hi eddie,

as i've said before, the problem with comments is not that is not wanted by mostly anyone around minishowcase. instead it is that it would make minishowcase:

1. need a database and thus,
2. be complex enough for people that don't understand about databases or much about code to dispair when it breaks (as databases break)

i was working on an implementation that implemented comments with a simple text database, but it broke in many different servers. i'm now investigating on doing it through javascript, but the testing is ridiculously complex, so stay tuned and please don't hold your breath.

until i find a way that is as simple as minishowcase itself, it might not be possible to add comments, as i don't want people to be more complicated. that exactly is the reason i made minishowcase in the first place.

Hmm! Then will it be possible to release the comment enabled one for testers or as a test version? Though I myself know zip about coding, others might contribute to the project.
Also you may consider releasing 2 different version of minishowcase, the current one with no comment or the "easy" one, the other might be the "advanced users" one. what do you think?
Thnaks :)

then i would have to code for 2 different versions and support 2 different code pools, and i barely have time to support one right now.

i've been thinking about offering it as a plug-in, but it might take more time... or as a paid version, but it might not be worth it.

i've got to think about it.

i understand. well, take your time. If you manage the time then offer it as a plug in and then see the response and then decide whether to continue or not.

And I think the current version is pretty stable. So you need not have to worry that much. :)

Just wondering, isn't it possible to enable comment without the need of a database like mysql? I mean I saw some blog script in PHP that was stand alone and didn't need any database, though they provided very basic blog and comment capabilities. How about that?

i don't know about that blog, so how would i know? where did it save the data? it might have needed a database.

Check out http://thingamablog.sourceforge.net/ if you wish.

if you check the docs http://thingamablog.sourceforge.net/docs.html you'll see they use a database. i don't know which one they use, but being the application written in java (a more robust programming language than php, mostly locally in the computer) i might imagine it is something ad-hoc, which i cannot do.

if i find something that suits minishowcase project well, i'd be glad to use it. if any of you knows how to implement a local database that's not problematic to install and does not take too many resources to implement, i'd be glad to work on it!

Hmm. Thingamablog uses a xml file as its database. But you are right, its Java and minishowcase is in php, it would make no sense to rewrite the script.

Meanwhile visit http://geekness.eu/ws . This one uses a flat file database, ie. a text file as the database.

the problem is not finding a database (which i've found) the problem is to have a system that does not break on instal on different platforms, thus increasing the amount of posts i have to attend and the frustration of users.

if you find a system that installs well, and does not give platform related problems (which i doubt) i'd be glad to try it.

minishowcase is the simplest gallery around, and i want it to continue being so. :)

WorkSimple looks interesting. i'll check it out, thanks!

Also check out Kure, http://findthekure.net/faq.html . this one is pretty simple and I kinda liked it. I think it actually matches with minishowcase. :)

hi victor, any news on this? :)

no, i haven't had the time, and i won't be having time soon, unfortunately.

probably on christmas break i might find some time to work on this. please subscribe to this thread or the announcement list if you want to be notified of any update.

Its ok, no pressure mate. Just curious as to the possibility of it ever happening! :D

For what it's worth ... bump! :)
I have 6k pics in 90 albums, so far works flawlessly, so thanks! It's the easiest thing to work with. I have a lot of visitors (friends and family) and their comments and feedback really would be as much as valuable. Flat file db seems a way to go here, but importing kure might be an overkill. I'm thinking I might be able to implement some sliding/docked display/form ajax thingie which would display all comments found in file for certain pic and allow user to enter new one along with it's name, no security at all really. Let me know if you are already on something like that, or you think I should try.

hello looka. Please do try. 2 heads r better than 1! atleast we would have something as Victor is very busy and cant seem to afford much time on this.

I did some work and made proof of concept. I took advantage of unused description div and ajax reading so all comments are saved to filename.jpg.txt file. Posting is similarly done using cpaint ajax framework.

http://fly.cc.fer.hr/~jandric/minishowcase/

Now visuals. Any ideas? Lets keep it simple and easy.

That's an impressive piece of coding. My only comment would be to potentially have the input box the full width of the comments popup and maybe ensure each comment is seperated by a blank line.

Also if you release this, would you package it, or would we need to make the manual coding changes to our existing site.

Great work and another great addtion to Victor's Minishowcase!

I will certainly provide whole package, not looking to break any licenses here. If I make it clean enough, and as an optional feature to enable in settings I hope Victor will include it in main build. If not, there will be alternative download I guess.
Like I said visual design is not really there. I was thinking something like "Feedback" left side tab feature on homepage of this site. Check it out. Visible but not intrusive.

Sounds good. Maybe also make the comments box scrollable and make the new comments at the top, with a date stamp??

It would be great if it was enable via the settings that way any customisation anyone has done to their look and feel was impacted.

I'd be happy to test if you wish, I would offer to programme, but this is way out of my league!! :-)

It is not hard as you think, really.

I worked on interface, and it looks better! I added feedback toggle tab, scroll if needed and some css. Seems to be working fine.

I presume not all special chars will go through, so feel free to test it. Also any advice for visual design is welcome. More work is needed to clean the code up a bit, rewrite it so it doesn't ruin descriptions, support themes etc...

http://fly.cc.fer.hr/~jandric/minishowcase/

EDIT: It doesn't work in IE6! LOL... adding to TODO list

great work looka!

what do you use (as database) to save the comments?

That is awesome, especially as it can be used during the slideshow as well!!!

I can't wait to get my hands on this!!

Looking forward to modifying the code on my site to accomodate this. Have you got any idea on time frames?

Also are the colours customisable??

I shamelessly hijacked description files (filenam.jpg.txt), your desc ajax output section as well as your mainimg_desc div tag. :)

See complete diff here

Complete bundle

Should I rewrite it so I leave your description feature untouched? Do you have any source control management online (cvs,svn, git..)?

Sure...just customize bottom part of /styles/gallery.css and replace pngs in /images.
Diff.txt file can be applied to existing instalation with patch command. You will need two pngs though.

Wow, that was quick!

Looks like my weekend is going to be spent modifying my site (galleries.llawnroc.co.uk) with this code and BrianCBecker's code for implementing FLV files as well!!

Thanks for posting the code and eveyrthing up so quick!

Once again, great work on this modification!

Just wanted to say, that I've updated my site/gallery with the comments modifications.

It actually didn't take too long once I got a decent text editor that allowed me to compare each file and using the diff.txt file as a reference.

Great work. Just got to work on the FLV piece now and my site/gallery will be almost complete

nice work dude!! Victor, u should pack this thing in the next release and i guess a tutorial page is needed so novices can use and modify the "Feedback" feature. :D

well, i'll probably have some time this weekend, i'll see if i can add it.

looka, let me see if i can give you access to a branch of the svn. please send me your email to info at minishowcase dot net.

great work!

ps: i'm so happy of seeing others helping me make minishowcase better. thank you guys.

@ victor: can we expect a new release in recent future that includes comment capability? I would also like to see an easier admin panel than minimanager included in the bundle. :P

@ all:

i cannot promise any releases soon. my current work situation is a little too demanding, and i don't find time between my consultancy and my work. i'm thinking of opening the code so other people can add it to releases, but need to see how.

as soon as i know i'll let you all know, but don't hold your breath.

anyway, thanks for the support, sincerely i would have dropped this a long time ago if it weren't for it :)

Minor update, some fixes and added feedback.html global comment page. Will be RSS feed someday, surely. With permalinks. And autoopened comments. :)