WTH is phpYAP?
Well, it's Yet Another Portal written in PHP. Yeah, well, I like doing things the hard way. So if you want a copy give me a few more cups of coffee and a weekend or two, and I'll have something that might be usable. Needless to say, phpYAP is not for the faint of heart. Did I mention, that it's modular? and easy to write code for. Just a few simple functions in a class and you've got a module that can be dsplayed. Pages require only a few simple lines to include the site code, and the rest is plain html. Or you can paste HTML into a textbox and have the page created for you. You can now add links to the page in the menu bar (see above) or in other modules that support linking. I'm still thinking up nifty things to do with it.

News: 01-Apr-2006
It's been awhile since I've posted any new info/code to the page. That's because I've been busy, both with work and YAP. The current version of YAP has been overhauled for eaiser page integration and NOW uses Smarty Templates instead of the YAPLates. I'm currently working on a Calendar (based on PEAR:Calendar). Also added User Prefenances, User Tracking, and Themes Support. These three addition are Alpha, and will most likely change. I'm working on a standardized API for the YAP Clases. The new release should be posted in a week or two depending on work load. I think the next release will be a working release suitable for site integration, but don't hold you breath. If you would like to help/donate or otherwise do something, email me at bgshea using gmail's email server (gmail.com)

How YAP Works:
To integrate the YAP Framework, you need only to include one file and a few PHP code lines. Example:

	/* This site uses Sessions to track and store data about the user (temproarly) */
	require 'd:/web/YAP/include/YAP.inc.php';

	$yap = YAP::Start();

	// Set template Varibles
	$yap->date = date("D M d g:i:s Y T");
	$time_stamp = filemtime( __FILE__ );
	$yap->modified = date("D M d g:i:s Y T", $time_stamp);

	$miniCal = new YAPMiniCalendar();

	$yap->left = $miniCal->display();

	echo "Test Page.";

	$yap->right = "Test.";

	YAP::End();

From the code above, I have defined a Smarty Template (default is layout.tpl), and it has varibles:

• date
• time_stamp
• modified
• left
• and, right

Furthermore, YAP will buffer the output collecting all HTML code generated between the YAP::Start() and YAP::End() functions allowing you to write code without worring about where it will end up. All HTML that is output as standard output will be rendered to the Contents section of the template. This allows you to position sections of the page wereever you like by modifying the tempalte. If you do not assign the Left or Right varibles, no left or right side bars are generated.

Headers and footers are genearted in the same fashion, (header.tpl and footer.tpl) any assigned varibles will be passed on to the templates, making changes neary seamless.

Support for table and form templates will be added, but is not at the top of my list. If you wise to use a table or form template, you can simply Call Smarty and render the template or the output using Smarty::display() or to a specific varible/location with the layout.tpl by $yap->foo=Smarty::fetch("foo.tpl").

What is this site going to be about:

• Hacking hardware things (not into computers, or banks, or other peoples private stuff)
• Hacking software to make it beter!!! Unlike M$ products that seem to get worse with every new release.
• I will get around to installing phpBB to start. People can post sutff there.
• I have a bunch of Tek Manuals that will be uploaded and organized. FOR FREE!!! Please send them if you have them.
• Links to realy cool software that every linux user should have.
• How about a good beer list. That sounds good to me.