Most recently for UF, I’ve built a Web site deployment tool using Perl called SiteDeploy. We’re using it internally at WebAdmin on top of
our Subversion repository to manage the UF Home Page and most of our other sites. It gives everyone here an overview of what has changed and when things were pushed live.

SiteDeploy uses the Catalyst Web framework to take advantage of Perl’s flexibility and huge library of existing code. Catalyst encourages use of the model-view-controller pattern, similar to Ruby on Rails. In SiteDeploy, the code for interacting with the Subversion repository (the model) is completely separate from the code that displays the user interface (the view). There’s a thin layer (the controller) that talks between the two based on input from the user.

The model layer uses Moose, which simplifies Perl object-oriented programming. The code is easier to maintain and much easier to read. Moose also gives you some basic type checking, but doesn’t force you to cast between types like in some other languages. instead of calling the svn binary or using the Subversion bindings directly in SiteDeploy, I’m using VCI. VCI gives you a unified interface to multiple version control systems, so in theory WebAdmin could move to Git with little effort.

One of my favorite parts of this project is how easy it has been to add unit tests and acceptance tests. Every time I make a change, I run the tests to make sure I haven’t broken anything. I find and solve bugs sooner, giving me more confidence in my work.

In the future I’ll probably add some additional access control to SiteDeploy so that some of the people we work with can deploy their own sites. This may be built on top of Subversion’s access control, or might be implemented separately in a database. In the latter case, I’ll use DBIx::Class.

I consider Catalyst, Moose and DBIx::Class to be best practices for Perl development these days. If you’ve used Perl in the past, but it’s been a while, or been turned off by TIMTOWTDI, I encourage you to give it another try.

Well, the group — which has reached almost 50 members — is finally gearing up for their first official meeting. If you’re interested in going, we have all you need to know right here.

When: April 16 from 1 - 2:30 p.m.
Where: Reitz Union, Rm. 361
Why:
Discussion topics

• Why are we here?
• The purpose of the CDG
• Branding the CDG
• Social and Community: What’s the best possible method of communication?
• Any other topics that you want to discuss

From Kirby: “Take some time to think about how we, as a group, can make the CDG a success. This is a great opportunity for all of us to make a difference and to learn from one another. I hope you share my enthusiasm.”

Creative Design Group Flyer

Carlos Morales, webmaster for the College of Medicine, responded saying his college uses WordPress extensively. The sites that are managed by WordPress include their news site called Insider, the department of radiology, and the electronic medical records site.

Morales also included a few short descriptions of the sites:

• The Insider was the college’s first implementation and uses an independent WordPress installation, LDAP authentication and minor customizations.
• The department of radiology is also an independent installation with LDAP authentication. In addition, they use WordPress sharing with the directory database to list faculty members.
• The electronic medical records site is an example of a site managed by WordPress MU, or multi-user, which allows them to create multiple sites without having to install WordPress bases for each one.

Morales also wrote about the success of working with WordPress MU. “It’s so easy to work with”, Morales wrote, “it takes me seconds to create an entirely independent site based off of my templates.”

Working with WordPress MU was enough of a success that the department rolled out a college-wide site publishing service called Medinfo Sites that manages everything including blogs and traditional pages.

The sites supports comments, so long as you login with your GatorLink.

“I love the flexibility and power WordPress offers, and we’re constantly improving and tweaking the features and designs,” Morales concluded.

While I found that e-mail informative, I decided to get some more background information and sent Morales a follow-up e-mail. Here are the questions and answers:

When did your department decide to start using WordPress and why?

Sometime around March 2008 we were (charged with the task of) with creating an internal news site for the College of Medicine. I came back a few days later knowing WordPress would be the perfect solution. I jumped into it head first and began learning how to use the system, modify existing templates, and eventually create my own custom templates. The result was the Insider, which continues to be improved every chance I get (but is still heavily based on pre-made templates).

How has WordPress improved your web site?

WordPress offered a solution that removed me from the role of touching content. This let me focus on how best to display content to our different users. WordPress saves me time because it makes it easy for a web-novice to manage the content on their site. It saves us money because we don’t have to hire expensive web developers to try and recreate the same thing, or maintain it, or expand it (which would be impossible to do, seeing as how hundreds contribute to the WordPress core).

Would you recommend WordPress to other departments in UF’s Web community?

I make my rounds advising units and colleges on WordPress (and WordPress MU) regularly. I feel it’s a content management system that will give our sites a needed boost in features, function, and usability, while at the same time saving the university some money. I really believe in the product and the community around it.

If anyone has any comments or questions about using WordPress, feel free to add them here.

According its site, the group’s mission is to create a network of designers on campus who can provide feedback to each other.

Designer Al Kirby is the one organizing the group, so I shot him an e-mail to get some more information.

Why did you start the group?

I’ve been a designer my whole (short) professional career and I’ve never worked with a team of designers. All of my influence has come from researching, design blogs, tutorials and so on.

For the most part, all of the projects I’ve designed have (been) my own … concepts. I wanted to start some kind of Design Group on campus so designers could have an outlet for inspiration, creativity and technical advice.

The hardest part of any project is getting started. This is when the designer has to think and conceptualize. Not having any other inspiration, the lone designer can get stuck in a rut, so to say.

For example, I may approach a project thinking about one concept that I think is best. However, if I were to get outside inspiration and ideas from other designers, then my options suddenly become clearer. As a group, we can determine which concept clearly defines the project.

I also hope to make folks more aware that design and creativity are valuable assets and should be taken seriously.

I think this sounds really cool. And it’s not too late to get in on the action. Al said the group hasn’t met yet, and he’s aiming for the first meeting to be some time in late March. After the meeting, they’re going to set up a blog to exchange ideas and advice between future meetings.

In the mean time, he’s looking to expand the group, which has 23 members so far. So if you’re interested, make sure to sign up using the form on the group’s page.