Development never stops...

January 23rd, 2010

After such a huge setback, it has taken me a while to recover myself and continue moving forward.  Since this bad news I have learned that what I require as an alternative is VPS Hosting.  VPS will allow me to control every aspect of the site without having our own personal server.  We can assign a domain name to a directory on our Glacialis server, and it will look like the client has there own site, which is exactly what we want.  However, VPS Hosting is expensive, we don't have a client base yet that is a dependable income for us.  I don't wish to be negative, as I know that Glacialis will succeed, just needs to progress a little slower.  No point in running before we can walk right?

So I have been perfecting my design, tweaking and generally getting things into a good position.  I have also made a new module.  AutoBanners is what I named it.  It allows you to assign a banner on a page and that banner shows at certain times that you assign.  For example, you can assign a Valentines banner to show between February 1st and February 20th. If there are more than one assigned on a certain date it will automatically pick a random one.  You can also assign a banner to show all year round.  It turned out pretty cool.

I have also been working on the group permission control system.  The idea is to allow greater control over user access to prevent some users from viewing or manipulating sensitive information. I have managed to increase the number of permissions from 18 controls to 90 controls.  If permission is denied to a certain area, it simple doesn't show up in the system. Even if the user knows the correct URL to access a certain part of the system, they will still be locked out and a system log entry is created, telling administrators of your actions.

So, I haven't stopped development, I have just moved my attention to other areas of the system, perfecting the design.

Thanks for reading

Paul Jacobs

Disappointment all round..

January 5th, 2010

Well, I spent the most part of yesterday fighting with the FTP problem I mentioned in yesterdays blog posting. After thousands of tests, numerous modifications, and copious amounts of hair tugging, I decided to contact my hosting provider.  I wanted to see if they offered any ASP scripts that would aid FTP file manipulation. After explaining my dilemma, the support assistant I was chatting with said this and I quote:

I regret to inform you, but it is impossible to use such ways of transferring due to shared hosting and security reasons.

So what does this mean exactly? Well, I can't use FTP, period, on the servers of my hosting provider.  My whole idea has gone out the window.  I am left, scratching my head, nursing my dented self-confidence and wondering how I am going to crack this nut.

I have though, been wondering if it is possible to have a clients website in a directory on the Glacialis server and have their domain name point to that directory.  I am unsure if that is entirely possible.  I will look into it today and get back to you tomorrow.  If it is possible however, I can do away with the transferring of files and keep everything local, on the servers of Glacialis, increasing speed, improving stability, boosting security and avoiding additional complexity.

Unfortunately, I will have to scrap the server module I made a couple of days ago, as it is now irrelevant, and no longer required.

I am slowly dusting myself off, and getting back to my feet.. Things will work out, and this will still be the best system I have ever made.

Development saga continues tomorrow...

Paul Jacobs

And so the challenges begin!

January 4th, 2010

I have run into the first big challenge.  On the server profile creation page, I need to test the FTP connection to the remote server using AJAX, without saving, without iframes, without refreshing or leaving the page. I can imagine it will be awesome if I get it working.  I have many ideas on how to achieve this feat, although at this point I wont share the details.

I have completed the draft server module, complete with add, edit and delete. Take a look at the following screenshot:

You may note the "Test Connection" button.  This is where I want to put the AJAX FTP connection test.  The result of which will be stored in the database for display in the servers view page.

The connection test maybe a testing, although educating, challenge, I will keep you posted.

Paul Jacobs

Draft client form complete...

January 3rd, 2010

Awoke today with a new sense of determination to actually achieve my primary goal.  This being, the completion of the draft client section with create, edit and delete features in the management area of Glacialis. I found numerous problems along the way, from scripting irregularities to style and database difficulties.  I fought through these to produce this first draft copy.

I am very pleased with the look and functionality. It includes a JavaScript drop-down calendar to select the expiry date.  This feature could change a little in the weeks to come.  Although this is a preliminary data entry form, I am pretty sure that this will only be change minimally before it goes operational. Tomorrow I plan to get the the server properties page working.  The new system, as mentioned in a recent post, will required the FTP'ing of the "Create-A-Page" when a user creates their pages.  The server profile page will include all the host details to allow this operational to proceed.


Stay tuned.
Paul Jacobs

Slow going..!

January 2nd, 2010

Development was slow yesterday, being a national holiday and all.  However I was "tinkering", which I feel is the most suitable word for my activities. I am working on the Glacialis management module which will, when completed, control and monitor the clients activities and allow us to configure the system, store and view financial records, configure the ftp and server properties and communicate with our clients with an internal messaging system.

Work will start in earnest on Monday, but up until then I am, working on the FTP problem, which I feel deserves my full attention as I have never tackled this problem before.  It seems I will have to use the inbuilt ftp.exe, and some Windows shell scripting within my pages to get it working. I am hoping that soon I can begin testing.  I have most of this planned out on paper, I just need to transfer this into code.


If I can get this part to work correctly, then this will be the worst obstacle overcome, as this is the part I am most concerned about. It is key to the entire development that this part work flawlessly. 


Stay tuned for more...


Paul Jacobs

A New Beginning... 2010...

January 1st, 2010

As a New Years Resolution, I am determined to write a more interesting and informative blog than years gone by, and update it regularly. In doing so, I hope to provide my readers with interesting insights during my development process and consequential learning which inevitably comes hand in hand.

I have new plans for 2010, a year I believe, will bring me the success I feel I deserve.  I have been programming now in classic ASP for 10 years.  I don't consider it work per-se, more like a hobby, which is a bonus as I couldn't do what I do without this enjoyment attached to it.  I have spent hours upon hours, learning new techniques, coding shortcuts, and numerous other tricks to perfect my craft. I feel within myself, that I have a lot to offer and I consistently push the limits of my abilities, to produce better solutions.  This year is when all my efforts will come together and produce Glacialis Version 3.0.  An advanced software that will hopefully offer intuitive tools for everyday internet users the chance to make and edit their own website.  Let me enlighten you about Glacialis.

I didn't really set about making a system to construct and manage a website. It grew from constructing websites for clients during the early part of 2009.  I fabricated many client systems with CMS integrated. The sites slowly got more and more complex with more tools becoming integrated.  I eventually brought it all together, and slapped a Glacialis label on it..  Glacialis was named as such, because of picture my beautiful wife painted back in 1998.  Glacialis is, in a nut shell, a Content Management System that allows users to manage and edit their website without the need of a web programmer. Today it has menus, galleries, modules, drag n drop functionality, "create-a-page" and many other features that would take a fortnight to describe.

Unfortunately, Glacialis has a major limitation/flaw that I am hoping to resolve with version 3.  Currently the Glacialis software is loaded independently on the clients web server by myself and I construct the database using a pre-defined script. A time consuming process.  Add to that, if I update the master copy of Glacialis I have to make minor changes to every system I have created, potentially hours of unnecessary work.  Version 3 however is different. All clients will be managed from one master server that contains the database, and the key web pages will be FTP'ed to the remote server.  At least this is the idea.

During the course of this year I will be organizing this new functionality.  I have already started to fabricate a management area for myself and my business partner to allow us to set up new clients in the system.  We will be able to add client details, ftp information, payment details and many other tools that will allow us to monitor usage, read user problems, improve collaboration, control access, etc..  I have a whole bunch of ideas, and you will see them laid out as I progress through this development.

I hope that you will join me on this expedition, comment on my journey, throw in your ideas along the way. Please recommend my product to your friends and colleagues.  I also have a new Glacialis Facebook page which will show this blog and other information, screenshots and hopefully some video footage of the system in use.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned...!

Paul Jacobs

Happy New Year...

To all my readers, Happy New Year...!