fredit 0.0.4 → 0.0.5

data/README.md

@@ -1,34 +1,79 @@
 # fredit: front-end edit
 
-fredit is a simple, no-frills Rails Engine that lets you edit your Rails
-application's view templates, css stylesheets, and javascript files
-(a.k.a front-end files) through the browser.
+`fredit` is a very simple, no-frills Rails 3 Engine that lets you edit your
+Rails application's view templates, css stylesheets, and javascript
+files (a.k.a front-end files) through the browser.
 
-fredit injects an edit link into every view template. These edit links
+`fredit` injects an edit link into every view template. These edit links
 are visible wherever the template is rendered, whether it is a layout,
 a page, or a partial. 
 
+<img style="width:300px" src="https://github.com/danchoi/fredit/raw/master/screens/links.png"/>
+
 By clicking on these links, you call up a edit page that will let you
-directly edit the source, whether it is ERB, css, or javascript. An
-update button lets you save these changes and alter the underlying
-source files.
+directly edit the source. An update button lets you save these changes
+and alter the underlying source files.
+
+<img style="width:300px" src="https://github.com/danchoi/fredit/raw/master/screens/fredit.png"/>
 
-Stylesheets and javascript files are accessible through a file selection
-drop down on the fredit edit page. 
+In addition to view templates, stylesheets and javascript files are
+accessible through a file selection drop down at the top of the `fredit`
+edit page. 
 
-You can also create and delete front-end files on the fredit edit page.
+You can also create and delete front-end files on the `fredit` edit page.
 
-**NOTE:** Currently only ERB template handlers are supported. You are welcome to
-fork and add support for Haml and other templates.
+**NOTE: Currently only the ERB Rails template handler is supported.**
+You are welcome to fork and add support for Haml and other template
+handlers. 
 
 
 ## Why fredit?
 
+On a current Rails project, I needed to delegate responsibility for
+improving the copy, the styling, and the user interface to another
+person. Let's call this person "Chad." Chad:
+
+* is not a Ruby or Rails programmer
+* knows HTML and CSS
+* can make perfect sense of ERB, Rails partials, and basic Ruby
+  constructs found in ERB after a few minutes of explanation 
+* can use a web browser interface to edit files
+
+One option here is to set up a full Rails development environment on
+Chad's computer. But this option is not attractive for several
+reasons. Chad is not familiar with Linux or git. I would have to install
+Ruby, gems, and the RDBMS on Chad's computer for him. I would have to
+teach Chad a lot of things: how to check out the application code from
+the git repository, how to start the Rails app, how to run migrations,
+how to check his changes into the git repository and push them upstream.
+All this work just to get Chad to the point where he can edit the view
+templates and the stylesheets of your Rails app.
+
+Another option is to integrate a CMS into your Rails app. But in
+addition to being quite heavyweight, this approach is too restrictive when
+you want to give your collaborator as much control over the front-end as
+he or she can handle.
 
+`fredit` lets a collaborator make significant front-end contributions to a Rails
+application without the hassles of having to set up and run a local
+instance of it on their computer. Just run a `fredit`-enabled instance of
+your Rails app on a server that your collaborator can access through his
+or her browser. This `fredit`-enabled instance can have its own Rails
+environment, database, and git branch. You can add an authentication
+gateway and even run the instance as a special chrooted user if you want
+to make the sandbox more secure.
 
-## Install
 
-Put something like this in the `Gemfile` of your Rails app:
+## Install and setup
+
+`fredit` requires Rails 3.
+
+`fredit` works best as a gem you include in a specific Rails
+environment. Put something like this in the `Gemfile` of your Rails app:
+
+    source 'http://rubygems.org'
+
+    [lines omitted]
 
     group :staging do
       gem 'fredit'
@@ -37,24 +82,46 @@ Put something like this in the `Gemfile` of your Rails app:
 and then run `RAILS_ENV=staging bundle install`, adjusting the
 `RAILS_ENV` to your target environment.
 
+To run your Rails app with `fredit`, just start it in the Rails
+environment Gemfile group you put the `fredit` gem in. When you hit the
+app in the browser, you should see the injected view template links and
+be able to click through them to `fredit`'s source code editor.
+
 
+## fredit with git 
 
+`fredit` assumes that the Rails instance it is running on is a cloned git
+repository. **It also assumes that you have set the current branch of
+this git repository to the one you want your collaborator's changes
+committed to.**
 
-## fredit's git workflow
+When your collaborator makes changes, `fredit` will commit those changes
+on the current git branch of this clone of the git repository. There is
+a form field in the `fredit` editor for the collaborator to enter git
+author information and a git log message. These bits of information
+will be added as metadata to the git commit.
 
-fredit assumes that the Rails instance it is running on is a cloned git
-repository. 
+When you're ready to review and merge the changes your collaborator made
+via `fredit`, it's all just a matter of working with git commits and
+branches. You can set up client-side git hooks on the `fredit`-enabled
+clone to notify you when your collaborator has made changes, to
+automatically push those changes to the appropriate branch in the
+upstream repository, run a CI build server, etc.
 
-When you save your changes, fredit will make a git commit on
-the git branch this instance of Rails application.
 
-Clicking on fredit link will take you to a simple web-based editor where
-you can directly edit the source of the view template.
+## Security
 
+`fredit` has basic security features, on top of which you can add anything
+you want. At a minimum, `fredit` will not allow any user to use the `fredit`
+web interface to edit a file above or outside the Rails application root
+directory of that Rails instance.  
 
 
-commit these edits on a git branch and attribute commits to the author
+## Contribute
 
+Feel free to fork and take this simple idea wherever you want to. The
+current version of this project is really just a quick and dirty
+implementation that I needed pronto.
 
 
 ## License

data/app/views/fredit/index.html.erb

@@ -5,10 +5,24 @@
     <style>
 
 body {
+  padding-top:0;
   padding-bottom: 30px;
+  font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans;
+  font-size: 12px;
+  margin-left: 40px;
+  width: 80%;
+  background-color: #EDEDED;
+}
+h1 {
+  margin:0;
+  padding:0;
+  float:left;
+}
+h1 em {
+  font-size: smaller;
 }
 textarea {
-  width: 80%;
+  width: 100%;
   height: 500px;
   font-family: monospace;
 }
@@ -22,12 +36,15 @@ input[type=text] {
   width: 100%;
 }
 table {
-  width: 80%
+  width: 100%
+}
+form#fileSelector {
+  float:right;
 }
 form#createFileForm {
   border-top: 1px solid #CCC;
-  margin-top: 30px;
-  padding-top: 30px;
+  margin-top: 10px;
+  padding-top: 10px;
 }
 
     </style>
@@ -38,9 +55,9 @@ form#createFileForm {
   <div id="notice"><%= flash[:notice] %></div>
 <% end %>
 
-<h1>Fredit: front-end edit</h1>
+<h1>fredit <em>front-end edit</em></h1>
 
-<form action="<%=url_for%>">
+<form id="fileSelector" action="<%=url_for%>">
   <select name="file">
     <% Fredit.editables.each_pair do |k, v| %>
       <optgroup label="<%= k %>">
@@ -50,7 +67,7 @@ form#createFileForm {
       </optgroup>
     <% end %>
   </select>
-  <input type="submit" value="load"/>
+  <input type="submit" value="change file"/>
 </form>
 
 <form action="<%=url_for(:action => :update)%>" method="post">

metadata

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 --- !ruby/object:Gem::Specification
 name: fredit
 version: !ruby/object:Gem::Version
-  version: 0.0.4
+  version: 0.0.5
   prerelease: 
 platform: ruby
 authors:
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ required_ruby_version: !ruby/object:Gem::Requirement
       version: '0'
       segments:
       - 0
-      hash: -722474993
+      hash: -378632035
 required_rubygems_version: !ruby/object:Gem::Requirement
   none: false
   requirements:
@@ -52,11 +52,11 @@ required_rubygems_version: !ruby/object:Gem::Requirement
       version: '0'
       segments:
       - 0
-      hash: -722474993
+      hash: -378632035
 requirements: []
 rubyforge_project: 
 rubygems_version: 1.8.11
 signing_key: 
 specification_version: 3
-summary: fredit 0.0.4
+summary: fredit 0.0.5
 test_files: []