@PaulWalters, I like the work done on Antonaya blog. It has great directions and could be a good starting place for someone wanting to make a blog. In the blog that I created, I was aiming for barebones simplicity. What you updated is better in the long run.
I have learned a lot from those places as well. However, I’ve gone down many dead ends with code that isn’t recommended any more.
I’m suggesting having 3-4 templates or examples or demos that are well cultivated to serve as the basis for someone learning TBX, but also to allow someone to start doing some work while they are in the process of learning. Looking at broken tbx’s can be useful, but for a new user it can be overwhelming.
I think it’s worth noting these simple general export examples which walk newcomers into the basic aspects of HTML export and which form the building blocks of more complex tasks like blogs.
I should explain the above 3 posts relate to an example TBX which is a (very!) preconfigured Tinderbox file for making a blog. There is a lot of detail, so it merits its thread. It could have gone in the Tutorials section but I put it in Export and figure it’s not worth moving again. Anyway, if interested in blog-type export, check out the BoxPress thread.
I’ve decided to go ahead a post the blog file I spoke about in my earlier post since it’s designed for a blog that is primarily for book/movie reviews and my commonplace book…which means it kind of hits the three initial suggestions launching this thread. I don’t see how it could be used as a template but maybe it has things in it that might serve to spark ideas for somebody? (who knows lol)
The caveats are: I don’t know HTML or CSS and built all of this by working with a couple books open to show me what to do. It works (or seems to so far) but it’s not necessarily pretty.
What I think is cool about it is:
the if^…^else^…^ export code for the various log templates that create brief sidebar descriptions for each post based on available attribute data
the way I’m managing images externally using child notes to generate the necessary <img> info and ^include()^ to place images within a note.
the category and link pages built up using basic links
The note called “Instructions” is actually my notes to myself: I wrote it so I don’t forget how things work and mess anything up as I get used to using it and, alas, didn’t take the time to update it beyond what I need to remember before posting here. And the RSS is a cut and paste from @mwra’s TbRef file with updated info. I haven’t taken the time to see if it works after my fiddling though. So probably best to ignore it.
This looks nice. I like the idea of notes as placeholders for external images. I’ll probably adopt that for aTbRef at some point as it makes it easier to use multiple images per HTML page. I’d probably go with a central container for all images as some get re-used to don’t have a single ‘parent’ note.
Anyway, a very interesting TBX with lots of detail - thanks for sharing.
You’ve hit on a couple factors that I think make these shared templates more useful:
Including liner notes, as it were, that explain what the template does, how it works, and possible gaps and improvements.
Refactoring the work of others
In my experience, these are two marks of a successful coding: it contains self-documentation, and it refactors proven patterns.
I like also that your template is straight forward and gets the job done. I enjoyed reading your instructions and the code itself. Sometimes in forums like this we find shared code that is so extremely densely packed and idiosyncratic that it is difficult to imagine ever learning from it.
** One minor glitch: over here the file complains that it is missing export template: /Templates/Web Site Template
Actually this points out something I hadn’t even thought to mention: I don’t upload everything that exports to the server. I need the index note and the contents of the posts container and the pages container. The style sheet is stable and already on the server. The images are in DevonThink and get uploaded from there.
So when I export I actually just grab the files/folders from the export files that I need and manually upload them to their server folders in a couple batches. It’s a bit more work, but not much.
Actually this points out something I hadn’t even thought to mention: I don’t upload everything that exports to the server. I need the index note and the contents https://legalsteroids.best/ legal steroids of the posts container and the pages container. The style sheet is stable and already on the server. The images are in DevonThink and get uploaded from there.
So when I export I actually just grab the files/folders from the export files that I need and manually upload them to their server folders in a couple batches. It’s a bit more work, but not much.
Yes, I realize that the Query/Action etc language in your file is in “English,” or rather an English-derived coding language. But En retard is too elegant not to adopt.
Sometimes in forums like this we find shared code that is so extremely densely packed and idiosyncratic that it is difficult to imagine ever learning from it.
