User talk:Bugman/Infobox Aircraft

Zero ratings

Hi,

nice to see some interesting work on the infobox! Please do note that a missing rating is not the same as a zero rating. I'd prefer to not show the stars at all when a rating is missing, as in your current proposal it gives the impression that the (unrated) aircraft is a very bad one.

Cheers, Gijs (talk) 08:20, 26 May 2016 (EDT)

Cheers! For the zero rating, I was thinking of creating a new graphic based on , but with question marks over each of the 5 blank stars. Just as an artistic representation. Anyway, I'll revert to having the ratings infobox elements completely absent, as before.

Bugman (talk) 09:15, 26 May 2016 (EDT)

Some suggestions

Hi Edward,

I've got some suggestions:

1. Some aircraft have more than one type (e.g. the DHC-6 Twin Otter is both a civil and a military utility aircraft, it can be a cargo aircraft, and it can be equipped with floats, so it's a seaplane) Is it possible that one can specify more than one type for an aircraft?
2. Like the links to the development repo, the download links and the links to the livery db, can you add the possibility to indicate a link to the forum topic, if there is one?

Cheers Jonathan

Dg-505 (talk) 09:05, 27 May 2016 (EDT)

Hi! Firstly it is best to sign off with ~~~~ to stamp your wiki signature and date. For the first point, this is now implemented :) I think I just saved the change as you were writing your suggestions. For the second, I can add this as a single topic ID, e.g. forumtid, which then creates a link to https://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?&t=<forumtid>. But for this, I'd need an icon. I'll see what I can find in the Oxygen Icon set (svn co svn://anonsvn.kde.org/home/kde/trunk/kdesupport/oxygen-icons).

Bugman (talk) 10:29, 27 May 2016 (EDT)

Ok, done :) If you have the time, please test this sandboxed template as much as possible. The more feedback and suggestions, the better. Cheers!

Bugman (talk) 10:46, 27 May 2016 (EDT)

Summary

List of features

The following is a changing list of features of this template that are not present in the {{infobox aircraft}} template:

• Hangar support: Support for the hangar and aircraft template parameters. This add a number of elements:
  • Hangar logo: A hangar logo - as an image with link or a direct URL - is added to the very top of the infobox, between the aircraft name and the screenshots. For FGAddon, this is: .
  • Development repository link: Automatically created for FGAddon, if the development parameter is not supplied. For the FGUK, Helijah, and PAF hangars, a link to the hangar webpage is used (temporarily).
  • Download link: Automatically created for FGAddon, if the download parameter is not supplied. For the FGUK, Helijah, and PAF hangars, a link to the hangar webpage is used (temporarily).
  • Hangar specific categories: If the hangar parameter is supplied, one of matching Category:FGAddon hangar, Category:FGUK hangar, Category:Helijah hangar, Category:PAF hangar categories will be appended to the article.
• FDM links: Automatic link creation for the FDM wiki pages, independent of capitalisation.
• Rating representation improvements:
  • Status link: The status section link to Aircraft rating system has shifted from the label to the data text. Previously the label was the link.
  • [[File:star-*.png]] graphic links: These now have the link explicitly set to one of Aircraft rating system#Flight Dynamics Model (FDM), Aircraft rating system#Systems, Aircraft rating system#Cockpit, and Aircraft rating system#External Model, instead of going to the [[File:star-*.png]] image wiki page.
  • Label formatting: The FDM, Systems, Cockpit, and Model labels are now indented.
• Aircraft categorisation: This is now highly automated, with special values resulting in categories being appended to the article, and the parameter text replaced by a link to that category.
  • Automatic categorisation of the type parameter: Special values of the type parameter - the end categories of Category:Aircraft by type, Category:Spacecraft by type, Category:Vehicle by type, and Category:Seacraft by type - results in the text being replaced by a link to the corresponding category in the infobox as well as appending the category to the whole article. This uses the new templates {{craft type}} and {{craft type/doc}}.
  • The new config parameter and automatic categorisation: Special values of the new config parameter - the end categories of Category:Aircraft by configuration - results in the text being replaced by a link to the corresponding category in the infobox as well as appending the category to the whole article. This uses the new templates {{craft configuration}} and {{craft configuration/doc}}.
  • The new propulsion parameter and automatic categorisation: Special values of the new propulsion parameter - the end categories of Category:Aircraft by propulsion - results in the text being replaced by a link to the corresponding category in the infobox as well as appending the category to the whole article. This uses the new templates {{craft propulsion}} and {{craft propulsion/doc}}.
  • The new manufacturer parameter and automatic categorisation: Special values of the new manufacturer parameter - the end categories of Category:Aircraft manufacturer - results in the text being replaced by a link to the corresponding category in the infobox as well as appending the category to the whole article. This uses the new templates {{craft manufacturer}} and {{craft manufacturer/doc}}.
• Multiple parameter value support: Multiple values for the type, config, propulsion, manufacturer, fgname, and fdm parameters are supported by using the / character.
• Iconification: Icons are now more prominently used, with rich pop up help text:
  • Ready icons: This has been shifted to after the status ratings, and the label changed to Supports.
  • Development repository: For the development parameter, the new label Repository has been added, and the following icon used for the link: .
  • Download link: The new label Download has been added, and the following icon used for the link: .
  • Livery database link: The new label Liveries has been added, and the following icon used for the link: .
  • Forum thread link: This is a new element which uses the new forumtid parameter. The label Forum has been added, and the following icon used for the link: .
• Translation support: Currently in English, French, and German.
• Documentation cleanup: A large expansion of the documentation.
• Documented examples: Taken from the Space Shuttle, de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, and Douglas DC-3 C-47 articles. These examples make it much easier for users of the template to understand how to create an aircraft infobox. And it shows off the FGAddon support, as well as 3rd party hangar support.
• Author list improvements:
  • Collapsible list: If the new devel-team parameter is supplied, the author list will be converted into a collapsible list, with the name of the development team in bold and a [Expand] link which when clicked on will show the full author list.
  • List separator: The character / will cause the author list to be split, with each author being on a separate line.
  • List formatting: The author list is now a bullet list.

Transition

• Note that some breakages are to be expected, as the / character now causes most parameter values to be broken into lists.
• The Category:Aircraft by status categories must be renamed without redirects after the transition to the new template. The : text in the current category names, e.g. Category:Aircraft status: Advanced production‎, is broken when used within other elements such as infoboxes, and no category is added to the article.

TODO

• Icons improvements: These were quickly selected from Category:Icons and the Oxygen icon set.

Suggestion for the repo icon

Hi Edward,

I would suggest to use the icon for the development repository link because in my opinion this icon indicates that the development is going on in this repo.

Cheers Dg-505 (talk) 08:10, 2 June 2016 (EDT)

That's a good point. But I'll try to find another icon with a similar work-tool theme. The problem is that this icon is designed to go with a special <div> box with a blue frame, like on the front page. You can see the blue border in the icon, and the right side has a white transparent layer over it. I actually considered this one, but rejected it because of the border and white layer.

Bugman (talk) 08:15, 2 June 2016 (EDT)

Ah, okay, I didn't know that ;-)

Dg-505 (talk) 08:18, 2 June 2016 (EDT)

I have switched to the following Oxygen icon, for now:

Bugman (talk) 10:15, 2 June 2016 (EDT)

Corrected status categories

I corrected the Categories for the aircraft status from e.g. Category:Aircraft status:Advanced production to Category:Aircraft status: Advanced production, as the category Aircraft status:Advanced production doesn't exist.

I hope you don't take it amiss Dg-505 (talk) 08:31, 2 June 2016 (EDT)

Due to a bug in transclusion and namespaces, or maybe it is a feature, somehow, we are not allowed to have a space after the : character. Therefore once I migrate the {{infobox aircraft}} template, I will just move the all of the current 'status' category pages.

Bugman (talk) 09:22, 2 June 2016 (EDT)

Adding gear configurations?

Hi

What about adding landing gear configurations to the craft configuration? I thought about

seperate:

• Fixed gear aircraft
• Retractable gear aircraft
• Tricycle landing gear aircraft
• Taildragger aircraft

or combined:

• Fixed tricycle gear aircraft (e.g. Twin Otter, Cessna 172)
• Retractable tricycle gear aircraft (e.g. F-14, Beechcraft 1900)
• Fixed gear taildragger aircraft (e.g. Boeing Stearman, Junkers Ju 52)
• Retractable gear taildragger aircraft (e.g. Douglas DC-3, Mustang)

Dg-505 (talk) 09:02, 2 June 2016 (EDT)

Just edit {{craft configuration}} and {{craft configuration/doc}}, and expand away :) Don't go too crazy though ;) You'll then have to decide how they are organised under the subcategories of Category:Aircraft by configuration. Maybe they would fit well under a new [[Category:Landing gear configurations]] subcategory.

Bugman (talk) 09:30, 2 June 2016 (EDT)

Okay, I can give it a try. What would you suggest: The first approach with seperate categories, or the second approach with the combined categories?

I'm quite undetermined which one to choose

Dg-505 (talk) 11:08, 2 June 2016 (EDT)

Thinking about it, I would suggest separate 'base' categories. Otherwise the number of combinations could exponentially skyrocket as new base categories are added.

Bugman (talk) 11:21, 2 June 2016 (EDT)

Okay, I've edited the templates {{Craft configuration}} and {{Craft configuration/doc}}.

Could you please take a look, if I've done everything correctly?

Thanks

Dg-505 (talk) 12:05, 2 June 2016 (EDT)

It looks good! I would however suggest 2 improvements:

• Firstly please use strict alphabetical ordering in both templates, at least within the landing gear subsection. This is quite important for information organisation and lookup.
• Secondly, I would create a new table in the {{craft configuration/doc#Aircraft}} section, just for the landing gear configurations. Maybe introduce it with the text This is for the Category:Landing gear configurations subcategory of Category:Aircraft by configuration.

These 2 changes will make it significantly easier for others to quickly find the categories they need. Cheers!

Bugman (talk) 12:16, 2 June 2016 (EDT)

Done. Thanks!

Dg-505 (talk) 12:24, 2 June 2016 (EDT)

Cheers! I made one last small edit for better organisation of the sections.

Bugman (talk) 12:33, 2 June 2016 (EDT)

Open links in new tab?

Another suggestion:

Would it be possible that the links to the repository, livery database and forum topic can be opened in a new browser tab?

At least, it's my personal habit to open an external link from the wiki in a new tab and I can imagine that a number of people do the same...

What do you think? Is it even technically possible (in the MediaWiki software)?

Cheers Dg-505 (talk) 12:44, 2 June 2016 (EDT)

This is not possible as this is highly operating system and browser dependent. Well, it is at least not easy and requires some heavy php back end wiki configuration (which I don't have access to). Anyway, some OS and browser combinations allow this with a middle mouse button click (or simultaneously both left and right mouse buttons), and some browsers allow this to be configured by a user.

Bugman (talk) 13:02, 2 June 2016 (EDT)

Ah, okay. Well, never mind. It was just a quick thought.

Dg-505 (talk) 13:30, 2 June 2016 (EDT)

includeonly tag

Do we need to have the includeonly tag in the info page ? Without it we could have a preview of the new infobox when editing it. Sorry if that is a newbie question, I'm not good at wiki editing.

Tipunch (talk) 08:03, 14 June 2016 (EDT)

The reason for the <includeonly> tag is to avoid the PAGENAME/info pages being listed in the categories. One trick is to delete the very first < character for the preview, and add it back afterwards before saving.

Bugman (talk) 08:09, 14 June 2016 (EDT)

Design discussions

For reference, here is a collection of discussions related to the design of this template:

Link	Topics
[forum] A call for FlightGear wiki logos for the 3rd party hangars.	Hangar logo/banner designs
Talk:McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle#Is this the FGAddon version?	Development parameters, credit for hangars, FDM info, more {{ready}} icons
Talk:Airbus A330-200 Series/info#Language support in categories	Category translations
Talk:Short Empire#Development URLs in the new aircraft infobox template	Development parameters

author property

A get like 30 lines of author when I try to put something like |authors = [[User:Tipunch|Harald Johnsen]] in the infobox page. It works ok with only the user name. Tipunch (talk) 09:11, 21 June 2016 (EDT)

The Mediawiki #titleparts: function does not allow for links when it is used. So I haven't worked out how to do this yet. I'm thinking of an auxiliary function/page for translating a list of author names into {{usr}} templates, after the titleparts splitting.

Bugman (talk) 10:05, 21 June 2016 (EDT)

I have just added the author list expansion parameters author1 to author30. Could you test this and see if you can use |author1 = [[User:Tipunch|Harald Johnsen]]?

Bugman (talk) 17:32, 21 June 2016 (EDT)