Suggestions for Tech to use for Blog/Organiser/Gallery App Ideas

Question

i got some ideas for a blog/folio but i dont want to get a paid web server yet (still studying not really earning yet), and i thought of working on some ideas i thought will ease my blogging workflow. let me know if i can don't re-invent the wheel too much. or ideas on what i shld use

overall i think i will use adobe air + flex + db (i think MySQL/SqlLite) + scripting lang (php/zend framework, if needed)

will silverlight be better? it has C# which can do more, and since this is more of a desktop app

i dont have a web server.

free ones dont seem too reliable. so i thought of self hosting. like a desktop app.

i am thinking of using Adobe AIR + Flex (i am a web developer but seem to feel some of the Flex stuff looks great, esp Flex 4's Flash Catalyst/Builder's integration with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop). Sometimes i get headaches with CSS bugs ... embarrassing ... i know

self hosting. i seem to format alot ... i may forget to backup my MySQL database

any database thats portable and reliable (overtime, the data may get big)? MSSQL is able to store db files in App_Data, thats 1 solution? SqlLite is another? i normally use MySQL any such solution?

as for file storage, i am thinking i use a SD card, that way when i format it wont affect anything? i dunno abt speed/size tho ... i think i will be storing quite abit of images. at most i allocate a partition for it.

Wordpress/Joomla is web based and on a hosted server, going from page to page takes time.

i wanted something fast and can integrate into my desktop - like gadgets - so i can post easily. i think adobe air makes the cut here too, tho its not really a gadget.

better "image/file" management. like auto generating lightbox gallery from images

i think wordpress now has something like that with gallery short tag. with air i am thinking of making a way that i can manipulate (rotate/resize) images easily to create thumbnails, probably attach descriptions and tags.

is there any way i can work with the meta info? does meta info only exists for images. so i can create something like a file manager. i am getting inspired by adobe bridge.

I also like to manage my images/fonts (source and license)

being a web developer and with SIFR, i can use custom fonts. but i want some way i can track font license and source. some fonts dont allow for embedding and commercial use for example. i dont see any font manager that does that.

probably i use a db table for this. any other ideas. how can i read & display fonts? ttf, otf i think are the 2 main kinds i am using

i think these are all for now

Answer 1

Ok, big question, I'll answer it in stages:

For starters, self-hosting is going to produce a slow, bad user experience for anyone who visits your website. Response times will be bad, it will be up and down as your internet connection varies, and you'll have the lovely experience of having your internet get slow anytime someone browses your page.

Bottom line, DON'T SELF HOST.

If you insist on doing so, use sqlite is probably the easiest of the database technologies to move around. Since it's all flat files, and requires no running server, you won't have many of the issues associated with migrating a mysql install.

As far as technologies, if you're writing a web app, use web technologies. You mention that it takes a long time to go between pages on wordpress/joomla, but think about how much longer than that it takes for your users to load up whatever monstrosity you may have concocted in flex! Flex is designed for data-heavy database powered applications that would normally be written in something like visual basic. It allows those apps to be integrated into a website, but it's really a terrible way to build a blog.

If you want to be able to post from your desktop, consider using one of the XML-RPC desktop clients that post directly to a wordpress blog.

Bottom line, don't reinvent the wheel. Use wordpress, it's damn good at what it does. Since you don't have your own hosting, host at wordpress.com, it's free and very reliable.

Answer 2

Learn Django!

You can run it locally using a sqlite database, which solves your latency problems, and the ORM is a dream to work with, super-simple to extend, and you'll spend your time learning to use a really powerful system rather than debugging hacked together php scripts.

You can create a database model that will store anything you like, including all the fonts, images, files, and anything else you can imagine. The model ORM frees you from many of the mundane tasks associated with these things, and lets you concentrate on the logic and features you want to have in your app.

Using Django would allow you to build all the features you discussed in your post.