I'm starting a site for finding awesome ComputerCraft scripts and I need help adding content, interested?

A couple users from /r/tekkit/ and /r/feedthebeast/ suggested I post this here.

TLDR: I'm trying to make finding awesome ComputerCraft scripts easier and are looking for LUA volunteers at TurtleScripts.com

Hello everyone, I have been working on this and I need beta testers. In a nut shell, I'm creating a site like dev bukkit except for ComputerCraft scripts. I would like to see more CC-LUA activity in the community and figured this might be a way to help make that possible by making it super easy to find content.

Currently, users can:

• Register / Login
• Create / Edit Projects and Files
• Edit LUA Scripts in Browser
• Project rating system
• User comments
• Add a YouTube video demonstration to your project!
• New instructions area for explaining script arguments and such
• Declare what components are required, such as a Computer with a Monitor, or a Mining Turtle.

In the works:

• Search / Sort / Pagination
• User Profile (Show Projects and community ratings, etc)
• Categories
• Beta tag (for scripts that needs feedback/testing)
• Add developers to project
• Wiki Integration
• FAQ with info on how to manage scripts (for now put them here: mods/ComputerCraft/lua/rom/programs/computer or mods/ComputerCraft/lua/rom/programs/turtle)
• Sub-folder support
• Bukkit plugin to auto-install scripts (OP/Console only/Push-from-web)

There aren't any limits on how many projects or files per project you have. The site will be free of charge and hopefully ad-free forever. Running this isn't going to cost much so I don't need to blast it with crap.

If you are interested in helping out with testing the site or writing some scripts I thank you ahead of time.

I also would appreciate any feedback as I consider this beta.

Thanks again :)/>/>

Pretty good looking site! However, I think the "Programs" section of this forum is the best way to find the best scripts.

Human, on 16 November 2012 - 08:10 PM said:

Pretty good looking site! However, I think the "Programs" section of this forum is the best way to find the best scripts.

The problem is that:

1. Old but good scripts can get buried on the forums, while on his site they get upvoted.
2. There is a lot of scripts that do the same thing, that get tedious to sort through.
3. There are a lot of incomplete scripts or libraries that are difficult for people to use.

However, it might still be true that for now the programs section is currently better. This is because there are a lot of potential improvements for TurtleScripts.com that I can see:

1. There are tags, but they are very limited. It should at least be possible to search by tag.
2. As mentioned above, different versions require different scripts, because some versions of CC have different features. It should be possible to filter by version.
3. The listings lack features like syntax highlighting. I think a good idea would just be to encourage people to link to a thread on these forums, where people can go for more in-depth information. This also makes it clear where people can go to ask questions if they wish to extend or modify scripts.
4. Downloading is not done in a very good way for CC. How are users supposed to get these programs on their CC computers? The normal way on the forums is to post the "pastebin get <code> <filename>" line, which lets you download it to any computer as long as http access is enabled. (solution below)
5. Often, people do not like packaging a ton of stuff into one script. Instead, people will create a set of files that hold shared functions of some kind, and then maybe have a couple scripts that use them. Getting something like this installed in the right place might be difficult if you have to grab files one at a time, but it does not have to be. (solution below)

What I think would be a good solution to problems 4 and 5 would be to create a simple, plain-text api for the website. I would be willing to work with you and write a script that would let you download and install a project just by entering a short code. Such a script could read the website API, download each of the files, and put them in the places the authors specify. Then, the script could be posted to pastebin, and simple instructions could be included to tell people how to enable http, and how to get the script (e.g. "pastebin get <code> turtlescripts"), and how to use it to download a project (e.g. "turtlescripts get <code/name>").

I think increasing accessibility to turtles is an unambiguously good idea, and I fully support your efforts.

The download should be able to be a pastebin link; by using this website (which I like, by the way) it means I have to update twice every time I update the program.

(I uploaded shipper, you need an API section so that I can upload CGE and Art :)/>/>)

I do see the advantages of this now. BTW, the username "Human" came up as a bad username when I tried to create it. Now I am stuck with "HumanTheCoder" :)/>/>

You know what I'd like to see? The ability to go through a site like this and "add" various progams to your collection (tied to your user account). This could be organized however you want in a folder or directory structure. Then a Computercraft API is developed that allows one to interface in game to your website and pull/push that whole directory hierarchy (call it a "disk" I guess). Then you'd be able to develope your programs while you are playing Minecraft and could upload your programs when they are working to your website. it would also simplify getting programs users want from your website into the game. I think this would be awesome. Might need to plan out more how exactly it should all work, though. What do you guys think?

Ideas:
-Lyqyd's Windowing API.
-Any of many VMs published, to emulate redstone CPUs or 0x10c.
-Gopher's Logo interpreter.

Human, on 17 November 2012 - 07:14 AM said:

I do see the advantages of this now. BTW, the username "Human" came up as a bad username when I tried to create it. Now I am stuck with "HumanTheCode" :)/>/>

Would you like me to change your username to just "Human" ? I can override it in the DB if you would like :D/>/>

Any possibility on adding an "extra" field to the requires/extras?
(oh, and add the printer)

This way, we can use peripherals written in the peripherals forum.

And maybe a depends on other projects?

Oh yeah, also add in "advanced computer" as well as computer as that is quite an important requirement for a lot of programs now :)/>/>

da404lewzer, on 17 November 2012 - 08:47 AM said:

Human, on 17 November 2012 - 07:14 AM said:

I do see the advantages of this now. BTW, the username "Human" came up as a bad username when I tried to create it. Now I am stuck with "HumanTheCode" :)/>/>

Would you like me to change your username to just "Human" ? I can override it in the DB if you would like :D/>/>

That would be nice.

billysback, on 17 November 2012 - 10:53 AM said:

Oh yeah, also add in "advanced computer" as well as computer as that is quite an important requirement for a lot of programs now :)/>/>

Most scripts are only for advanced computer now :D/>/>

Human, on 17 November 2012 - 11:04 AM said:

Most scripts are only for advanced computer now :)/>/>

Honestly, I suspect most of the scripts CC newbies from tekkit or FTB want are turtle utilities and remote control scripts, neither of which require advanced computers. But we will see!

kazagistar, on 17 November 2012 - 11:29 AM said:

Human, on 17 November 2012 - 11:04 AM said:

Most scripts are only for advanced computer now :)/>/>

Honestly, I suspect most of the scripts CC newbies from tekkit or FTB want are turtle utilities and remote control scripts, neither of which require advanced computers. But we will see!

Well, that was a typo. I meant to say that most of my scripts are only for advanced computers.

Oh wow, fantastic idea, and it's looking very cool already - well done! I really like the idea of a centralized dedicated script repository, and the tag/category system will make this really powerful!

Whilst I do agree with the post above saying that the /programs forum is the biggest program collection at the moment I kind of get the feeling that that's because there's been no real alternative - until now.

I really hope that this gets the attention it deserves, as it has the potential to become a very powerful tool for users of CC. And with the impending popularity boost that CC will be getting at Minecon, that can only be a good thing for both users new and old, and ComputerCraft itself!

Holy crap! Did you write the HTML for that site? It looks great!

Also, can someone make a program like the pastebin program, but for this website? Thx.

So this will sound like a stupid question but is this site Only for turtle programs or for all computer programs ?
also I have made account and added Mouse File Browser . See how that goes I might add some more of my back catalog to the site.

Nice website, I have a suggestion though. I recently added one of my WIP programs and there currently is no source code. Can you add allow users to add a progress bar to the bottom of their posts saying how percentage the program is done?

I'm currently working on a package manager for computercraft, and I wouldn't mind adding a function to fetch files from turtlescripts.com, but the API would be a bit easier to use if there were a 'type' entry to match each 'key' entry in the output. When fetching project information, it would be easiest to grab the type and key of each item into a table from the API output for that project information, then act appropriately on each file. Currently, I would have to discard the first key (as it refers to the post entry, not the file entry/entries), but I would prefer to have a post/file 'type' entry to act appropriately on. That would also open up the possibility of grabbing a project description from the post itself later on down the road.

An alternative would be a 'contents' API call that just gives the information about the files in the project, similar to github's API output when getting the contents of a repository.

Either way, I appreciate the effort you've put in so far! The site looks pretty good.

Are you looking for moderators? I would be glad to help, and I can be trusted. I'm fairly well known on these forums and I have experience with forum moderation. Lemme know via PM if you're interested.

The website has plenty of potential, however it needs work.

List of stuff to be added:
- More requirements for programs, besides computer, turtle, etc. For example: modem, advanced computer, etc.
- Moderation
- More friendly posting, I find posting rather annoying. You can't edit, and the text is HUGE.

Dlcruz129, on 24 November 2012 - 07:12 PM said:

The website has plenty of potential, however it needs work.

ACK


You should maybe add an option to sort the programs in different way, not only by rating.

"Modem" as an requirement is really needed. A way to add custom requirements would be nice.

There should be more options for writing description and instructions, maybe with Markdown

The site is lacking community features, like group projects, forking, pull requests, dependencies on other projects. But maybe I'm asking for too much.

truhgoj, on 17 December 2012 - 09:12 AM said:

Dlcruz129, on 24 November 2012 - 07:12 PM said:

The website has plenty of potential, however it needs work.

ACK


You should maybe add an option to sort the programs in different way, not only by rating.

"Modem" as an requirement is really needed. A way to add custom requirements would be nice.

There should be more options for writing description and instructions, maybe with Markdown

The site is lacking community features, like group projects, forking, pull requests, dependencies on other projects. But maybe I'm asking for too much.

Maybe you shouldn't bump really old topics. But maybe I'm asking for too much.

The site looks really good! I love the sleek design of it. Though one question;
I don't remember reading on your topic saying that it is turtle scripts only, but the website is TurtleScripts.com so i'm kind of confused :huh:/>. So could you specify in the post if it is turtle only or not. Sorry if I am acting blind and its right there :3

Dlcruz129, on 17 December 2012 - 09:38 AM said:

Maybe you shouldn't bump really old topics. But maybe I'm asking for too much.

Why the hell not?
The Topic is still relevant, the site is still existing.
The idea and the design is good, its just leaking on features and more important users.


@walia6
I thing you can use the side for any kind usefull ComputerCraft script.

truhgoj, on 17 December 2012 - 10:25 AM said:

Dlcruz129, on 17 December 2012 - 09:38 AM said:

Maybe you shouldn't bump really old topics. But maybe I'm asking for too much.

Why the hell not?
The Topic is still relevant, the site is still existing.
The idea and the design is good, its just leaking on features and more important users.

Because its against the rules. That's why.

Bumping is fine if it isn't too old and it adds content - which the post does.

Leave the moderating to us - report something if you think it is necessary we take action - and we will if we need to.

Wow, I love it. The UI is great, it's awesome. Can we get the installer into vanilla ComputerCraft?

I am interested :)/>

I would register… But I'm not so comfortable with mandatory licensing of my code under Creative Commons… Even the creativecommons.org wiki doesn't recommend it:

Can I apply a Creative Commons license to software?

We do not recommend it. Creative Commons licenses should not be used for software. We strongly encourage you to use one of the very good software licenses which are already available. We recommend considering licenses made available by the Free Software Foundation or listed at the Open Source Initiative. Unlike our licenses, which do not make mention of source or object code, these existing licenses were designed specifically for use with software. Furthermore, our licenses are not compatible with the GPL, the most frequently used free software license.

Maybe an option to choose a different OSI-approved license? Like GPL?