24h-payday

Archive for the ‘coding’ Category

StupidZombie is now on Kenai.com!

Saturday, May 30th, 2009

Yep, I finished reimporting the source code into Kenai.com. One thing I never liked about Java.net is that they gave you probably too many artifacts on your initial project, plus a layout specifically tailored for NetBeans (I use Eclipse). So for all of you who say, show me the code, here is the URL in subversion.

Right now the only way to run StupidZombie is through webstart. I haven’t uploaded the latest changes into the website but once I get the Icons and the Spanish support done I will update the code so you can have fun. If you’re curious, here is the list of things that need to be done to make 1.0 a reality.

Matching colors on the Java GUI

Friday, May 29th, 2009

OK, so no synth for now as I don’t really feel the need (yet) to create a full fledged theme for the GUI. However, will try to match as best as possible the official colors of the website and logo, and it seems than the easiest way is to use the UIDefault class:

	public static final Color ZOMBIE_SKIN = new Color(140, 198, 63);
	public static final Color ZOMBIE_SKIN_LIGHTED = new Color(201,229,164);
	public static final Color ZOMBIE_UNIFORM = new Color(152, 84, 157);
	public static final Color ZOMBIE_TRIM = new Color(255,255,102);
	
	
	static {

		log = Logger.getLogger(ZombieSkinChanger.class.getName());
		
		BUNDLE = ResourceBundle.getBundle(ZombieSkinChanger.class.getName());
		
		// Specific properties for OS X look and feel
		if (System.getProperty("os.name").equals("Mac OS X")) {
			System.setProperty("apple.awt.showGrowBox", "true");
			System.setProperty("apple.laf.useScreenMenuBar", "true");
			System.setProperty("com.apple.mrj.application.apple.menu.about.name", StupidZombieGui.class.getSimpleName());
			System.setProperty("com.apple.mrj.application.growbox.intrudes", "true");
			System.setProperty("apple.awt.brushMetalLook", "false");
		}

		
		Object newSettings[] = {
				"Button.background", ZOMBIE_UNIFORM,
				"TableHeader.background", ZOMBIE_UNIFORM,
				"TableHeader.foreground", ZOMBIE_TRIM,
				"Table.background", ZOMBIE_SKIN_LIGHTED,
				"ScrollPane.background", ZOMBIE_SKIN,
				"Panel.background", ZOMBIE_SKIN,
				"SplitPane.background", ZOMBIE_SKIN,
				"OptionPane.background", ZOMBIE_SKIN,
				"TextArea.background", ZOMBIE_SKIN_LIGHTED,
				"TextField.background", ZOMBIE_SKIN_LIGHTED,
				"EditorPane.background", ZOMBIE_SKIN_LIGHTED,
				"ViewPort.background", ZOMBIE_SKIN,
				"TabbedPane.background", ZOMBIE_SKIN,
				"CheckBox.background", ZOMBIE_UNIFORM,
				"CheckBoxMenuItem.background", ZOMBIE_UNIFORM,
				"Menu.background", ZOMBIE_SKIN_LIGHTED,
				"MenuItem.background", ZOMBIE_SKIN_LIGHTED,
				"MenuBar.background", ZOMBIE_SKIN_LIGHTED,
				};
		
		UIDefaults defaults = UIManager.getDefaults();
		defaults.putDefaults(newSettings);

	}

So here is how the GUI looks with the default values on OSX:

stupidzombie

Not bad, but kind of boring.

And this is how it looks after I apply the UIDefaults:

StupidZombie GUI - Color schema UIDelegate #2

Another look at the tables:

StupidZombie GUI - Color schema UIDelegate #1

It is not exactly the colors of the website, so I tried to create a little bit of contrast by lightening up the original values (I used a really cool online tool).

So, what is next? Well, lots of stuff ahead:

  • I plan to add new icons to the GUI (Romney is working on that),
  • fix minor issues on the website
  • fix the blog template
  • Enable support for Spanish (ya me he tardado demasiado)
  • Migrate the project from Java.net to Kenai.com

Several of this items will get sorted out over the weekend, so stay tunned. Official 1.0 release is comming fast!

First release of the StupidZombie website

Monday, May 25th, 2009

Still has several bugs, but other issues were fixed. Either way is finally installed: http://stupidzombie.com

The blog theme will get a makeover soon too. Also there is some integration work for the GUI (colors and theme).

More functionality: Export ping results and filtering

Monday, April 27th, 2009

Yep, now you can export the ping results as a CVS file for later analisys or just for fun.  Also you can filter the contents of the result table using regular expressions as you type 🙂

Now is time for the next step which is to add some sexyness to the GUI using Synth.

Refactored GUI: Not Using JList anymore, welcome JTable. Also plans for the future

Saturday, April 25th, 2009

So first take a look on the old version of PingBlog (or run it from here using Java webstart):

StupidZombie
Initially the HTML Tag generation and the Ping GUI were separate.

Now the new version offers more details in a more organized way:

StupidZombie ping scree
Big difference using a JTable. Also ping updates are handled better using a Observable – Observer pattern.

The idea is to be able to navigate all the ping types more easily (yes, more directories are comming).

Version 1.0 details:
And when version 1.0 will be ready? Well, I plan to release a beta version with all the functionality enabled before having the website ready. But the following changes are coming pretty soon:

  • Sorting and filtering on the table. Easy one but need to sit down and code it
  • Use Synth for the look and feel of the application
  • Merge the new logo and look and feel with the GUI and the website. No ETA on this one, except than is a work in progress

Once all this is ready I will offer a Jar for download and a webstart link. Stay tunned, more changes comming this way :)!

And for version 1.1?

Version 1.1 will be mostly bug fixes but also will add two more important features:

  • More directories. Yes, there are lots of directories out there and StupidZombie will support them all!
  • Soporte para Español (Spanish support). Should be easy to plug in. Also other languages will be added

So let’s the Zombie domination begin!

StupidZombie needs a facelift!

Tuesday, February 17th, 2009

StupidZombie is a tool that can be used to ping directories like Technorati, Pingomatic, Blogalaxia and To2Blogs for blog updates. It also has the ability to write Tags (with a preview mode) to help users of systems like Blogger. Finally StupidZombie can be called from Cron u other schedule to automate pinging at desired intervals.

We are looking for a talented designer to help us to create the main website and to put together a theme that can be used with Swing Synth.

The project status is “Alpha” and you can take a peek on how it looks on the following locations:

  • http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3385/3245886024_94ffaaa358_o.png
  • http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3384/3261535833_e5724cea06_o.png
  • http://stupidzombie.com/blog/

Skills Needed: Web Design

Contact: Undead at undead@stupidzombie.com

This is the blog of StupidZombie

Sunday, February 1st, 2009

stupidzombie
StupidZombie now has a blog!

StupidZombie is an OpenSource tool that I use to ping my favorite blog directories. It also can create a set of tags that you can use of blogs that support them (like Technorati, Veneblogs and others).

I will try to post updates here about the progress of the project, news and anything related.
Veneblogs: , , ,
Blogalaxia: , , ,
To2blogs: , , ,
Technorati: , , ,
Del.icio.us: , , ,