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Deploy* is a free, open source, online tool which allows users to quickly deploy a web project folder in only a couple seconds.
It offers a couple unique features from other project folder downloads such as customization, valid XHTML, HTML, and CSS, but the most unique is bookmarking.
Deploy*'s bookmarking feature allows the user to go through the form only one time and then bookmarking the next page (deploy.php). When the user returns to that bookmark it instantly generates another .zip folder with all the settings the user had previously entered.
If you have a Mac you could add that bookmark to your dock and it's only a click away. Windows and Linux users could also add the bookmark to their desktop and it will always be right there waiting.
Info on creating the bookmarks on the desktop and dock* (Mac users only) is coming soon!
Choosing the your type of HTML is currently required. As of now there are four choices of HTML you can choose from:
Each choice generates a unique outcome. By choosing a XHTML or HTML document you get a different DOCTYPE and <html> tag. Choosing one of the XHTML document types will give you this for a <html> tag:
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
By choosing an HTML document you will end up with a <html> tag like this:
<html lang="en">
Each of the four choices have different DOCTYPEs.
XHTML 1.0 Strict DOCTYPE:
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
XHTML 1.0 Transitional DOCTYPE:
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
HTML 4.01 Strict DOCTYPE:
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd">
HTML 4.01 Transitional DOCTYPE:
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
You have three choices in the CSS category:
By choosing either "Blank" or "Reset" Deploy* will add a <link> tag in the head of your final html document, or index page included in your deploy. Here is what it will add
<link rel="stylesheet" href="css/style.css" type="text/css" media="screen" title="no title" charset="utf-8" />
Choosing blank will give you a "style.css" in the CSS directory. The actual file has nothing inside and has a 0 byte file size.
When you choose reset it will also give you the same result as blank, but includes resets for just about everything to aid in cross browser default css issues. The css resets are compressed and at the top of the the page. The resulting file size is approx. 4KBs and is valid CSS 2-3. Below is the actual CSS that gets put into the style.css page when choosing reset:
html,body,div,span,applet,object,iframe,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,p,blockquote,pre,a,abbr,acronym,address,big,cite,code,del,dfn,em,font,img,ins,kbd,q,s,samp,small,strike,strong,sub,sup,tt,var,dd,dl,dt,li,ol,ul,fieldset,form,label,legend,table,caption,tbody,tfoot,thead,tr,th,td{margin:0;padding:0;border:0;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-align:left;font-family:inherit;}table{border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0;}ol,ul{list-style:none;}q:before,q:after,blockquote:before,blockquote:after{content:"";}
From the jQuery site:
jQuery is a fast, concise, JavaScript Library that simplifies how you traverse HTML documents, handle events, perform animations, and add Ajax interactions to your web pages. jQuery is designed to change the way that you write JavaScript.
If you would like to include this javascript library choose "yes". After selecting "yes" you will be prompted to choose a compression type.
File sizes:
Minified and Gzipped - 16kb
Packed - 30kb
Uncompressed - 97kb
Once you choose a compression type it will add a script tag that is based on what compression type you chose. Below is an example.
Uncompressed jQuery script tag.
<script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery-1.2.6.js"></script>
Plugins are a great way to give your website or web application a quick boost with prewritten code. If you would like more information on a specific plugin and what it does simply choose from the listing of plugins below. It will give you the developers link.
Depending on what the plugin includes determines what gets put where in your Deploy*. For example, the Corner plugin will only include the jquery.corner.js in the JS folder and include a script tag below the jQuery script tag like so:
<script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery-1.2.6.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery.corner.js"></script>
Each plugin has different requirements to run. ThickBox makes an excellent example of this. It requires, two images, one javascript file, and a stylesheet. Deploy* will place all required files where they need to be for you as well as generate the proper (x)html in the head of the document.
PLEASE NOTE: If you choose NOT to have an image or CSS directory and a plugin requires them Deploy* will override your choice and create the directories anyways.
For Developers:
If you are a jQuery plugin developer and have downloaded Deploy* to add your plugin to Deploy* is extremely easy. There are only a few steps:
PLEASE NOTE: Images will be placed in an images directory and stylesheets in a CSS directory. If your plugin links to any file make sure your plugin links to the plugins with those file paths in mind. The pngFix plugin by default links to a x.gif in the same directory as it's javascript file. We would need to change the file path from x.gif to images/x.gif. The nice thing is that the only modifications you have to make to your code is file paths to images and stylesheets.
Here is an example of what this would look like:
<plugin> <dir>color</dir> <name filename="jquery.color.js">Color</name> </plugin>
Of course, there are many more options for extra functionality and so it suites your plugins needs such as options for stylesheets, images, and a link back to your site built right in. View the plugins.xml file for more information.
If you would like to suggest a plugin for Deploy* to be included natively just email me and tell me where I can download it.
Bookmarking is what makes this tool so helpful.
If you are like me, you usually start a project the same way. For example, I always use XHTML Strict, CSS with resets, and jQuery packed. I also always make a css, js, includes, and images folder.
Deploy* makes it extremely easy to save a deploy setup and redeploy. All you have to do bookmark the download page!
Mac users: CMD+D (works in almost all browsers)
Linux and Windows users: CTRL+D (works in almost all browsers)
In the final release of Deploy* the page title will reflect what the deploy is. Example, your bookmark would be named: XHTML Strict, CSS Reset, and jQuery Packed, rather then what it is now(Deploy* | Choose, Bookmark, Deploy*)
With Fluid you can use Deploy* without ever opening your browser! Fluid is a Mac OS X application by Todd Ditchendorf. Fluid creates SSBs (site specific browsers). Fluid turns any web site not only into a SSB, but an actual Cocoa application running on your Mac with it's own icon, menu bar, and everything.
Deploy* offers a special feature for SSBs including Growl notifications for when your deploy* is finished and ready for download and even more useful, an optimized MenuExtra SSB.
To get Fluid and Deploy* working together is simple and only takes a couple steps.
That's it! You will now see the Deploy* icon in the menu bar which you now click and resize the window to your personal preference.
These miscellaneous options give you some extra options that you might find helpful. The first three options (image directory, includes directory and flash directory) give you the option of adding extra directories, or folders, to your project. They do NOT contain any files. The last option, php index file, is perfect for people who know they will be working in PHP. This will rename the index.html file to index.php.
Below is the list of compatible browsers and operating systems:
Mac
Deploy* is not a paid service nor is it generating revenue in anyway. It will never be an application or program outside of the web. At this time it is not meant to be portable or easily modifiable aside from adding plugins for jQuery.
