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ccfBrowse - ComputerCraft Forum Program Browser

Started by Twijn, 07 January 2017 - 08:01 PM
Twijn #1
Posted 07 January 2017 - 09:01 PM
ccfBrowse


Introduction
ccfBrowse is a program which allows browsing and installing* on programs listed in any category of the ComputerCraft forums.

*Not every program supports installation.

How it Works
Daily, the server will search for all recent programs (More than 200) on each of the program forums here such as API & Utilities, Programs, etc. The server will look for information such as the program name, the program creator, the category of the program, and the code to install the program (If possible). This information is stored into a database to be displayed via this program.

Installation
There are 2 main ways to download this program.

1: Using wget

wget http://raw.twijnweb.com/ccfbrowse/ccfbrowse ccfbrowse
2: (If wget is not available) Using pastebin

pastebin run nwEVWK7b rByqPkOPGzxfohK

You can additionally view the source code here.

Flaws of This Program
This program is very new. Nothing has been tested that well and the intelligence of the auto-scanning is very limited. The program likes specific formats to be followed, and the different formats which some people use on this makes it literally impossible to make it gather all info. (View below to see how to make your program ccfBrowse-friendly.) This results in failure to get codes when the installation code is clearly obvious to human eyes. The program also can catch unneeded information (such as HTML info) when it shouldn't, which requires manual moderation from myself. Additionally, requests to find the code of each program is not very friendly, considering that each one requires an additional request to the server for the topic's link. This program as-of this time is purely a concept - the program is not perfect and it will take a TON of work to be perfect - by both me and by you, those posting the programs.

Making Your Program ccfBrowse-Friendly
Below is a checklist to make your program friendly to our system.
  1. Don't use formatting inside of your codes. - Things such as bolding certain parts of the installation information or adding a link to the pastebin code will halt the scanning, as it adds unexpected HTML to your code.
  2. Add a space trailing the code. - Adding a space after your code can help because it is less likely for the the scanning to get other characters after the code
  3. Make sure the code you want is closest to the top of the page - The system finds the first potential code and goes with it.
  4. We don't allow arguments - If you put in something such as pastebin run XXXXXXXX version1, VERSION1 WILL BE CUT OFF.
Screenshots:
Spoiler






Suggestions
Suggestions, Ideas, & Comments are well appreciated, so post them below!
Edited on 07 January 2017 - 09:47 PM
Lupus590 #2
Posted 08 January 2017 - 01:00 PM
work out those issues and i can see this being a very cool package manager like program
Twijn #3
Posted 11 January 2017 - 10:02 PM
work out those issues and i can see this being a very cool package manager like program

Thanks, I'm currently attempting to work on some of those issues. Some of the issues I've pointed out myself are sometimes unfortunately very hard to fix, as the system will need a decent amount of intelligence to decide if a code is decent or not.

I'm also debating on if programs with no code found should just be left out. The entry on the program seems kinda pointless, because you can just browse the forums yourself and get the full post (And you don't have to manually type in the links :/)

Tons of tweaks need to be done…. :/
Lupus590 #4
Posted 12 January 2017 - 10:42 AM
…the system will need a decent amount of intelligence to decide if a code is decent or not.
You could have it find all of the possible code chunks and then have it ask the user which one is correct.
Also, some projects may have a client and server system with separate code for each, you may want to allow multiple code chunks per 'program'.

It may also be useful if users can flag up incorrect code, the system could then check again or even do the above.

Edit: If you have the system ask multiple people and use the majority result then that will make it resistant to trolls.
Edited on 12 January 2017 - 09:43 AM