Plugin idea: Entry types
Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 9:52 pm
Here's another not-so-crazy idea for a plugin – it might be nice to have Tumblr-like entry types, i.e. entries which offer a different editor (non-WYSIWYG) in the backend and wraps its content into suitable markup to drop into {$entry.body}. (I'm just suggesting this as a plugin since I guess not everyone will need or use it, so if anyone thinks this should be a core functionality for whatever reasons …)
Obviously, this would be most useful for Tumblr-like microblogs, but it could also add new possibilities for other use cases (think: portfolio sites, magazine sites) combined with suitable templates. This could open up a whole new group of users for us (although that other blog engine already supports post types as far as I know).
Obviously, Tumblr's post types would be the first ones to add here, i.e.
* Text: should be the entry type for the standard entry, using the WYSIWYG (or otherwise configured) editor
* Link: entries in which (usually) the entry heading is a link to an external site, optionally with some additional text; should probably use the WYSIWYG editor plus have a form field for the external link
* Image: just a headline plus an image from the media db (or optionally external URLs?)
* Images: same, but a gallery of more than one images as thumbnails
* Quote: a quote, optionally with a source; should just be two input fields emitted as blockquote (not sure about a heading here; maybe headings should be optional for some entry types?)
* Audio: an audio file from the media db/external URL; could be marked up using the HTML5 audio element or with optional flash fallback?
* Video: same as audio; HTML5 video element + optional fallback?
I'm not sure we need Tumblr's Chat post type, that seems silly and hard to implement in the backend. I could probably think of other useful entry types as well, but right now, I have a cold and can't think straight.
Also, the entry type should be accessible for templating, i.e. to emit entries by type, to markup entry types differently etc.
YL
Obviously, this would be most useful for Tumblr-like microblogs, but it could also add new possibilities for other use cases (think: portfolio sites, magazine sites) combined with suitable templates. This could open up a whole new group of users for us (although that other blog engine already supports post types as far as I know).
Obviously, Tumblr's post types would be the first ones to add here, i.e.
* Text: should be the entry type for the standard entry, using the WYSIWYG (or otherwise configured) editor
* Link: entries in which (usually) the entry heading is a link to an external site, optionally with some additional text; should probably use the WYSIWYG editor plus have a form field for the external link
* Image: just a headline plus an image from the media db (or optionally external URLs?)
* Images: same, but a gallery of more than one images as thumbnails
* Quote: a quote, optionally with a source; should just be two input fields emitted as blockquote (not sure about a heading here; maybe headings should be optional for some entry types?)
* Audio: an audio file from the media db/external URL; could be marked up using the HTML5 audio element or with optional flash fallback?
* Video: same as audio; HTML5 video element + optional fallback?
I'm not sure we need Tumblr's Chat post type, that seems silly and hard to implement in the backend. I could probably think of other useful entry types as well, but right now, I have a cold and can't think straight.
Also, the entry type should be accessible for templating, i.e. to emit entries by type, to markup entry types differently etc.
YL