Update on Curved Slate Development
Tags:
For the 4 of you who may have wondered, I did not forgot about my promises of delievering a new super-theme for developers. I've in fact been working non-stop on it. Bugs, new insights, and new techniques have all contributed to the delay. So here's the latest update.
Major changes since last post
1. I've dropped the nifty corner's technique in favor of rico's curved corners. The rico method is far less buggy, does not require additional CSS, is easier to implement, and appears to be licensed under the more flexible Apache 2.0 License.
2. After consulting with Ber, I decided to build a small support module that includes the rico library without disturbing the $head, and $styles variables in page.tpl.php. Beyond making the curvy corners, the rico library adds a huge number of AJAX functions which I'm dying to develop (read: drag and drop image inclusion in posts!!!!!!!) While I wish I didn't have to require a support library for this theme, I think the idea of modular extensions which extend all themes is an idea worth exploring. I'm considering expanding this module to become a "javascript library manager" which allows users to upload, and include new javascript libraries on the fly.
Completed Goals Thus Far
1. Finally, I've figured out a way to break apart the $links variable in node.tpl.php, and assign unique classes to each link based on the link text. In theory, the technique paves the way for renaming, hiding, or splitting up links (e.g. #'s blog ) into unique variables that follow a logical naming pattern, and generate on the fly in response to whatever modules are enabled.
2. 3 Column all CSS layout which orders main content on the top. The layout is 100% consistant in both IE explorer and Firefox. The width of the main-content element gracefully expands and contracts in response to the existence of left and right sidebars. A php script generates 4 unique classes to accomidate 3 columns, 2 columns (left, or right), no columns. Finally, the stylesheet fully suports min/max widths in IE explorer and firefox. F#ck yeah!