Improving color.module for Drupal 7

Project information

Project page on drupal.org: http://drupal.org/project/color_soc08
Color.module SOC '08 page: http://www.skiquel.com/dev/color
Color.module SOC '08 Demo! http://www.skiquel.com/lab/drupal-6
Color.module SOC '08 Blog: http://skiquel.com/soc
Proposal: http://groups.drupal.org/node/10072

Current status: Preparing demonstration for SOC. Continuing work on trying ideas, features, and trimming down the code to be as efficient as possible.

Description

Improving color.module to empower theme developers and webmasters.

Project schedule

This is subject to change.

• Milestone 1: May 26-June 7 -- Definable custom colors, multiple gradients. Basic documentation.
• Milestone 2: June 8-20 -- Webmaster-made custom color sets, allow users w/ permissions to choose color sets.
• Milestone 2: June 21-30 -- Custom preview.inc, Lighten/Darken/Randomize/Undo
• Milestone 3: July 1-14 -- Write functions for color harmonies (Complements, Analogous, Monochromatic, etc.)
• Milestone 4: July 15-31 -- Create color palette and link with color harmony functions through AJAX.
• Testing and bug squashing: August 1-10 -- Testing and bug finding. Tighten up code.
• Final polishing: August 11-18 -- Make sure code is up to standards. Finalize documentation.

Mission accomplished!

Status updates

(I try to keep this updated, you can also see me on @ http://skiquel.com/soc.)
This work continues to go on after SOC. :) Please check up on my blog to see progress and the demo.

August 18, 2008

Last minute touchups + Code documentation + Demonstration themes

• markup: fixed bug with extra closing tag in scheme editing caused by preview
• block: fixed bug with block on anonymous user scheme block
• block: new "edit" button for super-administrator (UID 1), for quick access to scheme
• block: "select scheme" is now "select"
• block: blocks will no longer show up if scheme info not generated
• under the hood: color_find_scheme_by_UID() rewritten
• under the hood''fill' now supports unlimited of the same color. markup changed to array(x, y, width, height, color_name)
• under the hood: Uninstall and Regenerate will now remove color_theme_* rows in {variable}.
• under the hood: fixed bug with incorrect scheme stylesheets being applied to new theme
• under the hood: color_validate() check to see if color.inc markup is correct.
• under the hood: reworked color_check_themes()
  • supports array of themes, single theme variable
  • more efficient algorithm to check
  • includes support for color_validate()
• under the hood: color_theme_scheme_generated() and color_theme_info_generated() return information on if a theme's color has been generated or not
• under the hood: functions moved
  • color_get_theme_info() is now in color.database.inc
  • color_find_scheme_by_UID() is now color.database.inc
  • color_store_reset() is now color.database.inc
  • color_get_ref() is now in color.database.inc. Renamed to color_get_reference()
  • color_validate() is now in color.misc.inc
  • Reordered functions in color.module
• under the hood: tweaking
  • color_user() will not include module files if not needed
• under the hood: fix theme that show when block view
• under the hood: reworked the way logo replacement works. slice or copy a logo.png file for a logo, or mention no logo.png in color.inc and it will use your theme's default logo.png (so you can use it later).
• scheme editor: "Previous Colors" is now color history
• scheme editor: will now see scheme title. :)
• scheme editor: will now see breadcrumb including scheme
• scheme editor: "Previous colors" and "Suggested colors" are now in a fieldset with a legend
• scheme editor: if no scheme preview CSS or HTML is provided, no preview will be shown
• Code: Added doxygen reference to functions

• Demonstration themes: Completely redone themes: cleanstate, friendselectric*, nista, simpla, splender, spooner. Upgraded to new color module: Garland, Minnelli. All are featuring full color support and can be used as examples. :)

• Updated from old 4.7 version (with color support added) -- however this is still bug-prone. There is a width problem in IE7 and button background one in IE6. Just a proof of concept for now. :)

August 8, 2008

(#132571) to DRUPAL-6--1

• Webmasters can now rename schemes
• In theme settings, Edit scheme selectbox will have the default site scheme selected by default.
• removed stray console.log() in color.js (was preventing farbtastic from attaching)
• Updated the right branch. Apparently the -dev releases haven't updated for a whole month because I was only committing to the HEAD branch.
• The "previous colors" (which is our undo function) and suggested colors should be clickable now :)

August 5, 2008

(Including Commit #131347)

• Now using scheme_id instead of hex values across the module.
• Now using an "Official Site Scheme" in the selection.
• Base and hybrid schemes will now require a 'reference' scheme.
  • color_get_palette() is now color_get_theme('ref')
  • There is now a color_get_theme('fields') for retrieving fields
• New theme config option, 'default_scheme'
• Scheme settings completely renovated.
  • Interface:
    • Add scheme fieldset
    • Default scheme fieldset selection
    • Edit scheme fieldset selection
    • Rebuild scheme button
  • Edit scheme:
    • Added initial support for last colors, suggested colors -- they are not attached to current focused fields yet.
    • 'Make default' if scheme isn't site default
    • Can delete scheme, and save.
    • Preview is collapsible.
• Redoing scheme installation. We will install necessary scheme info to tables before generating them.
  1.) Populate scheme table with information for generation.
  2.) Generate schemes one by one
  3.) For each generated scheme, update row in question
• Scheme fields are now placed in an array format.
• You can now add schemes -- Remember to press the 'Add scheme' button.
• Editing scheme now works
• Updated the example files.

Theme settings form

Default scheme option in scheme block

Edit scheme interface

July 30, 2008

More leaps

• (Bug) Fixed gradient preview
• (Bug) Color locking/hooking functionality.
• README updated. We have a documentation page over at
• (Improvement - Work in progress) Color scheme UI overhaul in progress
  • Darken current color
  • Lighten current color
  • Select random color
• (Improvement - Work in progress) Add/Delete custom, named color schemes from theme configuration page. W/ AJAX
• (Improvement) - Schemes changed in theme configuration will now update images and values when submitted.
• (Improvement) Image overhaul
  • Unlimited images
  • Unlimited gradients
  • Unlimited solid-color fills
• (Improvement) Stylesheet color replacement - We will now offer a Base-shift (garland-type) mode, a Custom mode for just tags, and a Hybrid which is a mix of the two. :) There is an option to automatically pick your mode.
• (Minor addition) - In the Garland color.inc example, I added the "Majestic" scheme. Looks pretty nice.
• (Correcting ambiguity) In the blocks section, the block will be named 'Pick color scheme'.
• (Correcting ambiguity) 'Regenerate schemes' button. On the theme config, there will be a new button for this. Previously, you would have to click "Reset to defaults" -- which was confusing and also defaulted other settings.
• (Correcting ambiguity) table change
  color_picks is now color_users
• (Correcting ambiguity) function color_store_theme() to color_add_theme()
• (Changed name, same function) color_set_scheme() is now color_set_user_scheme()_
  Function for setting user schemes selections (Table: color_picks) in the
• (New function) color_set_scheme()
  Formerly, this was used for storing users' scheme selections. I am now changing this function to the setting of the schemes themselves (Table: color_users).

Preview:

(Yes, suggested colors is coming.)

July 23rd, 2008

• Allow BASE only color change! YES.
• Notes: If only base color is listed in a scheme, only commas will be listed.
• Fixed: Fix scheme reset not showing schemes on next pageview
• Fixed errors for themes without fields 'base', 'text', 'link'
• Fixed errors for themes without $info['copy']
• Fixed errors for theme without $info['preview_image'] on preview.inc

• Updated README.txt

  Color.js

• is being fixed up for the custom preview.inc setup. The preview.css will change ID's matching your fields inside a div#preview. :)
• Is being set up to work with instances where certain schemes in a 'base' colorable layout doesn't have the rest/some of the fields setup.
• I have worked on reattaching the selectbox behavior for webmasters who want to add/remove custom schemes. (Has been driving me crazy!)

July 9, 2008

Performance tweaks!

• color_get_schemes(), color_get_theme_info(), color_compatible(), color_get_palette() all use static variables.
• removed the extra $themes = list_themes(); in _color_rewrite_styleshet()
• moved code around in color_form_alter() to only retrieve themes and include algorithms when needed. (~40-50ms performance fix)
• Only taking need columns (id, name, hex) from schemes in color_get_theme_info()
• fixed support for garland/minnelli screenshot on /user/{uid}/edit
• fixed admin/build/themes/settings/{theme} to correctly set theme name
• Cleanstate: fixed up cleanstate a bit.
• Fixed default variable_get('cache') variables to fit the "Disabled" mode in admin/settings/performance by default.

• Fixed notice with Undefined indexes by using isset()

  Unfinished:

• Custom preview.inc option. Currently, if you provide a preview.inc in the theme's /color folder, the default will be overridden.

  Bugs:

• Without user_access('select different theme')) and select color scheme users can pick schemes w/ block but not user profile.

June 26, 2008

• Bug fixes here and there. I had a list but laptop was left to sleep without saving... Doing best to keep tabs.
• make some functions for the _submit user scheme pick updates
• Fixed cleanstate theme to replace colors correctly
• Cleanstate scheme now has new custom fields + colors!
• "Reset to defaults" will now delete schemes for themes in files. It will also delete relevant user color picks. However it may change with:
• Fixed system up for clearing scheme_id's that don't exist.
• Removed color_legacy function. People will be able to change w/ proper documentation.
• Fixed bug On scheme change from Garland->Minelli, scheme won't change/update
• Fixed bug on scheme change to cleanstate scheme shows as aquamarine but "Your scheme does not match with your theme!" shows and color_pick row WHERE uid={uid} won't delete..
• Fixed bug with {{base}} color not switching!

• Fixed bug with switching back to default site theme (scheme will not del)

  TODO: don't pull misc/file info unless necessary (not on page load alone)
  TODO: Use some static functions to reduce loading the same data twice.
  TODO: On moving to default theme, scheme select will not reset, unless after reload.

June 20, 2008

Commit of #122620

SQL Tweaking/New DB Functions. A complete redo of the color.database.inc.

• (Done) INNER/LEFT JOIN more!
• (Done) allow color_get_theme_info and work on grabbing specific fields instead of all columns
• (Done) change 'default_set' to 'default_scheme'. TRY TO USE ID!
• (Todo) Store info on what themes are colorable in {color} table
• (Done) in color_theme_select_submit() before hand use hidden field to include scheme_id

June 18, 2008

Bug fix/Tweaking release

• (Added) On uninstall, whipe old schemes from dir
• (Added) Do a preg_replace('~[^a-z0-9._]+~, '-', drupal_strtolower($string)); to normalize file paths
• (Fixed) On block administration page, the theme now changes.
• (Fixed) Users can now change schemes w/o 'select different theme' perm.
• (Fixed) Bug on garland/minnelli with invalid stylesheet recoloring
• (Tweaked) Suppress repeat warnings in certain parts of scripts.

• (Updated) Update minnelli color.inc to new version.

  Caching
  I do not see this module as being very cache-friendly. There will have to be some thinking when it comes to this.

• Block cache: lags on select boxes on anonymous/registered users

• Caching modes 'normal': interrupts scheme changing for anonymous users. works OK w/ logged in ones

June 16, 2008

New color replacement methods!

Changes:

• Find and replace fields from color.inc inside stylesheets. /* {{base}} / #ffffff / {{/base}} */
• Include a 'base' field if you want to change colors of non-tagged color values. (I.e. Garland)
• You can keep the above stylesheets in the /color folder by doing: 'css' => array( 'color/style.css',),
• Fixed bug w/ blend_target storing in DB

• Added some more logic for falling back to default themes/color theme changing

  Quirks:

• In listthemes(), must check if theme is enabled in system! This shows extra color-enabled themes in user/{uid}/edit

• When changing over a theme, the old scheme name may show in selectbox (the module will still correctly move to default scheme for newly selected theme, though)

June 11, 2008

We got a color scheme block + anonymous color scheme selection + perms.

Changes:

• Fixed up webmaster theme selection
• Users other the uid 1 can choose scheme.
• Color scheme changing block. (YES.)
• Anonymous users can now pick color schemes

• Started applying user permissions to scheme selection. If user is not granted permission they will not be able to see scheme selection and default to default_set scheme for the theme.

  Need to know: You have to set the 'choose color scheme' permissions for the user type if they want to see the block/change schemes.

June 9, 2008

Changes:

• Legacy support code is now in the color_get_info() function.
• Updated color.image.inc for some legacy support for gradients without the color field values. (supposed to be listed like x, y, width, height, color1, color2)
• Modularized code into color.database.inc, color.stylesheet.inc and color.misc.inc
• Now 3 tables: 'color' for theme info, 'color_schemes' for individual name/theme/hex info, and 'color_picks' for user scheme choices.
• In color.database.inc, there is now functions to find scheme based on UID, hex, and scheme/theme

• color_legacy($info) in color.misc.inc function for checking/changing old scheme .inc files to be compatible with this.

  Known quirks:

• Minnelli is having very odd color effects. (http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/8634/picture8no4.png) (With current color.scheme using legacy support code to fix).

June 8, 2008

Users can now pick color schemes

Changes:

• Color schemes are now in 'color_schemes' table
• Instead of every theme having one scheme stored, all schemes are stored for user selection.
• Scheme file information stored in 'extra_attr' column
• In preparation for user custom schemes, the 'scheme' column will attempt to match with the 'name' column of a pre-made theme. If no match, in the future will assume it is a custom user theme. (Generate graphics/stylesheet)

• Users can now pick color schemes for themes on a user basis via user/{uid}/edit. (YES)

  Known Quirks:

• Color schemes are installed when color.module is installed.
• New individual color themes are added when you go to admin/build/themes/settings/{theme}
• When schemes are first installed, esp. after the module installation w/ a few color themes, the set messages list is very long. Need to find a way to quiet that.

June 1, 2008

We are on our way to allowing users to select their color schemes.

Changes:

• For the moment the inline color scheme selection has been removed from /user/{uid}/edit. Can be placed back at a later time if wanted (it is in 1.6 of color.module)
• Fixed bug with color schemer showing on none Color.module themes.

• Users can now store their theme selections (not creations yet) in the DB. It will insert and edit.

  • New special 'user_scheme' name. Currently stores serialized hexed codes for color schemes. Built to support custom schemes for users.
  • A form validation for when a theme and color scheme is chosen at the same time.

May 30th, 2008

This is a commit so my mentors (Konstantin and Dmitri) and anyone else who wants to can see what I've been working on. There is a lot of temporary code in this commit. Thanks to Merlinofchaos for the magic elixir and clarification regarding themes.

Changes:

• Inline color scheme select
• Fixed schemer to work with more themes!
• Schemer now has some (maybe temporary) support for legacy color.inc files. It will present a warning but still adds to the database all the same.
• Split functions up into color.image.inc and color.algorithms.inc
• Removed indexes for Primary key. For now to change this please Uninstall/Reinstall module. It will suppress some duplicate errors from before.

Known Quirks: I cannot get the values of the select boxes for color schemes on color-enabled themes to all submit seperately on /user/{uid}/edit. It seems as if the last select box overwrites all the previous ones. And the ['colorselectbox'] hex shows up all around the form output with dprint_r($form);

May 28th, 2008

Changes:

• Added the "uid" column. Index in scheme for 'theme', 'uid' for the moment.
• Added "Color-enabled" in description of themes with color support (color.inc files present)

• Added "Color scheme" fieldset below "Theme Configuration" on the /user/{uid}/edit page. Shows up when users select a theme with color support. (user-selected schemes still have to be coded in)

  Known quirks:

• I just found that current color.module in Drupal 6 may not be handling screenshot preview correctly.

May 26th, 2008

First commit to the CVS against the Drupal 6 color.module. You can read the current README.txt.

Changes:

• Support for unlimited/custom amount of color fields. Fields atm must be declared in color.inc.
• Color scheme keys changed to scheme name (was value/hexes). Implemented storage of schemes/other color theme variables in SQL.
• Color.module install schema.
• "Reset to defaults" can be used to reset the SQL (incase you wanted to try adding new fields/colors).

• Gradient colors can now be chosen through field names of your choice.

  Known quirks:

• (Fixed) Blank page on module enable/disable, theme change submit/reset. Try reloading the URL w/o form POST.

May 11th, 2008

Added some more options to "Compatible colors". Added options for up to 6 "Last colors".

Also, I've been messing with a checkbox for "safe web colors" for the past 2 days. I'm questioning whether or not websafe colors are
Bug in Safari: "Last Colors" is bringing up more than one color when a color is set.

May 10th, 2008

Eureka! Fixed bug with the last input field not working.

Preview of how it's looking:

Fixed darken/lighten to stay in limits.

May 9th, 2008

Moved darken, lighten and randomize from page-javascript into farbtastic.js. Tweaked randomize to only move between certain levels of saturation and lightness (to avoid colors too light or dark).

Also added javascript support for compatible colors. Also support for the last 5 colors picked.

Bug though: For some reason on the last input field generated with "Last Colors" and "Compatible colors", the focused color will not be brought up. However, it jQuery is detecting the event of it being clicked.

May 8th, 2008

Can now darken, lighten, and randomize colors.

May 6th, 2008

Implemented farbtastic and jQuery on a page to mess around with things and get familiar.