Super Puppy Search engine

[ttuuxxx]

There's a Puppy Linux who would like to stay anonymous who contacted me in private about a new puppy file search that he started creating. This is a mock-up of the Search engine so its not fully functional yet, but would like some feedback on it so he can improve the functions, Its php based. Keep in mind this is a demo and not full working model yet.
ttuuxxx

http://pcreviews.110mb.com/demo.php

[paulh177]

It's a "Jackson Pollock" approach to web-design.

I just looked at it and closed it, because I couldn't see where to start or how it was supposed to help me, plus it just gave me a headache

I appreciate that someone is being enthusiastic and wants to help and support Puppy, but it really is terrible

[ttuuxxx]

It's a "Jackson Pollock" approach to web-design.

I just looked at it and closed it, because I couldn't see where to start or how it was supposed to help me, plus it just gave me a headache

I appreciate that someone is being enthusiastic and wants to help and support Puppy, but it really is terrible

OMG you didn't just say that, man talking about crushing the poor guys feelings, so basically what your saying in a nutshell is that the user interface is confusing and needs to be more simplified.
ttuuxxx

[paulh177]

My comments are not an attack on the individual concerned ttuuxxx but my honest response.

[Pizzasgood]

Woah, somebody just discovered CSS
No offense or anything. After all, I really can't talk. (For the new people, that was a boot screen I put together several years ago, that was actually used in an official version or two of Puppy. People started complaining about it being too scary so it was removed. )

Actually, that site isn't so bad once your eyes adjust. In fact, one of the things that bugs me about the net is how much all the sites look the same. Blue blue blue blue blue. And a dash of gray, then more danged blue. So his site is refreshing in that it throws all that down the toilet and lookes different for a change.

(I try to combat this myself by giving my own website a forested look.)

[Lobster]

People have different ideas of what is pleasing to the eye.
Confusion is confusing

For me the effort would be to simplify
colours and text
Simplify the site
- what are you trying to do?

Make it clear and simple enough for a 6 year old - someone
with dementia and visual impairment

That is hard to achieve
but it is the way forward
Look at Google and look how many search engines use that simplicity
Advanced search engine
means search and options

The potential is there.
Good luck

[HairyWill]

Jackson Pollock (January 28, 1912 – August 11, 1956) was an influential American painter and a major force in the abstract expressionist movement.

I wouldn't mind my work being compared with his

This is a mock-up of the Search engine so its not fully functional yet,

I have spent several minutes trying to get it to produce some results. As far as I can tell it is not functional at all. I don't really understand how the interface should be used. If some of the search options were functional it would be easier to offer suggestions on making the user interface more intuitive.

[J-Bob]

No offense or anything. After all, I really can't talk. (For the new people, that was a boot screen I put together several years ago, that was actually used in an official version or two of Puppy. People started complaining about it being too scary so it was removed. )

I don't think it's scary. I think it's very fitting for Puppy Linux. But i could help with a couple of things.

My guess, is that it was a 16 colour bootscreen for syslinux. Or was their something else involved.

I could always edit it to make make it less scary, and in fact, tolerable by those who did find it scary.

What do you think of this PG.

- J-Bob

[gorlewskik]

Dear Esteemed Veterans of this Forum,

ttuuxxx has convinced me to loose my anonymity and post on this forum. I have nothing to loose as there seems to be confusion as to purpose of my mockup 'demostration' page that I was excited to private message ttuuxxx about and ttuuxxx took the liberty of initially posting about.

My idea and hope is to develop an advanced search engine tied to a database either from scratch or using the Drupal content management system. The below are some of the features that I would like. I know that this kind of thing has been posted on the forum before, but at least I have taken the liberty to do something about it, hence my template webpage.

My frustration is that people are not aware that there are many types of programs you can install on puppy from the languages listed below. There are even commercial programs that nobody seems to know about that work on puppy linux. Hence, I would like to make a software directory where developers can post details about there software about their program. I do not aim to host files, but simply link a download to the description.


Limit By ...
only 'official' (default)
only 'unofficial'
* officially supported
* C
* C++
* Puppy Basic
* MurgaLua
* Tcl/Tk
* Shell Scripting (Bash, Ash)
-- unofficially supported
-- PHP
-- PHP-GTK
-- Python
-- Perl
-- Java
-- DosBox Program
-- Wine Program

I also want to be able to filter from where the package was derived. This is an excellent way to have more control as to knowing where the package came from and the history about it.

Limit By ...
has screenshot
is missing license
is LGPL

is GPL
is commercial
is other license
is pet package
is pup package
is Debian DEB sourced
is Slackware TGZ sourced
is Fedora RPM sourced
is Slax Module sourced

is source code sourced

Some other features I want are.

1. Tutorials per program
2. Reviews per program
3. Screenshots per program
4. Bug Reports per program
5. Installation Instructions per program
6. Useful links per program
7. md5 checksums
8. mirror urls

I also want a way to mass import software data into the database so I can quickly get the website up and running without the tedious submission of data through website forms.

Writing a script to insert sql statements from a huge list of software meta data is what I am thinking to do to do the initial import the long list of existing download urls into into my database. It will take awhile, but it would be worth it.

I just wanted to say, I am not a veteran at this forum and actually I am an inactive user, so forgive me if my enthusiam is rash. I wrote my template mockup over a year ago while locked in a room for 24 hours. I designed it all out on paper before I coded it into html and php. My idea was to have a console with ugly colors or beautiful depending on your tastes, with hidden functionality that would overwhelm the new user and drive away people that would not take puppy linux seriously I am half way joking in that last sentence. I want to improve my design so it is appealing to everybody while not loosing my unique ideas.

Khan

[gorlewskik]

I just thought about it. There is a website called the CakePHP rapid php development framework. It will solve having to code from scratch the interior mysql queries, the external forms, and the authentication system. It should take me several days of my precious time. That is part of the game of development, you have to piece things together. I decided to do this template mockup to inspire me before I start any real coding, please say something nice so I do it. I really need support here and not people poking fun at my choice of colors or disfunctional proposal page. Well, I know it was no harm. I just am timid that is all. I don't like putting my work in public ... but I am not sure this was a mistake to pull this design of mine out of the attic. I still think it is fun to find software and put it into a website with a screenshot. A premium selection of eccentric software for puppy linux. I don't have time to include all the software in my proposed website. It could turn into something big if I design it right or it could die in its tracks. I hope to make a feature for people to login and submit software titles of their own. That is the goal. To make it automated so everybody is sharing the work to make a great resource. I spent an hour looking from scripts premade that would meet the requirements I am looking for, but most of them don't have abilities to customize the fields to the extent that I am proposing. I want to be able to search by programming language, operating system version 3.xx, 4.xx, 2.xx etc. and a myriad of other options. I feel that sometimes it is nice to have the search functions exact and not just general. This is enough writing for now. I am just brainstorming and hoping for some encouragement from other people.

[Pizzasgood]

I used CakePHP all summer during my internship. I was impressed. It took me a little while to get into the proper mindset for it, but once I did it was pretty nice. The main problem with it is that it made me hungry

That site seems to grow on you (or on me anyway). I think the main thing that bothers me is the different background color on the links. I'm used to seeing them not have a different background from everything else, so when they do it looks weird to me.

@J-Bob: That's okay, it didn't bother me. After I realized how much it bugged people I made this one to replace it.

[gorlewskik]

I started a more functional version of my software directory script using a more boring Drupal CMS. I have not yet offered this website to the public to see yet. It is not online. just my genius advanced search idea everyone has seen and is online at the link in the first post in the thread by ttuuxxx.

However, when exploring how Drupal searches for information, I found that it didn't meet my need for a software directory that can be customized, customized,customized. In this way drupal is not so good. This does not mean Drupal can not be used for some need though.

Tonight, I have discovered CakePHP offers such a solution to searching because it is by its nature flexible and a custom solution to my needs. There is a module called Drake which integrates Drupal and CakePHP together. This way, I can have the best of both worlds, both a dynamic browsing/searching 'mess of controls' and some kind of cms.

I will spare you all the details, because they have yet to be worked out, but the basic idea is to have on the front page an advanced search engine and then for the template, use a drupal theme. Of course, I would still use some of the design of my demo.php script that everyone has seen, but it all has to be worked out to see if it is feasible. I have faith in my potential to possibly do this, but I can not make promises to any people about this.

I have high hopes that something will come out of this, some kind of benefit, if even just an idea for later use.

I am still not sure CakePHP has the searching feature I need, however, time will tell and if I am flexible there will appear some some solution eventually.

To remind people. I am not planning to host downloads, but just make descriptions of each program, with its puppy compatibility, screenshot, etc, etc, with a link to its download. Make sense? The advanced searching feature will be why I am making the website and plus there really needs to be a website with screenshots of Puppy Linux Programs in an intuitive to browse way. I am thinking that there are some great sites out there, but none that really have the required meta data to facilitate a great search, like at softpedia.com or freshmeat.net, etc,etc ...

[Flash]

I only looked at it for a little while, but I liked that all the choices seemed to be right there on one page, as opposed to having choices that don't appear until you execute.

[raffy]

Would you like to start from the help page of Puppy Linux (get it from a running Puppy Linux)?

I understand that searches work best if you start from "simple search", then have a button that opens "advanced search".

If you wanted to categorize everything and provide clickable categories, then perhaps we mean a website and not merely a search page.

Hope that helps - try to see the puppylinux.org/wiki for some categories.

[Lobster]

Searching . . .
http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=01599 ... bvzbibgzxo
http://wellminded.com/puppy/pupsearch.html
http://pupweb.org/wikka/PuppyLinuxSearchEngine

[gorlewskik]

I can fine tune the final product one I get coding, but I am aiming at a website with interactivity and not just one search page. I fear that we are getting hung up on the search aspect of it, however unique my idea was for the search categories. The real idea is to have a software directory with screenshots per program and reviews per program and then afterwards a download to that program.

Us veterans know our software, but newbie's to puppy linux would benefit from a site similar to other software directories that are for other operating systems. I want to fill a niche.

I searched for some ready made software directory scripts that are free...

http://www.esoftscript.com/index.php?pag=comparasion
http://dragonflycms.org/Downloads/details/id=174/

The first one has features I like, but the second one is good also. I have tested out the dragonfly cms and it works well, but I thought I would consider writing my own script with the help of some framework. As a failsafe if I get over my head coding something unique, I can always resort to using one of the generic solutions outlined in the urls just above.

I am just letting you know what I found. Lets consider that I want to make review website and not just duplicate the file lists that are already found for pet packages on the internet that often have mediocre descriptions to them. I want screenshots. Lots of them! and developer urls, author name's license type, etc, etc

[gorlewskik]

I have worked hard and have a custom form to facilitate uploads with meta data. Any comments. I attached the picture to this post. I just wanted to show off my hard work. I am closer to making this a reality.

[Lobster]

It seems clear and obvious.
Will you be running it from the Puppy website?
http://www.puppylinux.org/