Category - Technical Insight

This is another very technical blog post which provides a look into the new database library which has been added to the TSM codebase with TSM4. This is an internal code library which makes it easier for us to implement new features in TSM4. This new database library is made possible by the class library which I discussed in a previous blog post.

Structured Data

Our main motivation for creating this database library was to make it easier to represent large datasets in a very structured way which could easily be consumed by the higher-level application logic. Another goal was to be able to connect UI elements to underlying data in a standard way which would allow the UI to update itself automatically when there are changes to the underlying data. Let’s dive into how our database library accomplishes these things. Read More

This will be a very technical blog post which provides a look into the new class library which has been added to the TSM codebase with TSM4. This is an internal code library which makes it easier for us to implement new features in TSM4. This new class library is the base for many other internal code libraries in TSM4 such as our UI Builder, Database, and FSM libraries. We will go into more detail on the other libraries in future blog posts.

What is a class?

A common feature of a programming language is being “Object-Oriented”. This means that the structure of the code is based around complex data structures called objects. The type of these objects is generally referred to as their class. The class describes the structure and features of the objects. Read More

In this blog post, I will be giving a behind-the-scenes overview of the new deployment system we have created and been using throughout the development of TSM4.

Why did we create this new deployment system?

The primary goal of all this was to make it quicker and easier for us to get new changes into the hands of our users, and give us the ability to control which sets of users get which changes. Let’s talk about the latter goal first. We currently split our users into 4 separate release channels: Internal, TSM4 Alpha, TSM4 Beta, and TSM3 Release. The ‘Internal’ channel is used primarily for TSM team members for testing the very latest changes. The ‘TSM4 Alpha’ channel was used during the invite-only alpha phase of TSM4. The ‘TSM4 Beta’ channel is currently being used for everybody who has access to the TSM4 beta. The ‘TSM3 Release’ channel is one which all of our users have access to, and gives all of our users access to the latest version (of TSM3) we push to Curse. These release channels can easily be changed and adapted as our needs change (i.e. as TSM4 goes from internal-only to alpha to beta to release). So, the goal of our deployment system is to make it as easy as possible to release new versions to the proper channel. Read More

The TSM Team has been hard at work for a very long time to bring you the TSM4 beta. We wanted to give you some technical insights on what goes on behind the scenes. Today we’ll be taking a closer look at the Design of TSM4. H3ggers will be joining me to answer some questions!
I asked him three questions, and he’s been so kind as to offer detailed answers to them.

On a high level, what goes into setting up a UI from the ground up like this? How much of the old UI gets taken into account, and how do you decide what is best from a user experience standpoint?

Great question. So for any UI/UX work, it’s always good to start with research. Whether you’re working on a brand new product or something that has been around a long time (like TSM), you always want to start by investigating. You focus on what has been done, is being done, what’s working and what isn’t. Read More