To hard code or hard coding (also, hard-code/hard-coding, hardcode/hardcoding) refers to the software development practice of embedding input or configuration data directly into the source code of a program or other executable object, or fixed formatting of the data, instead of obtaining that data from external sources or generating data or formatting in the program itself with the given input. (According to Wikipedia)

During the creation of UrbanMilwaukee.com one of the obstacles we faced with utilizing the BranfordMagazine theme was the use of hard coded values to control the layout of the site.  Specifically this value was used by the theme to determine which articles appeared in the “Featured” section and which categories should display in the two article columns on the homepage.  I’ve written code for years and one of the oldest rules in programming is to avoid hard coding of values. The reasons to avoid hard coding are numerous but in this case the hard coded values limited the theme’s flexibility, added to the possibility of errors, required the mapping of a code to a category name in multiple locations, and made configuring the site difficult 

To eliminate these issues and allow the site to be more flexible we decided it would be best if we could manage the categories through the Wordpress Administration Panel.  To do this we needed to develop a plugin which would allow us to set the categories as needed.  Due to time constraints the plugin was designed with a limited number of options which is a design limitation in itself but this design resolved the flexibility and configuration problems we were facing. 

The code utilizing the hard coded values that set the “Feature” is located in ui.tabs.php.  The line of code is below:

query_posts('showposts=1&cat=1');

This was replaced with the code below

query_posts('showposts=1&cat=' .get_option('urban_mag_config_lead_category1'));

To store the option ‘urban_mag_config_lead_category1′ the plugin needed a dropdown to select the Category.  The code for this is below:

 $categories = get_categories();

 $catid = get_option('urban_mag_config_lead_category1');

 wp_dropdown_categories('hierarchical=1&name=urban_mag_config_lead_category1&selected=' . $catid);

This was just one example of the hard coded values that we replaced with dropdown settings in the plugin.  By making these changes we are now able to change the featured category whenever needed.  Additionally with these changes in place instead of code changes when we setup a new Wordpress site utilizing this theme it will only require configurations.  This is just one small example of the changes we’ve made to the BranfordMagazine. In future blogs I’ll continue to highlight other features and enhancements to hopefully give you some ideas for your next theme.  And of course, if you are interested in a Wordpress site, drop us a line and let’s talk.

Dave’s and my mutual friend and mentor recently took a position as the CIO of Red Wing Shoe. His post about his first couple weeks is here.

When you hear agencies or other marketers talking about “authentic” communication and being real, Red Wing is a great example. It’s why I agree with Kathy Sierra when she pushes back (slightly) on community building as an end rather than a means to an end.

You first build loyalty, authenticity and community by creating a product that is so kick-ass that it inspires loyalty, authenticity, and community. Unless you are a site like twitter where the value is in the people itself, it rarely is the other way around.

Congrats to our friend Joe, I look forward to hearing about what inspires this inside the company.

I spent yesterday at the Minneapolis / St. Paul MinneBar BarCamp, my first BarCamp attendance. I thought it was terrific. I’ll write more about that later. What struck me yesterday is trying to explain what I do succinctly when asked. So I will expound upon that here and then perhaps with help come up with my ‘elevator pitch’ explanation that allows me to portray my work both at TexoDev as well as Gomoll Research + Design.

I’m thinking something like “I make stuff easier.”

At Gomoll Research + Design, I focus on the user experience design element. We are a small company with amazingly talented people (and I don’t throw those words around loosely.) Someone like me focuses on Field Studies, watching people interact with something, software, hardware, people, stores, and derive important information from these observations. Working collaboratively I then work on paper prototypes and conceptual models to come up with design options.

Now with Gomoll it’s more like “We design elegant product experiences.”

I then include visual/graphic designers who take these ideas and implement them in presenting fantastic mock-ups that we can then test.

At TexoDev, we partner with Gomoll and, to use the cable companies phrase, work on “the last mile” i.e. the development. We do a lot at TexoDev beyond our work with Gomoll, on helping companies get a web presence using tools like WordPress and Drupal.

Now with TexoDev it’s “We build cool stuff.”

At a personal level, both Dave Reid and I are increasingly getting involved in our respective communities, Dave in Milwaukee, me in Minneapolis. We blog, twitter, and attend various events such as UPA, MNteractive, PDMA, web414, BarCamps, and many more. Dave is active in the Milwaukee community on urbanism topics; I talk a lot about social media and how the local aspects are interesting.

Not sure where that goes on the scale but I think it is going to be more important.

I think that last one should be something like “We engage talented people beyond our company walls”.

That gives me three short sentences to capture my focus in my work life. I work for Gomoll Research + Design where we design elegant product experiences, at TexoDev we build cool stuff, engaging talented people beyond our company walls. The last question, why, is easy “because the user experience IS the brand.” We help our clients create stronger connections with their customers.

Thanks for listening…

While Dave and I are going to use this blog to primarily talk about (a) our development work with web tools, especially Wordpress and Drupal (b) user experience design and (c) working as a small company, occasionally we’ll dip our toes in other waters as well. 

Dave and I both use Twitter to varying degrees, nad it has been a great tool for networking locally and nationally.  But today I want to point you to Chris Brogan’s post on how Twitter kept a person out of jail. I am fascinated by this, and hope that collectively, and perhaps unintended at times, the software design industry can develop tools that will make these sorts of things possible.

As tools such as twitter, blogging, and easy to use CMS continue their spread across the web, and across the world, it will become easier for everyone to have a voice.  That doesn’t mean everyone will be interested in what everyone else has (certainly I know people who couldn’t care less about what I have to say it does mean that everyone will have the opportunity to tell their stories, be it to one person, or one million. 

And Texo Dev will be there to do our part, one site at a time.