Things every New Zenner needs to know

[Jake]

I'm pretty amazed that you guys have been working on the web since '88 and even earlier. You could have saved Tim Berners-Lee a lot of time when he invented it in the early '90s.

The Internet, then known as ARPANET, was brought online in 1969 under a contract let by the renamed Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) which initially connected four major computers at universities in the southwestern US (UCLA, Stanford Research Institute, UCSB, and the University of Utah).

More at link...

License is always appreciated...

Apart from BBs, which I rarely frequented, my chore in '88 was to lug a speedy Mac 512e from town to town demonstrating its utility with my products. After one particular demo, held in a commercial booth at a State Fair, where a small crowd had gathered to gawk at the mysterious box, one lone woman remained as the crowd moved on.

She asked, "What does the TV do?"

In '88 it might be said that the ship of fools had not yet departed -- but the passengers were curious to come on board.


J

[TShooters]

Good to hear that you have hung with it and are making progress,
Jake. Your daughter is right. One day (in the very near future) the lightbulb
will go off, and you'll say to self "Wow! I get it!"

Do read up on how the template overrides system works. A little learning here will
save many headaches when it's time to upgrade.

Overrides Tutorials

Overrides Really Simplified There's also a printable chart in the Downloads/Other Modules.

Get the Firefox Web Developer add-on. It's really handy-dandy.

You can cut and paste in Firefox, not with Control+C/Control+V, but with your mouse.

And do get the e-start book as soon as you can. It'll save you lots of time!

Lookin' forward to seeing your store in the showcase soon!

[Jake]

TShooter -

Tks. Saw the tutorial on CUSTOM folder and shied away from it (too difficult). However, the "really simplified" sheet is just what I was hoping for. I can see the whole process now. It is difficult at first to get a "feel" for where all the folders/files are. It will be helpful to ahve a visual map in front of me as I go searching for files.

I've got an idea to demonstrate what I am looking for in the way of a "map" of the program. It will take an hour or two to create. Stay with me.

I downloaded Firebug and it is just about the coolest thing I have ever seen. Will dwnld dev. tools next. I guess you already have the CoolIRIS plugin.

I read another page (after reading all the tutorials you referenced). I just made a short list of terms I was not familiar with.

Sidebox header
Category
Sub-category
Selectors
Template *Sidebox T., * Sidebox modules T.
Defines

I'm not asking you to spend time telling me what those are. I am sure there is another thread that is more appropriate for a question like that. Instead, from the perspective of a new user, I understand that the words above ref. complex ideas: each word embodies a greater base of knowledge. It is the Zen language -- and as such, it would be beneficial to be able to view a glossary of terms whenever one of these terms is introduced.

J

[kuroi]

it would be beneficial to be able to view a glossary of terms whenever one of these terms is introduced.

The Glossary link is in the blue bar that appears above each FAQ entry. You'll find most of the terms to which you referred in there.

[clydejones]

Sidebox header
This is the text and/or image that appears at the top of any one of the several sideboxes in your Zen Cart store

i.e. INFORMATION, MORE INFORMATION, MANUFACTURERS

Category
Created in your admin -> catalog -> Categories / Products
desiginates a category for your products
i.e. Paint

Sub-category
same as above except you drill down one level
i.e. Paint/Latex

Selectors
Used in the stylesheet.css to designate how various sections of a page will appear when rendered by the browser. there are two types of selectors (class and id)

This is an id selector
#topWrapper {
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
text-align: left;
width: 100%;
vertical-align: top;
}
This is a class selector
.navNextPrevList {
display: inline;
white-space: nowrap;
margin: 5px 0 50px 0;
padding: 5px 0 5px 0;
list-style-type: none;
}

Template *Sidebox T., * Sidebox modules T.

The sidebox templates are template files used specifically for the formating of the sideboxes in your zen cart store

Defines
These are found in the various language files and define an element that will be called in one of the template files. Using define statements avoids having to hard code information in the template files.

i.e. define('MY_ACCOUNT_TITLE', 'My Account'); The uppercase portion is the constant that will appear in the template file. the other portion is the text that appears when the page is rendered by the browser.

[Jake]

TShooter:

Ok, here it is. Two graphics which give visual interpretation of what Zen is.

Zen.Tutorial.Graphic.jpg shows a layout of the front page. There are links here and there which point to each component of the page. Underneath the "What's This?" prompt is the php name of the file which effects that component. Click "What's This" and a window pops up to explain the name of the component (i.e., header, side bar, etc.), one or more links to tutorials about that component, the location of the relevant file. A better design would forego the "What's This?" prompt and instead provide mouseover ballons with links to popups, or some other method of targeting selections.

Zen.Tutorial.Graphic2.jpg shows how I am currently trying to view how everything fits together. Is it layered? I'm not sure, but my suggestion is to explore the creation of a visual representation of the frontpage. break it apart visually. I am less impressed with this idea, but maybe it will prompt a better idea from someone else.

I'm sure someone could do this in a pub with a good pen and a bevnap. "Draw it out for me." Maybe this is not the preferred method by programmers, but I can attest that every salesperson can draw a conceptual explanation of every product on earth on a bevnap. (Complex ideas require more ale, but it can be done -- at least to the satisfaction of everyone who has drank as much ale.)



Jake

(Downloaded Firefox Dev Tools. Perfect! Tks.)

[kuroi]

Graphical representation is always a good idea, especially with something as visual as a Zen Cart.

Your first diagram is familiar (and I don't just mean because I recognise the specific site from which you took your screen print ). I think that this has been done before, with answers, but without the fancy popups and links to specific area of the FAQ. But I don't recall seeing it recently. Maybe somebody else knows where it is.

The second though I think is a blind alley. I don't really recognize that as Zen Cart and suspect that it could inhibit rather than aid your understanding. It's set me thinking though, and if that thinking leads to inspiration, I'll be back to share.

[Jake]

Sidebox header
This is the text and/or image that appears at the top of any one of the several sideboxes in your Zen Cart store

Thank you ClydeJones. Saw your test site too. Lots of hours in that page! Very nice.

Kuroi -- Thank you for the link to the glossary. It is bookmarked. Special thanks for your work on the free templates section. Very helpful.

Jake

[clydejones]

TShooter:

Ok, here it is. Two graphics which give visual interpretation of what Zen is.

Try here in the WIKI for a visual overview of Zen Cart

Very simple and clicking on any of the links take you to a breakdown of that particular section.

[Jake]

The Wiki article is now bookmarked too. Great stuff.

Now everyone, I am going to have to go to the woodshed on this stuff. I'm going to leave this thread now. I am ready to move onto other topics. Tks for your help, links and ideas.

Jake has left the building.

Jake