I have spent the last two days trying to configure a new install of PHP 5.2 to work on with my new local install of Xitami web server. This was not a great experience simply because I could not get PHP to work satisfactorily with Xitami.
What’s even worse is that there is no longer good documentation on installing and configuring Xitami. In a bid to find out why this was so, plus the fact that there did not really seem to have been an updated (or new) release in a while, plus the fact that the Xitami homepage design had not changed in the last 8 years, I did some digging around and found this interesting entry in Wikipedia. In essence, the entry notes that development on Xitami ended in about 2000 thus confirming some of my suspicions about no new versions having been released in a while…. more like 7 years!
Although I think Xitami web server is still a decent web server for local machines (or laptops), I have finally come to the conclusion that its time to let Xitami rest in peace. Since I was able to get PHP configured and working great on IIS 6, I finally decided that I really don’t need Xitami and more and it would make sense that I use IIS instead. Another reason for this decision is that since I have a number of C#, ASP.Net projects planned, rather than switching back and forth between two web servers, I should stick to IIS.
Yes, I also though about installing and using the Apache web server, but I don’t really want to spend the time to download and figure it out. I think a better investment of my time would be to make sure that the rest of my scripting engines, PERL, Ruby, Python, all work with IIS.
Posted on December 28th, 2007 by andai
Filed under: .Net, ASP.Net, C#, CMS, Content Management Systems, MySQL, PHP, Web Development | No Comments »
I am done with the initial base templates I plan to use.
Currently the templates are straight XHTML and CSS but I will have to incorporate some PHP code in them. However before I can do this, I must first turn my attention back to the PHP classes that I had started developing.
The plan now is to finish the base Web Engine PHP class that will at least call and display the templates, after which I will then derive a child class that will have the needed logic to call the right templates and input the right content. At the same time, I am also developing my PHP Template Handler class that will handle all template information, links and all that. I could also create a template class that would hold individual template file information, but that may be overkill… this is something to think about later.
But the reason why I am deriving the Web Engine PHP class is to make the class flexible so that with minimal code I can create customized versions for different types of websites if I need to. But this may not be necessary… it will depend on how I decide to approach the site.. and also on the underlying database design and content…
Posted on October 21st, 2007 by andai
Filed under: Database, Development, PHP, Web Development | No Comments »
The Times Online has a great articles on big three technology companies, Apple, MySpace and Nokia, and their decisions to open up their web platforms and allow other parties develop services that leverage their platforms.
This decision is long over due. In this day and age, I find it amazing that many of these large internet and telecoms companies are still stuck in the mindset that they need to close and protect their web platforms, and develop all the services in-house. Another example are phone companies that refuse to allow third parties access to the customers and instead prefer to provide all content themselves.
This is a bad idea in many aspects. The biggest reason though is that there is absolutely no way the companies can come up with unlimited content and other innovations for their customers. At the same time, customers will continue to demand more and more from these sites, and eventually, if they don’t get what they want, they will simply abandon these sites for those that offer what they want.
Take the example of Firefox browser. The fact that the developers allow user to build and install their own extensions and add-ins makes Firefox a very powerful browser. And this fact alone make Firefox a very compelling browser for me to use. I have downloaded a large number of extensions that I use often and makes my browser experience much more enjoyable and efficient. If I don’t like the way my browser looks, I simply install a more appealing theme. I really don’t like IE7. I think its really ugly and not very extensible. Yet there are some websites that require the use of IE. The funny thing here is that there is a Firefox add-in that allows me to open web pages in IE within the Firefox browser.
In the same way, and even more so, I do believe that many of these tech companies, that target mass customers need to have the same sort of mindset if they want to continue to grow and attract new customers.
They need to tear down the walled gardens they have maintained and open up to third party developers and other companies…
Posted on October 21st, 2007 by andai
Filed under: Business, Misc, Software Development, Web Architecture | No Comments »
Finally! Looks like Kenya is moving ahead with the fiber optic cable deal. Hopefully this will help lower costs and certainly increase connection speeds in Kenya.
Posted on October 12th, 2007 by andai
Filed under: Misc | No Comments »
Duane O’Brien, freelance developer, is running a series of articles on PHP frameworks that promises to be very informative and useful to web developers.
Posted on October 10th, 2007 by andai
Filed under: Misc | No Comments »
I find this article posted on the Financial Times website rather astounding….
Posted on October 10th, 2007 by andai
Filed under: Misc | No Comments »
Duane O’Brien, freelance developer, is running a series of articles on PHP frameworks that promises to be very informative and useful to web developers.
Posted on October 10th, 2007 by andai
Filed under: Misc | No Comments »