New Propeller Object Exchange
Jeff Martin
Posts: 758
Hello Propeller Community,
Over the past few days, the Propeller Object Exchange has moved from one server to another and we've completely replaced the framework upon which it is built.
The new Propeller Object Exchange is located at the same address you're used to:
Some screenshots are attached.
WHY WAS THIS DONE?
We took this action because the framework of the old Object Exchange was antiquated and became broken over time, preventing the system from working as it was intended, preventing us from being able to maintain it, and causing its usability to fall short of our expectations.
We've been working behind-the-scenes since March to create a new system that is much more maintainable and delivers additional features we could only dream of prior to this.
Besides replacing some broken core features with something that works, among the goals is to enable the system to foster a more "open source" kind of development per object. Features that support this will be coming soon; stay tuned.
WHAT ABOUT YOUR ACCOUNT AND OBJECTS?
Objects from the old Object Exchange have been transferred to the new Object Exchange and the author accounts associated with those objects have been recreated. The system will contact the account's noted email address to provide authors with a way to connect to their new account and create their password.
Any accounts not associated with a submitted object have been eliminated; in such a case, you'll have to recreate those accounts by registering on the new Object Exchange. This was done because spammers littered the old system with devious accounts to do their bidding and it's impractical for us to separate the bad from the good.
If you have any questions or problems, please email us at obex.support@parallax.com and we'll be glad to help you.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
The enhancement of the Propeller Object Exchange is a work-in-progress planned to be implemented in phases. We consider this an "open beta" of phase 1 of the new Propeller Object Exchange. We will continue to add enhancements for look and function over the coming weeks; however, our first priority is to ensure that the existing objects were transferred over properly and that the core functionality is working correctly.
Please let us know if you notice any problems, and expect to see new graphics and new features arrive on the site frequently as we enter phase 2.
FEATURES:
Here are just a few of the features of our new Propeller Object Exchange.
Some of these features are not yet implemented, but will appear as soon as they are ready.
HOW DO I USE THE NEW OBJECT EXCHANGE?
Note: Some features will be enhanced as we continue to build the new exchange; the steps to use them may change accordingly but should be mostly intuitive.
Over the past few days, the Propeller Object Exchange has moved from one server to another and we've completely replaced the framework upon which it is built.
The new Propeller Object Exchange is located at the same address you're used to:
Some screenshots are attached.
WHY WAS THIS DONE?
We took this action because the framework of the old Object Exchange was antiquated and became broken over time, preventing the system from working as it was intended, preventing us from being able to maintain it, and causing its usability to fall short of our expectations.
We've been working behind-the-scenes since March to create a new system that is much more maintainable and delivers additional features we could only dream of prior to this.
Besides replacing some broken core features with something that works, among the goals is to enable the system to foster a more "open source" kind of development per object. Features that support this will be coming soon; stay tuned.
WHAT ABOUT YOUR ACCOUNT AND OBJECTS?
Objects from the old Object Exchange have been transferred to the new Object Exchange and the author accounts associated with those objects have been recreated. The system will contact the account's noted email address to provide authors with a way to connect to their new account and create their password.
Any accounts not associated with a submitted object have been eliminated; in such a case, you'll have to recreate those accounts by registering on the new Object Exchange. This was done because spammers littered the old system with devious accounts to do their bidding and it's impractical for us to separate the bad from the good.
If you have any questions or problems, please email us at obex.support@parallax.com and we'll be glad to help you.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
The enhancement of the Propeller Object Exchange is a work-in-progress planned to be implemented in phases. We consider this an "open beta" of phase 1 of the new Propeller Object Exchange. We will continue to add enhancements for look and function over the coming weeks; however, our first priority is to ensure that the existing objects were transferred over properly and that the core functionality is working correctly.
Please let us know if you notice any problems, and expect to see new graphics and new features arrive on the site frequently as we enter phase 2.
FEATURES:
Here are just a few of the features of our new Propeller Object Exchange.
Some of these features are not yet implemented, but will appear as soon as they are ready.
- Redesigned download engine - Provides versioning control; now you can upload new versions of your object, note the version number, make notes about what changed, and users can see and download the latest or browse and download older versions. The version list will appear with the most recently uploaded file on top through the original uploaded file on the bottom.
- New integrated search engine - [to be included in Phase 2] - Searches object titles and descriptions, provides results with context samples ...and it will actually work (unlike our old Object Exchange)! Advanced search capabilities allow for more complex search strings and filtering.
- Group Membership - Multiple authors can contribute to the same object allowing for a better "open source" experience. The original author can invite others and give them permission to assist (or interested authors can request group membership from the original author).
- Private Group Forum - [scheduled for Phase 2] - Each object submission will contain a private group forum where group members for that object (see above) can discuss potential enhancements, work out issues, etc. This facilitates behind-the-scenes development for each object and is kept nicely paired with the related object.
- Embedded Video - Upload videos demonstrating your object to YouTube or Vimeo and link your submission to it; users can watch the video right into your object's details page on the Object Exchange.
- Top Lists - [scheduled for Phase 2] - These dynamic lists will appear on the homepage to indicate authors who have contributed to popular objects, objects that are currently popular, objects recently updated, and newly posted objects.
- Email Notifications - [scheduled for a later phase] - Configurable email notifications of activity with objects.
- Ratings and Comments - 1 to 5 star ratings and threaded comments allow users and authors to communicate publicly.
- Languages - Supports objects written in Spin, Propeller Assembly, Propeller C/C++, and PropBASIC. NOTE: Objects written using previous C compiler attempts have been removed from the object exchange as all future C/C++ based objects on the Obex Exchange are intended to use the Propeller C/C++ compiler tool set (PropGCC).
HOW DO I USE THE NEW OBJECT EXCHANGE?
Note: Some features will be enhanced as we continue to build the new exchange; the steps to use them may change accordingly but should be mostly intuitive.
- To Login to Your Existing Account - Wait for the auto-generated email from the new Object Exchange to be sent to you. Follow the instructions in that email. If you don't receive this email within 24-hours of this posting, please contact us at obex.support@parallax.com and we will assist you.
- To Register a New Account - Click the "Log In/Register" link below the Parallax logo. Follow the instructions it provides.
- To See and Edit your objects - Login with your user account (after you receive your auto-generated email from the new Object Exchange) and click on your user name (upper-left area of the any page); your objects will be listed first (in the "Group Membership" area). Click the desired object and click the Edit tab to make changes.
- To Find Any Existing Objects - Select a category from the menu near the top of the page, or select a category from the "Category" field and select the number of items to display from the "Project Per" field.
- To Search For Objects - Please be patient... the search field feature will be added as soon as possible.
- To Upload a New Object - Login with your user account, click the "Add Content" link in the upper-left of the page, choose either "Object..." or "Snippet..." and fill in the required fields.
1024 x 817 - 90K
1024 x 817 - 111K
Comments
Thanks,
http://obex.parallax.com/user/523/edit?pass-reset-token=127912519720431947
I think we need that.
Harprit
The requested page "/objects/nnn/" could not be found.
Those links work currently if you know to change obex to obexclassic, but Ken mentioned that obexclassic would only be around for a while.
Is there a way to cushion the transition for folks who use old forum posts to find a linked object? Such as, any call to OBEX/object/nnn is redirected to its new url?
Agreed. "To Search For Objects - Please be patient... the search field feature will be added as soon as possible."
This is on our list of things to address. We would like to restore that post date information; however, we've had to address many other things first.
We have a plan to address this; I think Bump will be posting the plan to this thread when he can.
Could you perhaps make a zip of all those files that you're not going to transfer over, and provide a download of them? They may have a useful algorithm or two.
In any case, I like the new Obex. The lack of search right now doesn't bother me: the old one didn't work at all, so this isn't any worse. And I like the new features (and the more professional look).
Or download count and other information. These very useful when trying to determine which if several objects to try.
I'm logged in an trying things out. Looks very sleek. I like the interface!
EDIT: I saw your post Jeff, downloads are probably in the same boat?
This does not seem to work. Clicking my name does nothing...
This is being worked out right now. Those of you with a single word display name are not being displayed at the moment. This will be adjusted soon.
Jeff
Jeff
Click does "nothing?" Not even refreshing the page or taking you to another where a Group Membership block appears?
A potential small feature I'd kind of appreciate would be an indicator stating how many concurrent cogs and object uses and approximate memory resources. There might not be room for such on the list page, but after drilling down to an object of interest, it'd kind of be nice to list that info towards the top. Of course, that would mean that each object would have to be evaluated. I suppose that many objects don't use any cogs (0 cogs) and many more just require one, but there are some that use multiple cogs, for example some video drivers. But even differentiating between zero cogs and one-or-more cogs is useful, considering cogs are limited resources in projects. Also, many objects depend on other objects, some of which use cogs, so maybe the cog count indicator could include those (or otherwise break them out).
Such a cog count is not a high priority, but I've noticed that, sometimes, even the author descriptions don't specify the number of cogs utilized, and one has to get into the code to figure that out (or make a guess). No, a cog count certainly isn't required, but considering that we're dealing with a marvellous multi-cog controller, maybe it would be a good idea and appear more professional, even if most objects would indicate zero or one cog(s). Determining the number of cogs needed for all the objects would be a bit tedius but seems quite doable. Determining demands on memory resources would probably be more daunting, so maybe just the basic info from the Prop Tool or similar could be provided (or nothing, as a cog count seems more significant).
Lastly, while the cog info (or memory demanded) isn't really needed needed on the listing page, such might be more useful than "Type," wherein most of items just say "Object Download." But again, I can see such information being more handy on the actual page for an object that a user has selected (i.e., shown specific interest in).
Congrats to the team on getting this up and running and doing so in a scalable way. I think the page looks professional, consistent with your theme (color scheme, style) of late.
Edit: Of course, in saying zero cogs, I mean not including the initial instance of the SPIN interpreter, which could be assumed to be running for the vast majority of programs.
P.S.: Thinking some more about this, I can see how such basic cog information could be useful to new (and not-so-new) users on getting a handle for how Propeller resources are utilized. Understandably, some newer users might be under the impression that every object takes a new cog, which is certainly not the case.
Jeff
Once you log in, click on your name and you should see a list of objects under "Group Membership".
Jeff
Thanks JRetSapDoog! We haven't considered such a thing for Obex, but we are currently revising the recommendations for creating objects to include such information in a standardized way. Stay tuned.
Have you tried the Propeller Tool's Info Display? Even if the object is part of a larger application, on the Info Display you can left-click on any object and it updates the memory display to show you it's specific metrics.
Jeff, clicking my name does nothing it is not a link (i.e. <a html anchor element), it is a <span element
Replicated the issue.. reported. Hang in there. we're in Beta for the moment.
Jeff
Okay, found the problem and I think we fixed it. Please verify.
Oldbitcollector, Bump and I were working on the problem at the same time your were duplicating and reporting it.
Great! Works now.
Thanks.
Yes we are planning both; a "better" search mechanism than ever before, and other features related to and in addition to "number of downloads" to help naturally differentiate the gems from the crowd.