06th Feb 2010
FlexiPhoto is on the way
When I was starting to learn PHP and MySQL in 2001, I wanted to tackle a project that meant something to me; a non-trivial web application…
So, being a photographer and programmer with some time on my hands, I decided to write a photo database.
The first iteration of FlexiPhoto had a hard-wired interface. I rewrote it to support multiple UIs and languages. Sometime in 2004-2005, I rewrote it again as a PHP5 app.
In 2006, I got distracted by Second Life :) It was like going down a rabbit hole. I got good at scripting in LSL [1]. I shelved my web projects. What a mistake! Although I have learned a lot of web tech in the last 5 years, I had my attention split by learning a lot about Second Life. It’s nice to be good at it, but it doesn’t pay! And, damn, I could use some money about now …
So I am back on the case with FlexiPhoto. I have a virtual Ubuntu machine running at Slicehost, which I’ll use for the public-facing Demo, Wiki, and Download site. I’m in the midst of dusting off FP (switching database layer from DB to MDB2, for one thing), and expect to have it available within a week. It’s going to look clunky and very pre-AJAX, but then, I am a big fan of iteration.
A fun side note about Linux and running virtual machines at home: I still have my old 1U rack server, which hosted FlexiPhoto and other sites back in the day. The damn thing is loud! It’s running an old version of Debian. My task today is to mirror my Slicehost OS at home. I’ve installed Ubuntu Karmic Koala (9.10) on my iMac, hosted via VirtualBox. That will give me synced development & public environments. I also am able to dual boot my Samsung NC10 Netbook to Windows XP and Ubuntu. I’ve got it covered, baby!
Geez, geeking out here big time.
Anyways, FlexiPhoto is a good portfolio piece of mine, and I am stoked to be working on it again. It’s like an old friend :)
[1] …although, to this day, I really think Cory O should have finished LSL. It even makes Tcl look good, and that’s saying a lot…
