http://forums.icyboards.net/showthread.p...4#pid53724

Yep, icyboards just released "Icyboards Premium," adding additional attachment space, ad removal, and the ability to create unlimited database exports. I just purchased it for simmania.org, and while it's not "cheap" compared to the services of similar free hosts, I have to say the unlimited database export feature is nice.

What are your thoughts?

Many people have recently asked me when the next POC/Alpha release will be out. To be honest, I keep thinking it is only a couple weeks off, but every time I think it's close, I find something else to rewrite. The simple answer is that I'm basically recoding the whole thing one step at a time. I've implemented several new features, including hookable menus and notifications, hookable action, page, and form handlers, modular addons, templates, lang systems, and more to come. This is a pretty in-depth framework overhaul, and not only that, but I need to replace some DB classes, etc... as well. And I haven't even touched the ACP yet.

Given all of the framework changes, the majority of the existing code needs to be reworked. I'm already well into getting the pages for uploads, categories, etc... and I'm also in the process of rewriting the user management module. I've come to the conclusion that while I won't be doing a complete rewrite from scratch, I will need to take each module and rework it individually. The entire project could take a month or longer to complete, and the actual feature improvements will be marginal. However, once that's done, the code will be much easier to extend, and that is something I'm excited about.

Another concern is with security. Earlier on in the project, I wasn't quite sure whether or not I wanted to use mysqli, or PDO. After having coded much more into the project, I've decided that while PDO might be the smarter approach nowadays, that mysqli is something I am simply more familiar with, and I will thus convert all PDO code into mysqli code for the sake of simpler code and faster development. PDO is gaining popularity for a number of reasons, but mysqli is not deprecated and is still in popular use. Using consistent database methods will make it easier to keep the code secure and consistent.

As for where the alpha stands, once the code is reworked, I plan on finishing a few core features, such as comments, etc..., then on releasing a proof of concept release. It's still a ways off, but I'd like to go ahead and get some code out in the open once I'm able to. Of course github is also probably coming in the future. I'm hoping to complete this sometime in May, but we shall see how it works out. In addition, I plan on launching an official website for it as well. This is something I'm uber excited about planning.

Anyway, stay tuned for more! I'll keep you guys updated as more progress is made.

As I've documented on the official thread for filecave so far, I've officially begun working on the template system. What I have so far is pretty simple, but it works. The goal is to allow HTML templates to be edited and rearranged without the need to edit any actual PHP. It will overall make retheming filecave much easier and much more flexible.

I've decided to put the lang system and the templates system together. Both template tags and lang tags pretty much work the same way. Unlike MyBB's template system, Filecave will require all template variables to be explicitly set. This is for security reasons, as it makes it much more difficult to exploit the template system when only variables that are intended to be set can be used. So, instead of something like "{$conf_URL}", you will see something like [@conf_url]" instead, which PHP will not automatically parse.

For example:

Quote:hello world, Darthness!
Age: Unknown
Occupation: Restaurant worker
Interests: Lots of stuff!

So it's been almost a year since I officially took this project on, and here is where it was not too long ago. It's the most recent screenshot I have on hand, although several theme improvements have been made since.



As for why I don't have more recent screenshots, it has to do primarily with my priorities. Earlier on, I was a bit messy with my code, and now I'm going back and rewriting a good portion of it to work with a more extensible API. Until that's done, there will be quite a lot of glitches involved, and I don't feel like taking more screenshots until those are resolved.

Anyway, Filecave is built around a number of core concepts.

What is Filecave?

Filecave is a file sharing platform that will allow users to create file uploads, and will allow for ratings, comments, discussion, featured uploads, categorization, and so on. It will be useful for mod databases, etc... where files need to be categorized quickly and easily. It will also be a standalone solution, although rest assured, I've been looking into possible integration options as well.

Core Concepts

Effective file sharing platform
- Filecave is being designed specifically to have file sharing in mind and to be effective for that purpose. Hotlinking protection is implemented, user management will be included, and moderator tools (including the optional ability to require upload approval) are all included.

Extensibility
- Filecave is being built to be highly extensible, with a modular plugins and hooks system, template engine, and more. Of course this is one of the areas where I am doing the most restructuring. I will write a more detailed post later once more work is done.

Content Management
- It may seem far fetched, but yes, I'm also trying to turn this into a full CMS. Don't get your hopes up too fast, I'm trying to finish the essentials first.

Earlier on, I was releasing proof of concept releases. I've decided to stop doing that up until the alpha, or at least until a later time, simply because the code isn't ready for any sort of release yet. (It turns out that two of the three files I had uploaded in the past had broken installers. ) Rest assured, I will release a proof of concept or alpha release once the extensibility system is fully up and running, however. At that point, anyone who wishes to contribute will be able to create new themes and modules, so stay tuned!

-Darth

Hi, the name's Centur. I am an 18 year old programmer, anime fan and gamer from the USA. I own CenturCore Labs, a software studio that hopes to publish other's software someday. I know how to code in PHP, MySQL, HTML, CSS and soon, C#. I like action, sci-fi and supernatural games/animes, such as my favorite game, Team Fortress 2. If you wanna chat, feel free to contact me and I'll give you my Skype or other contact methods. Thanks for reading my intro!

Yep, I'm sick right now. Mid grade fever, slight nausea, all the norm. Pretty *****y feeling.

Personally, I've found that not many things will frustrate me more quickly than not being able to find me keys at the last minute will. It's not a good feeling when I'm already running late haha.

How often do you usually find your keys misplaced?

For far too long we have been ruled under the cruel and oppressive iron fist of admin Blake! As it is the day of Saint Valentine, I propose we hold a vote to remove this tyrant from power, and banish him from the site!

Moral of the story... don't ever forget your passwords... At least I know that my account is pretty secure. On the downside, I suppose it's also time to figure out how all of this password reset stuff works.