Summary

Date

Spring 2007

Created For

Independent Study Course

Skills

OOP, Web Programming, Databases, Email

Technology

Python, XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, AJAX, SQL, Eclipse IDE

Source Code

Download

pySubscriber

pySubscriber was built to be, more or less, a replacement for NP Subscriber Pro. It is written completely in Python. It was created for an independent study course, but it will most likely continue to undergo development in my spare time. It will be posted on NPScripts.com once it has reached a slightly more finished state.

This project was essentially a personal exercise in the object-oriented concepts of abstraction and modularity. It was also a bit of a chance to further use AJAX in an environment where it is actually beneficial without being overbearing. It was written using the Eclipse IDE with the PyDev extension.

pySubscriber's main features are as follows:

Modular DB Support

Built in support for MySQL and SQLite
Abstracted interface to allow individual DB implementations
Transparently accessed through generic DAOFactory and DBConnectionFactory
New DB support can be added by implementing DAO methods on an as-needed basis

Modular Mailer Support

Built in support for SMTP and Sendmail
Abstracted interface so that underlying choice of mailer is transparent
Transparently accessed through generic MailerFactory
New mailer can be supported with implementation of one class method

Modular Administration Interface

Admin script loads appropriate module and method based off of request (with verifications)
Currently 2 levels of administration: list admin and system admin

Template System

Allows following operations:

Simple variable substitution
List formatting (takes in an array, returns substituted text for each element)
Error displaying
Conditional text display

Accessed through custom output classes, allowing for future support for internationalization

The template system used by pySubscriber is custom. The only part of it I did not personally write was one form of simple variable substitution, which simply uses the built in Template class in Python 2.4 and above.

Overall this project was very beneficial and enjoyable and the bulk of its architecture was completed in just a few weeks. Using the built in modularity of Python I was able to create the desired level of abstraction and modularity. The ease with which new database systems and mailers can be supported is a credit to its design. In the course of completing this project, my love of Python grew by leaps and bounds (mostly)...