Overview

This tutorial will walk through the creation of a feature for ccMixter.org that was added by taking full advantage of template engine and Query API.

The idea was to create a quick-and-dirty version of a feature of other remix sites that allow artists to embed "remix me" widgets onto their site. (Typical example is from the [Trifonic site].) Those sites use fancy Flash (tm) widgets, but here we aren't aiming so high. We just want a simplified version of that, something that leads remixers to the [stems] and starts them down the road to uploading.

Requirements

For this feature we need an HTML snippet that will:

• List the remixes of a given artist with the ability to stream, download and find out more about the remix.
• Show links for downloading stems and uploading a remix.

This last step is a little tricky. What other sites do is direct users to a screen that allows them to basically register an account with the site in the same transaction as upload their remix. We won't be quite so fancy and just create a screen that directs users to either create an account or, if they already have an account, submit the remix.

Implementation Spec

To create this feature we will create several templates and use the Query API to call them. Here are the templates we want to make:

• A Remix Me template - this will be embedded into the user's blog or web site. It will have to be 'straight' HTML and assume nothing about styles or layout.
• A get my stems template - when the user clicks on 'get my stems' this will popup a window with a list of download-able samples from the artist.
• A upload my remix template - this will live on the ccHost installation site and direct the remixer to either the login/register screens or the 'Submit Remix' screen depending on whether they are logged in already.