I still know what smilie you searched for last summer

[JoeP]

It was going to be "Son of Smilie Search" or "Smilie Search Reloaded" or "Smilie Search 2: The System Strikes Back". But hey, I work by instinct.

The "minor" outstanding tweaks to the smilie search feature are being discussed in PHP programming: smilie search.

This thread is going to focus on the additional-keywords feature, because there are some more complex implications.

Summary
We need to allow more keywords to be stored for each smilie, so that could be found on a search for any of "happy nod yes smile" etc, without having to pack all those into the title, which is that tooltip displayed when you hover over it with the mouse. That needs to stay as the fundamental meaning of the smilie.

In a nutshell: we'll add an extra field 'keywords' to the smilies table in the vb database.

Minimal extra coding in the smilie popup code - just add the 'keywords' field to the searched text (the haystack).

No extra work or training for the user, just better results.

However, quite a load of extra work for the tribune. She'll love it, but only if there is a way to enter the data.

Programming lesson (there has to be one): a design is no use if the raw data cannot be input, edited and managed.

Editing the keywords
The current interface is the admin control panel (admincp). There are a bunch of templates that allow admins to upload smilies, edit the titles and the categories, and change the display order. I say "a bunch" because you can access them in various different ways, e.g. all smilies at once, by category, single new smilie, etc. And we need to support 'keywords' entry for all of them.

First question, for Livius and viscousmemories ... while I go off and see just how many templates and php functions are involved ... can you think of any good ways to add & edit the keywords, as admins, other than expanding those tables? Mayeb there's something easy I've missed.

(One idea I floated way back was allowing users to update the keywords, but we're not working on that yet. )

joe

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by JoeP

... while I go off and see just how many templates and php functions are involved ...

... which will not be just yet since the firewall people here seem to have some uncanny knowledge that I don't need ftp internet access for any part of my job.

[livius drusus]

I know I'm glad my firewall folks are more Keystone than psychic. To answer your question, I can't think of anything other than new fields in those tables, but I'm notoriously ignorant on the matter and so will cede the remaining balance of my time to the honorable administrator from Texas.

[viscousmemories]

Well I'm not sure, but here's a little extra info.

The vbadvanced hacks (portal and links directory) require that smilies be stored with their absolute path. You'll remember this issue coming up with the smilie search post appearing on the portal and some smilies not showing up. This means that we already have an issue with the standard smilie insert process, because liv has to add new smilies with their relative path (the only way it lets you) then go back to each smilie and edit it to add the absolute path. So that could use some fixing anyway.

At the same time, I don't think liv ever uses the add a single smilie function. To my knowledge she always uses the add multiple smilies function. So while we'll want to look at those other templates and functions, I don't think we have any pressing need to do so.

That's about all I have on that.

[livius drusus]

Oh, yes, true that. I've never once use the add a single function. Even if I were to just add one (which I have yet to do), I'd still probably use the multiple function because I like that screen and I don't have to remember the filename.

[Scotty]

Originally Posted by JoeP

... which will not be just yet since the firewall people here seem to have some uncanny knowledge that I don't need ftp internet access for any part of my job.

Do you have or use sftp? You should anyway, ftp isn't very secure.


-Scott

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by Scotty

Do you have or use sftp? You should anyway, ftp isn't very secure.

-Scott

I don't - can you recommend a good tool, for occasional use? WinXp.

[viscousmemories]

I think WinSCP may be the droid you're looking for.

[JoeP]

Something tells me not everyone will be fascinated by the details of what admincp panels you use: discussion on the test forum. (I'll move it back here if everyone wants to see the bory details.)

[JoeP]

bory = gory but boring

[Scotty]

WinSCP is okay, I use http://www.ssh.com/support/downloads/secureshellwks/
Get the non-commercial version, it will have both SSH and SFTP for use on the command line and a GUI.

It isn't too hard to figure out

If the machine you are trying to contact does not use SSH, then I would suggest annoying them to put the server up.

Usually the people that set up firewalls don't block outgoing SSH, but sometimes they get annoyed and do it.

-Scott

[viscousmemories]

Um. That would be me he's gonna be annoying now. Thanks Scottie.

[pescifish]

Originally Posted by JoeP

In a nutshell: we'll add an extra field 'keywords' to the smilies table in the vb database.

Will that table support multiple rows for each smilie? I don't know what your schema is and how the keys are set up, but you might need to make sure all of the queries to that table are prepared for what they will get back when you start adding a new entry everytime you want a new keyword.

I get the impression you know relational database theory, JoeP, so you've probably already got this covered.

[livius drusus]

Yeah!



* livius drusus giggles ignorantly

[Scotty]

Originally Posted by viscousmemories

Um. That would be me he's gonna be annoying now. Thanks Scottie.

I said outgoing SSH, as in from his ISP (or work network), which I thought he was complaining that his ISP had been blocking FTP.

If you set up the SSHD (SSH Daemon) then he should be able to use it, but I didn't think you would have access to that sort of thing on the servers.

See, I wasn't talking about you, as far as you know

-Scott

[viscousmemories]

Originally Posted by Scotty

I said outgoing SSH, as in from his ISP (or work network), which I thought he was complaining that his ISP had been blocking FTP.

If you set up the SSHD (SSH Daemon) then he should be able to use it, but I didn't think you would have access to that sort of thing on the servers.

See, I wasn't talking about you, as far as you know

-Scott

It is me you're talkin' about, though, 'cause I'm the administrator of the server he's trying to contact and therefore the one you told him to annoy about offering SSH access.

And I do have root access to the server, so anything that needs to be added can be added. As long as I can add it using the cPanel mgt. interface 'cause I'm kinda Unix retarded at this point in my life.

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by pescifish

Will that table support multiple rows for each smilie? I don't know what your schema is and how the keys are set up, but you might need to make sure all of the queries to that table are prepared for what they will get back when you start adding a new entry everytime you want a new keyword.

I get the impression you know relational database theory, JoeP, so you've probably already got this covered.

The table currently looks like this (when exported to csv):

'smilieid','title','smilietext','smiliepath','imagecategoryid','displayorder'
'1','Smile',':)','images/smilies/smile.gif','1','1'

I imagine nothing more than a single additional varchar (or something like that) field with arbitrary keywords separated by spaces. No existing queries would break because they wouldn't select that field (no SELECT * that I've seen).

Having separate records for each keyword would have some attractions in search, but we're talking about thousands of smilies here not millions.

Did I understand you correcketly?

[JoeP]

cPanel!

[pescifish]

Originally Posted by JoeP

I imagine nothing more than a single additional varchar (or something like that) field with arbitrary keywords separated by spaces.

That'll take care of it. I missed the "s" on 'keywords' as the new field.

Originally Posted by JoeP

No existing queries would break because they wouldn't select that field (no SELECT * that I've seen).

And that's another issue that could break existing queries, if there were "SELECT *" (but that's just bad query juju, so there shouldn't be any!)

Originally Posted by JoeP

Having separate records for each keyword would have some attractions in search, but we're talking about thousands of smilies here not millions.

Did I understand you correcketly?

Yup.

As I suspected, you've got things covered. I hadn't thought of one big blob of text with the multiple keywords to be parsed from the single varchar field.

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by pescifish

As I suspected, you've got things covered. I hadn't thought of one big blob of text with the multiple keywords to be parsed from the single varchar field.

I can't think about database BLOBs without being reminded of The Blob.

[JoeP]

Back on topic ... there is not much to report.

We have updated the search function to use the 'keywords' field when we get around to adding it. We have identified probably all the places in the admincp where it would need to be catered for the great smilie dragon to do her stuff. But we have not actually changed the table to create that field (and I'm talking about the test system only so far).

[JoeP]

Ahem
Livius Drusus; viscousmemories

Go to the test system, post/reply, call up the smilies and search on "flag"

Explain to me how so many results come up.

[livius drusus]

Oh. My. God!!!! That little miracle wouldn't have anything to do with keyword searching, now would it? Oh she's soooooo pretty... My precioussssss...

[JoeP]

You're an admin - go to the smilie manager and see what's hidden in there ...

[livius drusus]

Holy mother of God.