Twittch Update

I posted a new comic over on Twittch a little while ago:

I wrote a custom static publishing tool that generates the whole site. My tool generates the random links *when I publish the site*, rather than dynamically. With only three comics, this isn’t a big deal. As the site grows, I will use some JavaScript to generate that link on the fly.

For each new comic, I do the following:

• Create a new, numbered directory on my filesystem.
• Create an SVG file using Inkscape.
• Export three images: the full-size comic, a 320-pixel wide mobile version, and a 320-pixel wide teaser comic for the Atom feed and the image shown above.
• Create a .properties file with the comic title, tooltip, tags, characters, and publication date.
• Run a program that generates the site on my hard drive.
• Using Yummy FTP, I synchronize the site to my ISP.

I commit the SVG, PNG, and .properties files to git. I do not commit generated files to git.

Atom Feed

Although the Atom feed appears in the “normal spot” in any modern web browser, a few people missed it. So I put a feed icon directly on the page to alleviate this problem.

Comments

I use Google Friend Connect for comments. I just added it a few hours ago, and am looking forward to seeing what kinds of gadgets Google comes up with next.

Why Static?

So why write a static publishing tool?

• I don’t want to deal with WordPress upgrades.
• I want 100% control over every single URL.
• I want the most scalable possible site in case I’m ever on Digg.
• I can (and do) store all content in git with full history.
• Because I wanted to.

Future Plans

You’ll have to stay tuned. But I do plan to publish at least weekly, and a mobile version of the site is high on my priorities list.

Posted on Monday, April 20th, 2009 at 10:39 pm in Comics.