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GSoC 2010 - iDreamwidth Update
Hey Dreamwidth! This is Xerxes, one of the GSoC 2010 students at Dreamwidth, and I'm working on the mobile client for Dreamwidth, iDreamwidth for Apple's line of iOS devices. With the nearing of the end of summer and GSoC, I though it would be proper to give the community an update on the project.
What's iDreamwidth?
iDreamwidth is the mobile client for Dreamwidth on Apple's current line of iOS devices. The aim of the project is to provide users with an intuitive interface that will keep DW posters from having to keep pinching and expanding their web sites in MobileSafari and instead have them using a client application that will allow them posting easier as well as working on drafts offline. To give you a little more of an idea of what it looks like, I've provided a bit of a tour of the application below:
Guided Tour of iDreamwidth
When you open up the application, you are presented with the Desktop. The Desktop is pretty much the "Home Screen" for the application, from which you'll select what you'd like to do in iDreamwidth.
If this is your first time using iDreamwidth, you will need to enter in an account in order to utilize any of the functions. If you try to go to "New Entry" or "Journal", for example, you'll be given an alert that you do not have an account and the alert will automatically move you to the Accounts table view where you can add an account.
Adding an account is pretty much a simple process of selecting your account type (currently Dreamwidth is the only option, though LiveJournal will probably be added in there before release on the App Store since the change's to make the client compatible should be minimal), entering in your username, and setting in your password. This account information is saved for you and the password is stored into the iPhone keychain. You can add multiple accounts into iDreamwidth, but you must have at least one account to utilize any of the functions in the application. You can delete accounts from the application at any time by either swiping on them in the table view under Accounts or by going into the details of an account and selecting the Delete Account button.
Once you've filled in your account information, you can now head back to the Desktop and write your first post from an iOS device by going to "New Entry". New Entry's functionality is pretty much exactly what it says it is; this area of the app is used to write out your next epic saga for the journals of which you have access to from any of the accounts you've added into the Accounts earlier. You can cancel your session by clicking "Cancel" or save it as a draft by clicking "Save". At the bottom of the New Entry is a submission button that allows you to submit the post to the site.
The Journal tab is a listing of the last 25 entries that each of your accounts have made so that you can view these posts and edit them if needed. Looks pretty much like New Entry in terms of editing. The Journal will cache the entries to the device so that even if you lose the connection with the server, you'll be able to read and edit your Journal offline.
Drafts is also pretty straightforward; this provides a list of all the drafts that you have saved, either from "New Entry" or "Journal". You can go here and edit a draft and save or submit it.
Current Features
*Ability to post an entry
*Ability to save drafts (cached locally so as to be written even w/o an internet connection)
*Ability to view and edit the last 25 entries of each of your accounts journals (cached locally so they can be reviewed and edited offline)
*Ability to add, edit, and remove accounts
*Ability to read your Reading Page (cached locally for offline viewing)
Missing Features
*Can't write rich text entries (all in HTML mode right now)
*Auto-rotate is currently disabled
*Preview of entries before posting
*Pointing the client towards a non-DW site is currently disabled
Where This is Headed
At the moment, while iDreamwidth is functional in its current state, it does have bugs still. While I've considered starting the user testing phase since the basic functionality is in there and working, I've held off since I'd like to address a few more issues and give the application a little more polish before having test users donate their time and effort experimenting on the application.
Due to this, I estimate that those who've requested to test the software before submission to the App Store will be receiving a private email from me around August 30th on how to download and install a build of iDreamwidth to their iOS devices. This first rollout will be to those with iPhone and iPod Touch devices first (sorry iPad users!).
This week marked the end of the Google Summer of Code 2010. I will be submitting the application that was current at the hard pencils down date to Google per their code submission guidelines in the next week. While iDreamwidth is a product of the Google Summer of Code 2010, it is a personal project that I'm going to stick with and push onto the App Store this fall with the aim to support the client for at least one year after App Store release. I look forward to spending the next few weeks polishing it up (fixing bugs, adding missing features, getting some spiffy icons, etc) for such a release and expect that you'll be hearing from me again in two weeks or so as iDreamwidth begins user testing in preparation for App Store submission.
What's iDreamwidth?
iDreamwidth is the mobile client for Dreamwidth on Apple's current line of iOS devices. The aim of the project is to provide users with an intuitive interface that will keep DW posters from having to keep pinching and expanding their web sites in MobileSafari and instead have them using a client application that will allow them posting easier as well as working on drafts offline. To give you a little more of an idea of what it looks like, I've provided a bit of a tour of the application below:
Guided Tour of iDreamwidth
When you open up the application, you are presented with the Desktop. The Desktop is pretty much the "Home Screen" for the application, from which you'll select what you'd like to do in iDreamwidth.
If this is your first time using iDreamwidth, you will need to enter in an account in order to utilize any of the functions. If you try to go to "New Entry" or "Journal", for example, you'll be given an alert that you do not have an account and the alert will automatically move you to the Accounts table view where you can add an account.
Adding an account is pretty much a simple process of selecting your account type (currently Dreamwidth is the only option, though LiveJournal will probably be added in there before release on the App Store since the change's to make the client compatible should be minimal), entering in your username, and setting in your password. This account information is saved for you and the password is stored into the iPhone keychain. You can add multiple accounts into iDreamwidth, but you must have at least one account to utilize any of the functions in the application. You can delete accounts from the application at any time by either swiping on them in the table view under Accounts or by going into the details of an account and selecting the Delete Account button.
Once you've filled in your account information, you can now head back to the Desktop and write your first post from an iOS device by going to "New Entry". New Entry's functionality is pretty much exactly what it says it is; this area of the app is used to write out your next epic saga for the journals of which you have access to from any of the accounts you've added into the Accounts earlier. You can cancel your session by clicking "Cancel" or save it as a draft by clicking "Save". At the bottom of the New Entry is a submission button that allows you to submit the post to the site.
The Journal tab is a listing of the last 25 entries that each of your accounts have made so that you can view these posts and edit them if needed. Looks pretty much like New Entry in terms of editing. The Journal will cache the entries to the device so that even if you lose the connection with the server, you'll be able to read and edit your Journal offline.
Drafts is also pretty straightforward; this provides a list of all the drafts that you have saved, either from "New Entry" or "Journal". You can go here and edit a draft and save or submit it.
Current Features
*Ability to post an entry
*Ability to save drafts (cached locally so as to be written even w/o an internet connection)
*Ability to view and edit the last 25 entries of each of your accounts journals (cached locally so they can be reviewed and edited offline)
*Ability to add, edit, and remove accounts
*Ability to read your Reading Page (cached locally for offline viewing)
Missing Features
*Can't write rich text entries (all in HTML mode right now)
*Auto-rotate is currently disabled
*Preview of entries before posting
*Pointing the client towards a non-DW site is currently disabled
Where This is Headed
At the moment, while iDreamwidth is functional in its current state, it does have bugs still. While I've considered starting the user testing phase since the basic functionality is in there and working, I've held off since I'd like to address a few more issues and give the application a little more polish before having test users donate their time and effort experimenting on the application.
Due to this, I estimate that those who've requested to test the software before submission to the App Store will be receiving a private email from me around August 30th on how to download and install a build of iDreamwidth to their iOS devices. This first rollout will be to those with iPhone and iPod Touch devices first (sorry iPad users!).
This week marked the end of the Google Summer of Code 2010. I will be submitting the application that was current at the hard pencils down date to Google per their code submission guidelines in the next week. While iDreamwidth is a product of the Google Summer of Code 2010, it is a personal project that I'm going to stick with and push onto the App Store this fall with the aim to support the client for at least one year after App Store release. I look forward to spending the next few weeks polishing it up (fixing bugs, adding missing features, getting some spiffy icons, etc) for such a release and expect that you'll be hearing from me again in two weeks or so as iDreamwidth begins user testing in preparation for App Store submission.
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