[REBOL] Re: Wanted: a Libmaster - no pay, but glory
From: jason:cunliffe:verizon at: 15-Sep-2002 16:46
> Python has 'The Vaults of Parnassus': http://www.vex.net/parnassus/
> Perl has CPAN: http://www.cpan.org/
> Ruby has a few links at: http://www.rubycentral.com/links/index.html
> Euphoria has a simple archive at: http://www.rapideuphoria.com/archive.htm
Zope has 'ZopeLABS': http://www.zopelabs.com/
Digital Photography has http://dpreviews.com <==AWESOME good for content,
features navigation and smart fast friendly HTML.
Its useful to evaluate various features and criteria. 'Submit' and 'Community'
are two important ones...here's my 0.02 for 3 sites I know and use.
hth
./Jason
===============================================
PYTHON
> Python has 'The Vaults of Parnassus': http://www.vex.net/parnassus/
Great site!
- Integrity: 100% Developed in Python for Python.
- Navigation:
Fast and easy to navigate. Helped by clear colored hyperlink styling. Especially
the 'bread-crumb' -style path on top left of every page. Easy to see where you
are and jump back up the tree.
- Structure:
The site is not a home but a super directory. I believe the 'Vaults of
Parnassus' database only holds pointers to module home pages and a little
metadata needed. Does not store sources.
- Database: not known
- Search:
Search is quick and useful. Available 24/7 every page
- URL accuracy:
This one area the Vaults could be improved a little. Since the site is just a
directory for many external websites, it is hard to catch and store a URL
reference on the site itself. An obviously it is not intended to be used like
that. For example, the GAMES page is
http://py.vaults.ca/parnassus/apyllo.py/238168060
There's an entry "Crystal Space
0.14 - A free portable 3D engine written in C++, with python scripting
support. <more>"
When you roll the mouse over it shows the link for 'Crystal Space' as
http://py.vaults.ca/apyllo2.py/66090028
but clicking on it will redirect your browser to its source forge home at
http://crystal.sourceforge.net/
- Submit:
Submit page is very simple. Nice option to autopost announcement to Python
newsgroup.
http://py.vaults.ca/submit/
- Community:
One-to-many model. 'The Vaults' are the *essential* contributed software
resource of the python universe. But apart from submission form, there is no
direct community activity, threaded comment, notes of feedback etc. All that is
done on comp.lang.python and/or emails to authors or in local forums organized
by the authors on their own sites.
- Design:
Simple distinctive 'gothic' concept. Minimal graphics to keep it swift and
focused, but a little design thought goes a long way. Very legible.
- Printing:
[important to test and consider this. sorry no printer available right now.]
- Authoring:
One person design built and maintains.
- Favorite feature:
'Latest' tab at the top. Best way I know to find out anything that's hot AND
usable in Python.
- Performance:
Usually fast and very well maintained. Periodically off-line. There were
database/server access problems occasionally in the past. That has been fixed
now I think. Occasionally referred off-site links are down or dead [not the
fault of Parnassus]. Over time these are flagged and corrected.
===============================================
ZOPE
> Zope has 'ZopeLABS': http://www.zopelabs.com/
Integrity: 100% Developed in Zope for Zope.
- Navigation:
fast with multiple links. Typically not more than 3 clicks away from anything.
- Structure:
Simple tabs/menu built around a growing cookbook metaphor with related news and
fast multiple indexes based on category, age, and popularity.
- Database: ZODB, Zope's own built-in object database.
- Search:
- URL accuracy:
Good. By database id number. Zope publish everything in its ZODB as a URL.
For example: http://www.zopelabs.com/cookbook/1014075524
- Community:
Participatory. Strong community resource among several. Registration +
membership login unlock submissions, comments etc. That applies an intrinsic set
of Zope features for handling fine-grained control of logins, sessions and
permissions
- Design:
slightly cluttered minimal graphics, but very rich fast access from multiple
places to the same information. Nice colored syntax.
[note: TO my knowledge, There are no beautiful looking Zope sites -- all built
by ultrageeks for ubergeeks. Zope is not artist-friendly. If only.. ]
- Printing:
[important to test and consider this. sorry no printer available right now.]
- Authoring:
One person design built and maintains. Zope has step learning curve. The site is
both a way to give back to the community and a hands-on experimental
learning/development project. Active site-membership and strong mailing list
helps this. Zope changes constantly, so does the engineering supporting the
site. A good demonstration of Zope, which was designed to do just this kind of
dynamic web publishing.
- Performance: Good.
===============================================
REBOL
===============================================
http://www.reboltech.com/library/library.html
Integrity: uncertain.. The website surely uses some REBOL but no indication of
how and where is given. Even if all sort of cool REBOL scripts are used to
generate these pages, the end result is very poor self presentation of REBOL
capabilities. Missed opportunity! The good news - it's easily remedied.
- Navigation:
Very crude:-( Too many clicks. No feedback. Depends heavily on browser 'back'
button.
The library might benefit from a unique server alias, such as
http://library.rebol.com
- Structure: Flat HTML c.1993 Based on simple categories.
- Database: not known
- Search:
None!!!! REBOL home page has a general search to get you one of many site pages,
but nothing better focused than that for the library. Once on a page, you can
use browser's own 'find' tool to zero in.
- URL accuracy:
Good. By regular text name. An old trusted advantage of raw minimal HTML site
design is that every script can be referenced reliably by a unique static URL.
Ironically, dynamic sites often have to work much harder to generate simple
unique urls which can be reused by people for linking to their content. Here
see for example: http://www.reboltech.com/library/html/timewebs.html or
http://www.reboltech.com/library/scripts/timewebs.r
That's great, because once found, you can tell someone fairly reliably where to
get it another time.
Unfortunately, there is no cross-link on the HTML version to the source file
%timewebs.r
- Submit: None. Since REBOL/View/Desktop is the proposed platform, the web
presence for REBOL library is minimal. Through /View Desktop there is another
community potential demonstrated, but
still lacks essential features to be seriously useful. Both rebsites and the
website lack feedback, search and versatile indexing tools.
- Community:
None. Lacks any on-site commentary, support, notes, stats or examples. Depends
on mailing list.
- Design:
Clean minimal sans serif. Legible. More or less consistent with rebol docs and
VID stuff. Black brown typography with duck-egg blue background highlight bars.
- Printing: [important to test and consider this. sorry no printer available
right now.]
- Favorite feature:
REBOL scripts are so small, and you can just cut'n'paste them right into the
shell from a web page to run them. Yes!
- Performance: Fast because it is simple.
Your turn...
- Integrity:
- Navigation:
- Structure:
- Database:
- Search:
- URL accuracy:
- Submit:
- Community:
- Design:
- Printing:
- Favorite feature:
- Performance:
./Jason
