BambooInvoice is still alive and kicking. I've been exploring a few professional opportunities that haven't left me with much time to devote to Bamboo, but more is coming soon. My plans are:
- Upgrade to the newest version of Code Igniter.
- Models - move relevant database logic into models. Bamboo was originally written before models were a formal part of Code Igniter. Now that they are around, I want to move it all into that.
- Bug squashing - a bunch of new squashed bugs
- Cleaner code - there are a few inconsistencies I want ironed out.
- Better login system - Yeah, the login system right now is an evolutionary nightmare. It evolved out of another project, and then I removed features, and... blah. The classic problem? If you look at the database schema you'll see that Bamboo has both an email field, and a username field. Logic would tell you that username is used to login... but that'd be wrong. I've got to fix that.
- Better installer - the installer has been the number 1 problem for people who find Bamboo but aren't familar with MVC style coding. I'll fix this up.
Things that won't be making into the next release? I have no intention of adding direct credit card withdrawals, sorry to everyone who requested it. I won't be offering a formal, paid, commercial version with support. I don't think it would be worth it financially, and I don't see myself able to devote the kind of time towards it that it would require. Along the same lines, I have no intention of offering a hosted version for business use. Those are all notable goals, but that's not where Bamboo falls into things. Again, sorry.
I'm in the middle of something pretty big right now, so probably it won't happen until the end of the quarter.
Are there features or bug fixes that you'd like to see in there? Let me know or comment below!
New release of BambooInvoice.This release fixes a few minor code quirks, does some minor optimizing and fixes a few bugs. If you have 0.7 working for you, 0.71 doesn’t really offer anything new to you, but it does fix a particularly irritating bug of AJAX invoice searching not working without at least 1 overdue invoice.
The new release (0.7) of BambooInvoice has been written for days now. Probably the most significant addition is an installation script that runs through the tasks of setting up your database tables and entering your admin password, etc. I’ve also written a nice (well, I think its nice) installation guide to walk non-programmers through the process. So that’s all well and good. So where is the new release?
I’m bogged down in trying to make the system work as easily on as many possible environments as possible. This is a surprisingly complex process! It isn’t the PHP versions that’s killing me. Its the server configurations! Some servers have .htaccess disabled. One I tested on enables .htaccess, but disables mod_rewrite. Who’s ever heard of such things? Create a new folder on the server… sure I can do that. OH, you wanted to write something into that folder… just a minute, all the hoops you’re going to need to jump through are in the back?
Adoption of Bamboo is probably its highest compliment (well… aside from the actual compliments that is : ) but a major barrier to adoption is all the possible variations of a hosting environment! I hope I get it sorted out soon. Now then, for an example of how to do installation scripts right, take a look at Wordpress. My hat is off to you guys!
The Punchline
I’ve finally got around to releasing the source code first Code Igniter based project - BambooInvoice. BambooInvoice is free, open-source, invoicing software based on Code Igniter. It is intended for small businesses and independent contractors. My priorities are ease of use, user-interface, and beautiful code.
It’s buzzword compliant: AJAX, unobtrusive DOM scripting, script.aculo.us, valid XHTML strict, etc. The entire application degrades gracefully for users without javascript enabled, and complies with WAI priority two.
To get the code, visit BambooInvoice. There’s also a working demo available if you just want to play.
