Cloud Computing

I do a lot of contract programming in a niche market that requires small, custom-written, import/export programs. Some of these can are copied with few modifications for similar customers. Once in a while, there's a common need where the application can be used by several customers. In those instances, I need to implement some form of licensing and accountability but I didn't want anything too elaborate nor do I want to incur ongoing charges for an online API for the one-time pricing structure of the projects I work on.

First off, I shamelessly admit the title is just a little misleading but it was so catchy, I couldn't resist! However, setting up a quick Drupal website did turn out to be the easiest way I could think of to get around some limitations in the environment from which I was trying to transfer a Delphi project.

Websites publish content for people to read, search, and sometimes experience through visual or audio means. Typically, the content is geared around a specified subject such as products sold by a store or discussions over a set of topics.

Lots of changes to write about since the last blog entry over a year ago.

A friend of mine runs a business selling a Windows application for a niche market. Of course he has a web site with lots of information and a way to download a trial of his software and then pay and register it. Since he's a technical person, likes writing code, likes to keep overhead low, and his needs are fairly simple, he wrote the registration program himself. He's most fluent in Delphi so it was natural to write the registration program in Delphi--an old, but very functional Delphi 2007.

I recently watched most of a dotnetConf, a virtual conference on .NET hosted by Microsoft. All the sessions were recorded and there's a lot of good and relevant content.

I was programming Win32 apps in Delphi while listening and I felt myself yearning for the cool technologies they were discussing. Yeah, Delphi has grown up a bit, but it's no longer the leader, it's following and getting further and further behind the rest of the development community.

I have recently discovered Amazon's S3 and EC2 services and think they're pretty cool. Originally, I considered them my first foray into "cloud computing" but then realized I've been using Google's email service for quite a while. There's also the fact that I give software updates via my web site and I store backups off-site via FTP. Recently, I started saving some documents out to Microsoft's Live service, just to try it out.

Every time I turn around, there are new modules, new themes, and more people using Drupal, a solid content management framework for building a huge variety of web sites.

I was visiting a client recently who asked about a new feature for their web site. Sure enough, not only was this module available for Drupal, there are several different ways to do it and some related modules for additional functionality the client will be delighted to hear about.

Have you ever wondered what a Blog is? OK, that term may be an every day verb/noun by now. But what about DHTML or Landing Page or Reciprocol Link? Do you know what a Spider does? Have your heard of ODP or know what your Page Rank is?

All these terms and more are listed on the Glossary of Web Terms.

I had no idea infections could cause a sunburn-like rash, but that's what happened on my stomach after going home from my appendectomy. I thought a heat-lamp had been too strong on me during surgery or something. Anyway, my bandages were leaking and not looking good, so Saturday morning, my wife drove me to the hospital again and I checked myself in for post-appendectomy check up. I figured I'd be waiting in the lobby for her to come pick me back up. Wrong. The appendix was so bad when it was removed, there was actually very good possibility of infection--why hadn't I been told that when I left just days before? I guess the surgeon always likes to think positive. Anyway, it looks like I'll be in just as long this time as last.

Well, let's turn that sad face from the last entry upside down! Or, at least make the best of my current situation.

Well, as I get more and more into content management systems, one client has determined which one will be the one I get intimate with first: Drupal. It is a highly rated one (see Open Source CMS) and has lots of configurability--themes and modules. (For comparison with other CMSs, also check out CMS Matrix.)

Well, I'm trying out a new way of building web sites--using a CMS (content management system). It's pretty cool, but there will be some customization, of course, to get it to do everything I want it to. However, it adds lots of features I did not have time to put into my current site. Features such as aggregated RSS News feeds, and out-of-the-box support for blogging, which is something I've thought about doing, but just never had the time to implement.