MSP WordPress #24 Topics

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John Havlik

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May 10, 2012, 10:12:09 PM5/10/12
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We're already 2 weeks out from the next MSP WordPress meeting (on the 24th at the Nerdery). If you haven't read/heard yet, Josh and I will be presenting at WordCamp NYC in June, so I'm thinking it'd be best for both Josh and I to do a preview run of our presentations at the next meeting.

The Power of Custom Types - I will be presenting this, it is a talk on Custom Post Types and Custom Taxonomies, basic usage, some cool tips and tricks, and then a demo of some cool plugins that use CPTs and Custom Taxonomies.

jQuery The WordPress Way - This is Josh's presentation. I'm guessing he is going to cover the awesome enqueue_script and enqueue_style system that WordPress has. I'm sure he'll reply with more details.

Both presentations should be about 25minutes in length tops (we're supposed to use 50% of our time at the WordCamp for Q&A). If you want something covered in addition to these (or specific sub topics within either) please reply.

Josh Leuze

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May 11, 2012, 12:25:34 AM5/11/12
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Yeah, I'm going to talk about how to properly enqueue scripts, using the scripts that come with WordPress instead of adding another copy, and writing jQuery that works in "no-conflicts" mode. Also some into jQuery stuff, how to add a jQuery plugin or a bit of custom jQuery to your theme to illustrate the best practices.

Basically all of the issues that I run into with my plugin conflicting with poorly built themes, how to avoid those pitfalls.



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Bill Brown

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May 11, 2012, 1:04:16 PM5/11/12
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John, At Mpls WordCamp 2010, presentations were rated by degree of
difficulty. What would you rate these?

John Havlik

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May 11, 2012, 11:22:14 PM5/11/12
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There were different tracks at WordCamp MSP targeted at different groups, WordCamp NYC is doing a similar thing (but looks to be 2x the size just by the number of sessions). Both of these sessions are in the DIY track, which I'm going to assume is about the same level as the DIY track was a WCMSP (aka the 201 track). My presentation assumes the audience knows how to use WordPress for maintaining content (blogging, etc), has possibly dabbled in theme creation/tinkering and is ready to try writing plugins (if they haven't already). Some PHP experience (but not a ton) is required. Josh's will require slightly less PHP experience (think of mine pushing the top end of the DIY track and Josh's being middle of the road).

-John Havlik

Toby C

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May 11, 2012, 11:40:40 PM5/11/12
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Congrats to Josh and John!  You guys are awesome!

Let's also do a beginner session at this month's meeting.  

What are our beginners curious about in the world of WordPress?

Toby

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Bill Brown

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May 14, 2012, 8:42:49 PM5/14/12
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Well, that may be me or are there others too?

Thanks for keeping the door open Toby!

It brings up the question, however, of whether a single group can
comfortably accommodate a wide range of experience levels. Currently,
the group seems to be very predominantly comprised of people with lots
of experience. While lots of subjects might be of common interest,
experience will typically influence how they need to be approached.

It is hard for a beginner / novice to define what it is that (s)he
wishes to learn. There is so much. Still, to try to answer your
question, here are a few things that have been on my mind:
* Coding skills seem a big barrier to higher level use but probably
not well addressed in group.
* Gravity Forms was once on the agenda but never covered.
* I've recently scratched the surface of PhpMyAdmin but wonder what
all can be done with it.
* How is the data base structured and how to work with it?
* Firebug

Message has been deleted

Daniel

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May 15, 2012, 10:14:39 AM5/15/12
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I would definitely like to see a little more content for beginners. I would be interested in learning everything Bill listed plus:

1. Best practices for editing themes, specifically with child themes
2. Essentials things to change or install on a new wordpress site such as plugins or settings
3. Resources for beginners to consult and essential things for beginners to know right off the bat
4. Any kind of coding tricks or best practices beyond normal CSS/HTML

I basically would like to know how many of you got started and progressed to more advanced things. I have several friends who would come if they could get some of the basic info to build on. There is only so much of the advanced info that makes sense without the basic framework.

Toby Cryns

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May 15, 2012, 11:32:26 AM5/15/12
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Bill and Daniel, Great ideas and thoughts there.

Bill, I think that you are right to some degree.  It is tough to be all things to everybody.  One thing that an advanced group can provide to beginners is stories and thoughts on how to proceed.  One of the most important coding skills I was fortunate enough to be taught was "where to go when I get stuck".  

Along those lines, let's invest 30 minutes in sharing our experiences and thoughts on how we got our coding chops to where they are at - hurdles to overcome, where to go next, inspirational directions to head, research skills, etc.  I am especially interested to hear from relative newbies and beginners on this topic.  I would have been lost early on had I not known more advanced folks who were able to point me towards better ways of doing things.  I would like to nominate someone to lead the discussion who hasn't led a discussion at MSP WordPress to date.  Does this topic inspire you?  If so, please reply off-list or on-list.

Toby

Toby C

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May 15, 2012, 1:12:31 PM5/15/12
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I want to state for the record that this group is intended to be accessible to all skill levels.  Early on, we had 2 tracks at each meeting - beginner and advanced.  I am open to going back to that format, but we will need people to step up and lead the required sessions.

With that in mind, the floor is open.  What session would you like to lead?

Thanks!
Toby
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