linkfilter 2.0 changes

Linkfilter 2.0 changefile

Introduction

Linkfilter 2 is a complete rewrite of the old one. It started out as a major overhaul, but in the end everything just had to be dumped. This document details the differences between the two codebases.

Speed

Linkfilter 2 is much faster than its predecessor. Several levels of caching and lots of optimization insures that you'll be surfing links much faster than before.

Template Cache - All templates are cached in memory thanks to HTML::Template.
Database Cache - Many database queries are cached using DBI::DBObject (unreleased). The users object makes especially good use of DBObject's session caching.
Output Cache - The initial screen and side bar are cached after processing. They are up to five minutes behind. If you want to see the uncached version add a no-cache=1 to the URL.

I haven't run benchmarks on it yet. Plan to soon.

Flexability

The new code allows for a lot more cool features. All the database objects are built off DBI::DBObject so I can add things like the google-style pager at the bottom of a request without adding much (any) code. This also makes query requests more flexable. Now you can do things like 'bookmarks=1&user=bob&sort=~points&search=jplt' which would show you all the links in your bookmarks, posted by bob, reverse sorted by points (low scores first), containing the word 'jplt'.

Feature List

Here's a list of new features you'll notice:

Skins -- And the cool skin isn't slower like on jplt (or didn't you notice). Saved 'lfskin' cookie.
Better Duplicate Control -- Way more strict on this one. http://jplt.com and http://www.jplt.com/index.shtml are considered duplicates.
User viewing -- Now you can see what other people have been up to. You can also view the full top users list.
More side boxes -- You can add stuff like 'links i've posted' and 'last months top links' to the side boxes.
Voting is on the link -- No more popups
Level Up -- If you go up a level while you're not around, you'll get the level up screen when you login again.
Search -- The search is a bit improved. Still needs work.
Paging -- You get google-esque pager at the bottom of queries.
FAQ -- Theres a FAQ now.

I'm sure there's more..

Something's Missing

Yes, there are a few things missing. The forum is gone, and may or may not return. I want to make a header view for the comments system and then i'll add some forums. The affiliates are missing too, I will add that ASAP. The XML and plain skins will be added ASAP too. Something I missed? Let me know.

That's it

Well that's all I'm writing for now. I'll update this document periodically. Hope you guys like the new code, I worked hard on it. Thanks for your contributions, without them I'd have no reason to hack.