Comatose

Version 0.8.1 Released

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 00:00:00 +0000

I know it's been a long time coming, but here it is: Comatose 0.8.1!

Over the next few days, I'll be transitioning from RubyForge over to Google Code and Google Groups please start using them for reporting bugs and such.

Here are the important URLs:

I've also updated the docs to reflect the new 0.8+ way of doing things. They'll wind up on the wiki so that they'll be easily maintained by all.

From the changelog:

All includes and helpers are loaded at the end of the ComatoseController and ComatoseAdminController classes
Fixed the ComatoseController#show action to correctly send an HTTP status of 404 even if it finds, and renders, a page at '/404'
Fixed the migration to default a page's full_path to '' instead of null
Formalized ComatoseDrops. Use Comatose.define_drop "drop_name", do ... end. Every method within that block should return a value for use with a Liquid and/or ERB template. Usage in a comatose page: {{ drop_name.def_name }}
Added support for a config.after_setup block that gets called after Comatose is setup (in the Dispatcher#to_prepare event)
Added HTML comment output for calls that result in a method_missing on the ProcessingContext
Updated page tree to remember collapsed/expanded nodes between page visits
Fixed some errors that were caused by null revisions (usually happened after initial installation)
Added my javascript test_runner lib for testing slugs generated by JavaScript. More JS tests to come.
Bugfix #8640 (rubyforge bug)

And from Version 0.8 (the version before):

Now ONLY supports Rails 1.2 (not even tested in Rails 1.1)
New configuration system
DEFER_COMATOSE_LOAD is gone -- Using Dispatcher.to_prepare replaces it
You no longer extend the base classes to add functionality. You configure Comatose to include modules and send it symbols for providing said functionality. e.g. Comatose.config.includes << :authentication_system; Comatose.config.authorization = :require_login
The automatic loading of RAILS_ROOT/lib/comatose/*.rb files is NO longer supported.
In addition to mapping comatose_root in your routes.rb, you'll want to map.comatose_admin as well

DevSite Updated

Sun, 06 May 2007 00:00:00 +0000

There have been a noted lack of updates around here lately... Sorry about that. It's partially because I've been pretty busy, and partially because the tool I was using to maintain this site was rather cumbersome.

So, here's the new -- and easier to update -- development site!

In the next few days I'll be posting an update on version 0.8, and talk about where Comatose is heading from here. Stay tuned!

Another Day, Another Update: 0.7.1

Thu, 21 Sep 2006 00:00:00 +0000

As most of you will know, Comatose has been having a few problems co-existing with some kinds of plugins lately. The problems seem to be caused, at least in part, because the comatose controllers extend ApplicationController and therefore require the application.rb before the rest of the plugins load.

Plus, some plugins seem to take issue with any previous plugins defining an Active Record model before they’re loaded—very picky stuff.

To combat this, I’ve added a DEFER_COMATOSE_LOAD flag (it’s an ENVironment variable).

When the plugin initializes it will check the flag, if it’s set to true it won’t load the controllers or the models. You’ll tell Comatose to load at the bottom of your environment.rb file, which will load the controllers and models after the rest of your app.

By default, the flag is set to false for backward compatibility.

Test It Out!

So if you’ve been having problems using Comatose with other plugins, or applications, please give this version a shot.

After you’ve re-installed the plugin, just open your config/enviroment.rb and at the top, next to where the RAILS_ENV is set, add this:

ENV['DEFER_COMATOSE_LOAD'] = 'true'

Then, at the bottom of your enviroment.rb add:

Comatose.load

That’s it! Now Comatose will be loaded after the rest of your application which should make it work with most plugins and applications.

Update: Sean recommended this much improved method of enabling “compatibility mode”. Thanks!

DevBlog Update

Oh, I’ve tweaked the devblog feed, so this should be the last time you get all those duplicates in NetNewsWire—Hopefully. It’s funny, I don’t have that problem in NewsFire.

Comatose 0.7 Released!

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Comatose version 0.7 is ready to go! This release features:

Page versioning
Automatic loading of comatose extension scripts from RAILSROOT/lib/comatose/
And, of course, bug-fixes (previewing no longer modifies the page record -- that was a big bug that slipped through the cracks)

Page Versions

Only content fields are versioned, namely: title, body, slug, and keywords. Which is to say that they're the only ones, if changed, that will trigger the creation of a new version.

The versions view shows the current version on the left side, and the selected older version on the right. You can change which older version is shown, and mark the older one as the current version.

There's also a new database table to support all this so... You guessed it: A new migration. But it's still as easy as ever. If you're upgrading from version 0.6.9, you can run:

$ ./script/plugin remove comatose
$ ./script/plugin install comatose
$ ./script/generate comatose_migration --upgrade --from=0.6
$ rake migrate

That's it. If you're upgrading from an even older version, no big deal - just make sure and specify the version in the from parameter ( --from=#.#).

Versioning is supported using Rick Olsen's excellent acts_as_versioned library (included with Comatose).

Comatose Extension Scripts Folder

Comatose will now automatically load all *.rb files in the RAILS_ROOT/lib/comatose folder (if it exists). If you put your comatose-specific customizations, tags, and filters in that folder, then you won't need to muck around in your environment.rb file anymore.

Using Comatose With rForum

Thu, 31 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Several people have been reporting issues with rForum. The error messages can be a little deceiving, leading you to believe the error is in navbar.rb or a @Localization@ class.

Actually, the problem has to do with Rails' loading sequence. Plugin code is loaded before the application code. In some applications this can lead to problems.

So, you have two options for fixing the rForum problem.

Option One

Remembering that plugins are loaded alphabetically, we create a simple plugin that will load before Comatose that includes the appropriate rForum startup code.

In the console, enter:

./script/generate plugin 01_app_loader

It should spit out:

  create  vendor/plugins/01_app_loader/lib
  create  vendor/plugins/01_app_loader/tasks
  create  vendor/plugins/01_app_loader/test
  create  vendor/plugins/01_app_loader/README
  create  vendor/plugins/01_app_loader/Rakefile
  create  vendor/plugins/01_app_loader/init.rb
  create  vendor/plugins/01_app_loader/install.rb
  create  vendor/plugins/01_app_loader/lib/01_app_loader.rb
  create  vendor/plugins/01_app_loader/tasks/01_app_loader_tasks.rake
  create  vendor/plugins/01_app_loader/test/01_app_loader_test.rb

Then you open the vendor/plugins/01_app_loader/init.rb file and paste this into it:

require RAILS_ROOT + '/config/app'

That's it! It should work now, as you'd expect.

Option Two

Update the vendor/plugins/comatose/init.rb and add the same require RAILS_ROOT + '/config/app' to the very top of the file.

I don't really recommend this way, however. You'd have to redo it if you updated Comatose.

Notes

If you've already installed Comatose, you'll need to uninstall it before you create the new plugin. After you've pasted the startup code, you can re-install Comatose, generate the migration and go to town!

Oh, And I'm Back

Thu, 31 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0000

I forgot to mention, I made back from my vacation and seemingly requisite post-vacation sickness. For all you guys who kept an eye on the forums whilst I was away: Thanks! I really appreciate it.

I mentioned somewhere that there might be an asset manager in the next version of Comatose. While I did look into it, and had it mostly working, I've reconsidered. I think that an asset manager might make a good plugin of it's own, but it's probably too much for Comatose. It wouldn't feel quite so 'Micro'.

Revisions, however, are definitely on the list for version 0.7!