Flash templates for Joomla!

Flash templates for Joomla! Using XML for data-exchange Herman Peeren Dutch Joomla!Days, June 13, 2009

Herman Peeren
Creating is manipulating
Standards, interfaces and Open Source
why I like Joomla!
and Flash…
[email_address]

Flash (dis)advantages - and solutions
data-exchange with J-AMFPHP
using XML for data-exchange
reading XML into Flash
using feeds from Joomla! to produce XML
using webservices for two-way exchange
TODO, under construction
Flash templates for Joomla! Agenda:

Flash (dis)advantages
great scaling to screen
browser independant
alpha-transparancy; no matte -drama
font embedding
movement & sound
Actionscript: familiar and mature language
SEO more difficult
less CSS-support
no back-button
no easy event tracking
you need extra provisions in case Flash Player is missing
+ -

IE-6 CSS-bugs: who cares?
Some of my customer’s websites still have > 15% IE6 -visitors! (yes, in 2009)
professional websites/webapplications cannot ignore IE6, UNFORTUNATELY.
peekaboo-bug, multiple classes bug, ID-class bug, box model bug, double margin float bug, haslayout-problems, no png-(alpha)transparancy, no min/max-width/height, etc.

Part of overriding mod_mainmenu:
//geef class="itemNrX" mee aan li- en anker-tag (met X = hoeveelste item) bij level==1 (hoogste niveau)
$x=1;
if (($node->name() == 'ul') && ($node->attributes('class')!='menualgemeen')) {
foreach ($node->children() as $child)
{
if (($child->name() == 'li') &&($child->attributes('level')==1)) {
//hang die class aan de li
if ($child->attributes('class')) {
$child->addAttribute('class', $child->attributes('class').' itemNr'.$x);
} else {
$child->addAttribute('class', 'itemNr'.$x);
}
//en aan de bijbehorende anchor-tag TO AVOID MULTIPLE CLASSES BUG
foreach ($child->children() as $grchild)
{
if ($grchild->name() == 'a') {
$grchild->addAttribute('class', 'itemNr'.$x);
}
}
$x++;
}
}
}
Excursion: template override to avoid multiple classes bug

More HTML in Flash textfield
FPXHTMLRENDER 1.2.2: sourceforge.net/projects/fpxhtmlrender
beware of the mafia...
To use with Joomla! back-end, see: stevenstark.com/images/flash+cms.pdf

Google in the Middle Ages Isidorus of Seville (560 - 636)

Better SEO: HTML-layer
make a HTML-layer under a Flash-layer
easy to do with a CMS
you can even put some EXTRA text there
BTW: trick of using content double in a template can sometimes be handy

More SEO for Flash
Flash Actionscript cooperates very well with JavaScript
You can track events and trigger JavaScript to make bookmarkable URLs, get conversion code etc.
nice article about this subject (in Dutch):
http://naarvoren.nl/artikel/flash_en_javascript

data-exchange with J-AMFPHP
AMF: Action Message Format = a binary format for data exchange with Flash
can communicate with webservices
AMF and PHP: amfphp.org; used in J-AMFPHP
at this moment THE way to exchange data between Joomla! and Flash
figo.tandolin.co.za/adobe-air/how-to-use-jamfphp-for-joomla-remoting.htm

Using XML for data exchange
broader standard, which can also be used to exchange data with other programs
looking for a more universal interface

reading XML into Flash
Easy loading of XML-files in Flash
SOAP also standard available
good book: Flash XML Applications by Joachim Bernhard Schnier, ISBN 9780240809175

Producing your own XML
When only needing very few data once, you could directly query the Joomla!-database…
<?PHP //maak xml-bestand voor Flash
header ("content-type:text/xml");
print('<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>');
print('<links>');
//algemeen: database connectie e.d.
require_once("configuration.php");
$config=new JConfig;
$connection=mysql_connect($config->host, $config->user, $config->password);
mysql_select_db($config->db, $connection);
$query_a="select * from ".$config->dbprefix."menu where name='"; etcetera
and make some custom XML

using feeds in Joomla! to produce XML (1)
One way: from Joomla! to Flash
Project: FlashFeed (now: version 0.04) on www.youcanjoomla.com
Includes Actionscript 2 and 3 classes and a component to create feeds of articles and blog-views
but no menus (yet)

using feeds in Joomla! to produce XML (2): menus
modules like mod_mainmenu cannot have a XML-view…
So, you have to make a component to make a feed from your menus
an attempt in that direction: Byrd Web Design, com_menu_to_xml
you only need a front-end: component under constuction.

using feeds in Joomla! to produce XML (3): example
Jonathan Byrd (from his administrator/components/com_menu/controller.php):
$db->setQuery( "SELECT name, link FROM #__menu WHERE menutype='". $type->menutype ."'" );
$items = $db->loadObjectList();
$file= fopen( JPATH_COMPONENT_SITE.DS.'XML'.DS.$type->menutype.".xml", "w" );
$_xml = "<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>";
$_xml .= " <menu> ";
foreach( $items as $item ) {
$ss="_parent";
$url = str_replace( '&', '&', $item->link );
$name = str_replace( '&', '&', $item->name );
$_xml .= " <item item_url="". $url ."" item_label="". $name ."" item_url_target="". $ss ."">". $name ."</item> ";
}
$_xml .= "</menu>";

using feeds in Joomla! to produce XML (4): example
Produces this XML (kind of RSS):
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<menu>
<item item_url="index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage" item_label="Home" item_url_target="_parent">Home</item>
<item item_url="index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5" item_label="Joomla! Licentie" item_url_target="_parent">Joomla! Licentie</item>
<item item_url="index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id=3" item_label="FAQ" item_url_target="_parent">FAQ</item>
<item item_url="index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19" item_label="Joomla! overzicht" item_url_target="_parent">Joomla! overzicht</item>
<item item_url="index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22" item_label="Wat is nieuw in 1.5?" item_url_target="_parent">Wat is nieuw in 1.5?</item>
<item item_url="index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id=4" item_label="Meer over Joomla!" item_url_target="_parent">Meer over Joomla!</item>
<item item_url="index.php?option=com_weblinks&view=categories" item_label="Weblinks" item_url_target="_parent">Weblinks</item>
<item item_url="index.php?option=com_newsfeeds&view=categories" item_label="Nieuws feeds" item_url_target="_parent">Nieuws feeds</item>
<item item_url="index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=1" item_label="Het nieuws" item_url_target="_parent">Het nieuws</item>
<item item_url="index.php?option=com_facileforms" item_label="Contact" item_url_target="_parent">Contact</item>
<item item_url="index.php?option=com_jumi&fileid=1" item_label="Hello Jumi!" item_url_target="_parent">Hello Jumi!</item>
</menu>

webservices
Goal: bidirectional XML data-exchange
XML-RPC
SOAP: envelope and wsdl
RESTful webservices: resources
XML-RPC in Joomla 1.6 on the right spot at last: receiving data in a controller , producing data in a view , possibly using a common model .

Flash and XML-RPC: 2 projects
XML-RPC-lib (Pedro Ornelas): members.netmadeira.com/killer/xmlrpc
XML-RPC client for actionscript: sourceforce.net/projects/xmlrpcflash

Joomla! en SOAP
JMSOAP: Joomla SoapServer API unfortunately now only for Joomla1.0
you can use other PHP SOAP-projects within Joomla! Possibilities: NuSoap, Pear::SOAP and PHP5 SOAP.
I am working on a Joomla-plugin

TODO, under construction
Joomla! component for menu-syndication
Joomla! SOAP-plugin (and REST)
re-use by standardisation
standard Actionscript classes to consume webservices (maybe also using AMF?)

http://www.joomlaflash.eu	178
http://joomlaflash.com	156
http://www.joomlaflash.com	57
http://www.joomlaflash.nl	56
http://www.slideshare.net	5
http://localhost	4
http://joomlaflash.eu	4
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	2

Flash templates for Joomla!

by Herman Peeren on Jun 18, 2009

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Flash templates for Joomla! — Presentation Transcript