So far not a lot has been done on GITI v3. Chris has taken charge of the new back-end, most notably, giving me a sane framework to work from. It’s like having a really stripped down version of .NET, except it runs on PHP (so far it handles my database calls a lot more efficiently). I have not yet picked a menu system or even decided exactly what v3 will look like. Many of my readers will likely recall a lot of the really goofy early designs for v2. So far I’m not doing any better than that for v3 and honestly, I was hoping for some of Chris’ brilliance to pop out in the form of a really cool menu system. Guess I’m just going to have to locate one that can be modified to work in GITI. 

Anyway, the point of this post isn’t the GITI problems, its to point out the readiness status of modules for the new version.

Education – first module to be added to v2 and will be the first module I try to convert for v3 as well. Without it, GITI just isn’t GITI. It should be easy enough to audit the code and make it compatible with v3 and just bring it over for the most part. There are some additions that need to be made such as making it support the idea of multiple academic careers. As I am planning to soon be a graduate student, this addition means a lot to me.

Schedule – I think at this point its safe to call this module “trouble”. I believe the intention for this module is to rewrite it before moving it into v3. This is the type of rewrite that involves throwing out the book and starting from a new concept. The module is severely limited in what it does and in many ways is too one dimensional.

ToDo List – v3 will be the demise of the traditional TODO module that was nothing more than a glorified notepad with dates attached. The ToDo List module is in its infancy in v2, but should be easy enough to mature into a functioning module for version 3. Chris has taken a liking to this module, mostly because he wants to have the ability to assign todo items across users. I suspect I will regret letting him take on that module as it will give him much power over how that works, but I’m willing to see what he does with it.

Footwear Collection – This module is mostly feature complete in itself. There are a few tweaks that need to be made, but otherwise the module is good to upgrade and transfer. Not shocked, its Chris’ module.

Status – I really want to see this module develop more, so I will be working on it before it is scheduled to be moved. I like the general function of it, but I want to see more power from it. I want more ways to be able to update my status when away from the Interface, and I want tagging ability to have discretion over destinations, in some ways I want to be able to utilize it a bit as a journal, say if an update is tagged as #PVT. It would also be cool to make something more robust as far as management, perhaps the ability to cancel a status by sending a follow up message to the system commanding it to remove the previous entry.

Library – this is the abandoned wasteland of GITI. I often fail to remember to enter things in it and in general do not find it useful. If I did not believe it was possible to have it be useful, I would likely remove the module, but I see it as having potential and having a purpose. I will be working on expanding the module to be more useful to all of its users. I have been promising some people a better version of library for a while now. I also have to make sure that I include some type of adaptive CSV or plain text bulk input, as some users have other lists which need to be converted to the GITI Library system. A lot of users could benefit from check-in/check-out functionality, which I seem to have misplaced since the old code.

Cookbook – This module will be moved to v3 almost as it is now. Its not complete, but its complete enough to be fully functional. The module will eventually improved, but it is a low priority in the v3 upgrade.

Journal, Address Book, Keychain – These three are pretty much feature complete and other than an update for their current level of usefulness they are ready to be upgraded. Keychain is likely to receive an additional feature set upgrade and application counterpart soon after v3 is completed.

System Modules: Item Journal, Tags – Item Journal al is called upon by numerous modules and thus, it is important that it is ready. Tags was nothing more than experimental in GITI v2, having no real use or purpose, but some GITI items did receive tags. My plan is to ask Chris to work with me on integrating these two modules into the framework in some way, perhaps as part of his grand plan for things to allow all modules to call them with minimal difficulty.

 

I originally wanted to have things at least partially functional by 10 days from now, in time for the new semester, but things have gotten behind and will likely have to be worked on throughout the semester. If its great and ready by Christmas I will be happier than if its rushed and kind of lame and works by convocation.