The Challenge Becomes the New Normal
Just as in the first few weeks of the COVID-19 lockdown, when every video chat presented a small challenge (if only because the author now owns a total of about nine video apps, and each one works a little differently), we quickly got used to the inevitable and gradually began to see the positive sides of this new reality.
This effect was also evident at our second TYPO3 Techsummer event.
At the first Techsummer event, some speakers experienced minor technical issues, which we were able to address in advance with the speakers for the second round this time. As a result, everything worked as intended from a technical standpoint, and we were able to focus on the event itself.
The first event had a few more attendees. We think this was also due to a return to “normalcy,” and that the initial curiosity had faded a bit. But rest assured, everyone who wasn’t there: you missed some great presentations.
Let the games begin
This headline from the last blog post could be reused here, adding a touch of sustainability to this series of articles on Techsummer.
But seriously: Christian Keuerleber used “quirks” in video games to entertainingly highlight the need to deliver software that’s as bug-free as possible. With enough determination, enthusiasm, and know-how, you can actually break through walls in games that seem solid quite easily—and finish a game in 1.5 hours instead of a few days or weeks.
The community that takes advantage of these bugs in games has gathered online under the tag “Games done quick.” For example, https://gamesdonequick.com/ is a good place to start exploring these interesting methods and learning from them.
While it may be “fun” to literally break the rules of a game and thereby accomplish the seemingly impossible, the situation is a bit different when it comes to web-based business applications. Here, every potential bug can lead to financial loss. I therefore highly recommend that every reader check out the OWASP Top Ten list at https://owasp.org/www-project-top-ten/, which provides a concise explanation of the most serious vulnerabilities to avoid.
Automated tests, which ensure during development that errors are automatically detected and thus avoided, are another key component. Of course, this requires that you actually review the test results and only deploy the software when all tests pass.
TYPO3 Page Types as a Good Way to ...
... to better manage your data in TYPO3, as Alexander Böhm then explained.
Although TYPO3 comes with a predefined set of page types, these can be customized to suit your specific needs. The advantage of this is that it makes it easier for editors to manage content in a structured way later on. The benefit of structured content, in turn, is that it can be optimized much more effectively for SEO, and that you’ll also have the option later to present the content differently based on its structure.
There is a difference between something being marked “red” and “red” having a negative connotation in a specific project. For software that will eventually be used in China, this small but subtle difference can lead to major problems if it cannot be automatically adapted due to an unstructured presentation of the content.
However, using multiple new page types can also lead to problems; for example, there are more pages in the page tree that require a sorting strategy.
The agency of your choice should be able to assist you in making this decision.
Read until your head spins...
...is what you can do with the new TYPO3 book, which was presented by Voker Neuenhaus and Frank Schubert.
The book is being published by Apress. It is scheduled for completion in July 2020 and is set to be released in the third quarter of 2020.
You can find more information on the project’s website: https://www.typo3book.com/
Richard Haeser then introduced us to the TYPO3 dashboard
Sorry for the Germanization, but I wanted to see if the term “dashboard” could be translated into German. In my opinion, it doesn’t work in this particular case.
So let’s stick with the TYPO3 Dashboard
Richard presented the results of the TYPO3 Dashboard Initiative (https://typo3.org/community/teams/typo3-development/initiatives/typo3-dashboard-initiative). As the lead developer, he provided deep insights into the project, and it quickly became clear how the Dashboard can be used in your own TYPO3 projects.
Since there are already many pre-built widgets that just need to be configured, getting started here is quite straightforward. Backend programmers also have the option to write their own new dashboard functionalities. This offers more freedom in design, but a dashboard like the one at Backend thrives on consistency in its user interface. Imagine a dashboard in red where the clock is a glittering pink. That doesn’t work, so you should exercise restraint when it comes to graphical creativity.
These custom-programmed widgets are also easy for experienced developers to integrate. The Dashboard Team welcomes every new dashboard made publicly available through this channel.
Richard has encouraged anyone with ideas for new widgets to share them with the team. Even if you can’t program these widgets yourself, you might get lucky and find a developer who finds the idea interesting and is willing to get to work on it.
Summary of the Second Event
The event went well and evolved from something out of the ordinary to a “normal one”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2WKnAIYELo). Congratulations and thanks from us to everyone who contributed to its success.
The next regular TYPO3 Techsummer event will take place online again during these extraordinary times. It would be great if readers who have made it this far would mark July 17, 2020, as a full-day event on their calendars, as this time, starting at 9:00 a.m. with a few short breaks, many interesting presentations await a larger audience.
You can find more information here: https://techsummer20.typo3.com/events
