going to type here. That was cool, great even. Got to go and photograph some hedgehogs tomorrow afternoon, but before that, my favourite weekend activity (church excepted) - Mountain Biking!! There should be a group of us, so that will be good. It’ll be good for me if this blooming headache goes away!
The nervous thing is that I’m meeting the girlfriend’s parents this weekend. That could be interesting, and we’ll see what happens. My parents seem to have taken to my babe, and they ask after her, how she’s doing. They’ll probably get her something for her birthday no doubt. It’s something of an occasion for me to have a girlfriend, so I’m sure they’ll do something. No worries if they don’t, but that’s my personal hunch. If my parents are reading this, don’t stress about that last part!!
Today in work was cool, just trying to figure out some custom code to do dynamic dropdown searches on specific table entries in MySQL. What do you mean that’s easy? Try that with someone who’s had to do a ‘Teach Yourself PHP in 24Hours!” in order to figure this out. One day I’m sure I’ll be figured out for a sham. I’m not a trained Web Developer, but I’ve self-taught myself what I needed to know. It’ll be interesting meeting one of our clients soon - he’s a Linux user! Hurrah! My first real contact with another human who uses Linux. Although he was surprised that I use it for a desktop environment - he asked me if I did everything on the command line!! I said I do a fair bit there, but also a fair proportion graphically. That’s the beauty of Linux, especially Ubuntu - you can choose to do things the graphical way, or dive into the machine and command line it all the way.
Anyway, my beer’s finished, and I’m going to bed.

I’m out of the office tomorrow. Giving my first training session for the Joomla Content Management System tomorrow. Got to give four hours worth of presentation and activity to a small group, with a booklet I devised based around their site. Woah…

It’s been nearly three weeks of prep work on the manual alone, and also providing activities that will teach a certain level of self-sustainability to their website’s administration. It’s a bit of a bugbear with Content Management, it terms of trying to keep as much user friendliness as possible with what are potentially large and complex systems. The latest 1.5rc of Joomla is certainly a step in the right direction as regards to the back-end administration of the site, but it does mean I’ll have to write a new set of documentation!

Still, all going well, we will have achieved a major objective in our business, that is to provide quality CMS websites and also associated site-specific training and documentation, all in a single package. Did I mention we also do domains and web hosting too?

Being the creative poet type I am, here’s another poem:

The Evening.

The evening has drawn in
the light has faded
from the earth.

With the fading of light
comes coolness of night
to accompany dark.

Darkness now surrounds me
in full embrace, to give
me no vision.

Light is my only source
a constant reminder of what
my life really means.

In the light I fully see
what I am meant to be, a
disciple of the Word.