Introducing dta_admin

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ID:90361
 
Jan 25 2010, 11:30 am
I've been lurking in the shadows for quite some time but I believe it's time to come forward with a new initiative: creating a new system to help administrate your game.

The goal of this library is to replace the old "s_admin" by Spuzzum which was made in the stone age, back when we were ecstatic that we could play MIDI files and we were happy if we could find a Javascript exploit for our browser windows.

Introducing dta_admin






dta_admin is a new library created and maintained by me. It aims to create an easy-to-use, extensible administrator panel so you can focus on your game instead of having to finish a system most of your players won't ever get to see apart from perhaps the trolls.

What makes dta_admin so different from any other admin library created is that it's built for BYOND 4.0 and it's modular, meaning you can extend its functionality easily.

Modules


dta_admin starts out with a simple "show panel" verb. This brings up a panel which - if no modules are present - will appear to be empty.

However it is with the modules that this library gains its true power. You can define new modules within your project without ever having to touch the the libraries' code. Granted, this is the bonafide intention of any good library, but I haven't seen any libraries around for BYOND4+ that allow you to administrate your game and allow you to extend it easily for whatever you've got cooked up in that game of yours.

Not only can you define modules for your project, but you can also help out by creating extensions (modules) that can be implemented in future versions of dta_admin. Not only can you extend the library for your own game, but you can also help me the community by doing my work for me writing useful modules.

Features


The basics of the library work: you can create modules, mess with permissions and there exists a few samples to help you get started.

However the library does not have a lot of modules yet, and that's where you come in: if you're feeling up to it, you may want to help out writing modules for this library to make it even better!

See the hub entry of this library at hub://AndroidData.dta_admin!
Documentation for dta_admin
Jan 25 2010, 12:18 pm
"It aims to create an easy-to-use, extensible administrator panel so you can focus on your game instead of having to finish a system most of your players won't ever get to see apart from perhaps the trolls."

that's a silly thing to say considering when i (a crappy programmer) looked at the library, i went "wut" and so i tried the included demo and... nothing happened. there's no interface file included, if there should be. i have no idea
Jan 25 2010, 1:13 pm
One thing I forgot to mention is that you have to change a_demo.dm and replace the key in there with your own. I'll release an update that does this automatically, so don't worry.
Jan 25 2010, 1:15 pm
I ought to get out jt_admin 4.0 one of these days. It's been far too long since I contributed anything to BYOND, and there are so many cool new features since then, I don't know where to start. =P
Jan 25 2010, 1:19 pm
Jtgibson wrote:
It's been far too long since I contributed anything to BYOND, and there are so many cool new features since then, I don't know where to start. =P

Why don't you help by writing extensions for dta_admin? I think a modular approach so you can easily make changes per-game is nice, it's even nicer if it came with some pre-made modules written by expert developers.

I've just thrown out a minor update (0.15a) that actually makes you an admin when you run the demo. Previously you had to change my key to yours which confused poor Zaole.
Jan 25 2010, 1:21 pm
Jtgibson wrote:
I ought to get out jt_admin 4.0 one of these days. It's been far too long since I contributed anything to BYOND, and there are so many cool new features since then, I don't know where to start. =P

I was waiting for you to release it back in the day. Thought you died since, or switched keys again, at least. :P
Jan 25 2010, 1:28 pm
Android Data wrote:
One thing I forgot to mention is that you have to change a_demo.dm and replace the key in there with your own. I'll release an update that does this automatically, so don't worry.

i did indeed do that but still noticed nothing. just a plain white screen with default file options such as "save screenshot", "quit", etc
Jan 25 2010, 1:43 pm
Zaole wrote:
i did indeed do that but still noticed nothing. just a plain white screen with default file options such as "save screenshot", "quit", etc

Remove the file "dta_admin.sav" if it exists; it won't do anything if it already exists. Or you can update and use the new demo, which should overcome that.

You should see a verb called "show panel" which opens up a screen. This screen has three tabs. The middle one is a trap; clicking it will make you stuck in that tab (illustrating how easy it is to do things like that). The last tab is for managing admins and you can add/remove tags.

Until someone writes a bunch of extensions and starts using the access levels, only the "superadmin" access works. The "superadmin" access should actually grant access to any module and any functionality, though it's up to whomever writes the modules to do so.

I really, really urge people to help out to help build this library. It can be so much more, and I'd rather not see it killed in its infantile state because Jtgibson has jt_admin "somewhere around the corner" (which may not even be modularized).

Remember: you can e-mail anything you write to [email protected] and it'll come in my mailbox.
Jan 25 2010, 4:12 pm
Android Data wrote:
I really, really urge people to help out to help build this library.

That means you're not done writing modules yourself, right?
Jan 25 2010, 10:28 pm
Android Data wrote:
I'd rather not see it killed in its infantile state because Jtgibson has jt_admin "somewhere around the corner" (which may not even be modularized).

It's very modular -- along the same degree of OOP as jt_vectors -- but it is definitely not somewhere around the corner. I highly recommend that people contribute to dta_admin, or any other tangible product, rather than waiting for something which ostensibly does not exist.

Newtopia was my jt_admin testbed, and their development progressed in parallel. As Newtopia isn't playable yet, neither is jt_admin, and odds are substantial given my current trend away from programming that neither will be in the foreseeable future.
Jan 26 2010, 4:45 am
Typo:
... , whomever you may be in, ...

At the end of your Documentation.
Jan 26 2010, 10:59 am
Vermolius wrote:
Android Data wrote:
I really, really urge people to help out to help build this library.

That means you're not done writing modules yourself, right?

I hope not, but I've got a bunch of projects right now not only on BYOND but at school as well, and I'm spreading my time quite thin as it is.

My hope is that with this earlier release I can achieve two things:
1) I can get others to write modules and extend the library further, hopefully encouraging them enough so they'll submit their work so I can include it in a future version.
2) Since this is my second library (the first one failed) I can use the early release to get some helpful tips and pointers from those with more experience in that particular field.
Jan 27 2010, 9:37 am (Edited on Jan 27 2010, 3:22 pm)
I've been trying to write my own system using this library, and am having no luck.

I can't seem to access the client.dta_admin.access, even in client/New()where it is supposedly defined.

Once the library works, I'll try again.

I do love the idea though so good luck! =D.

[Edit] I figured this out when I changed the "Its a trap" tab's access to "superadmin". I assumed it would still allow me to see it since in client/New() it defines it as list("superadmin"). I tried changing it to just "superadmin" but nothing worked.
Feb 16 2010, 2:46 am
I've fixed several bugs. You may want to update your local copy of the library and then test it out.

The "extended" package now also contains the dta_player add-on: this allows you to see what your players are up to, leave notes which other admins can see, and keep track of punishments earned and alts a player is using.
Feb 22 2010, 11:45 am
Android Data wrote:
One thing I forgot to mention is that you have to change a_demo.dm and replace the key in there with your own. I'll release an update that does this automatically, so don't worry.

HURRY!!!
Feb 24 2010, 1:05 pm
really good library. But its hard to make a module! im going to have to study the code thoroughly i suppose. (Also i dont know if this is meant to happen, but when i click on superadmin in the panel, i lose the superadmin privelleges?)
Feb 26 2010, 3:20 pm
you could play dragon ball z anriod with action and adventure
Apr 24 2010, 7:00 am
awsome ya

Apr 24 2010, 7:00 am
awsome ya
May 20 2010, 2:48 am
demonic dont spam
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