Well, I was just over at the Qooxdoo site. They are now at version 2.0.1! With the 2.0 release they've branched it into Website, Mobile, Desktop, and Server Editions.
I thought this would be a good starting point for the new version of my mapping application. During the rewrite, I created some design documents as well as a project journal. I think what I should do is do yet another rewrite for Qooxdoo 2.0 (I can't find my user-authentication back-end anyway, plus I had some issues with the way it worked). I can reuse most of my code, it's a matter of putting the pieces together. So, with the new version - I think a rewrite is going to be my best option.
I should probably try to get my old-code working anyway to make sure the server is configured correctly, but that will be a task for another day (I'm dreading it). I'll be able to test the mapping data using QGIS, so all that's really needed to be tested is Mapscript and the rpc-backend for Qooxdoo. Maybe I'll just test it with new code, that way I don't have to tinker with the old stuff - it's kinda a pain in the ass.
When I did the rewrite I made a Yii web-app that served as a launching-ground to my mapping application. It was kinda of a website that flushed out the details of the actual application. However, I could never get the user-authentication to work smoothly. It appeared to work smooth, but I knew what was going on behind the scenes and didn't like how it was written. Now that Qooxdoo has a special library for Websites, maybe I can use it instead of Yii. I toyed around with jQuery not too long ago as well, and from the sounds of it - it seems that Qooxdoo's Website module has features that work similar to jQuery.
I put Aptana on this computer for a different project, but I think it's time to stick with one thing - mapping. My uncle asked me about my mapping project this summer. I told him I stopped working on it. Maybe that was also a sign to keep at it. Uncle + Elysian Shadows Dev Team Inspiration = Continue onward with my mapping project.
My friend that originally got me into mapping has moved far away. He was the one who knew about GIS and could answer all my questions. He kinda gave me a crash-course in mapping. I've been given enough knowledge to at least get some results in this project. And... There is a GIS user group an hours drive from here once I really get into it. I'm sure if I show them what I have (once I have it) they'll be more than happy to answer questions I might have.
I've kinda gotten off-topic here, but isn't that what a blog is about? Ranting about whatever comes to mind.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Dreading the Server Config
One thing I hate is setting up and configuring servers for custom applications. That's exactly what I have to do... I started on it for a little while this morning...
Got Apache, Postgres with PostGIS, PHP5, and PHPMapscript installed. I started setting up Postgres - I think its done, just need to import some mapping data and test it. I think I have PHP and Apache done as well, phpinfo() shows that the Postgres PDO driver is enabled as well as the Mapscript module. So, that should be ready. Just need to do a bit of testing and try to get some old code plugged in and working.
I wonder what version Qooxdoo is at now? Ever since version 1.2 it seems that they've been releasing updates/changes more frequently. For me, I don't like that. That means the version I'm dev'ing in is getting older faster (not really, but it makes it feel that way).
Importing some test mapping data should be pretty easy. What I'm not looking forward to is getting all my old code to work. I didn't have a very good backup system. There's a few pieces to the puzzle that still need to be found. Mainly, my user-authentication server-side code and database sql file. I'll also need to get a copy of Qooxdoo and hope it's compatible with my old code. So, I have some digging to do.
I now have a server running Ubuntu 12.04 LTS that is running all programs mentioned above. It's also going to have my code hosted using git. Plus, I have an Ubuntu One account now so I can put snapshots of milestones up to the cloud. So, the file-backup situation seems to be well-in-hand.
I still have a long way to go before I can get back into coding. I hate you server.
Got Apache, Postgres with PostGIS, PHP5, and PHPMapscript installed. I started setting up Postgres - I think its done, just need to import some mapping data and test it. I think I have PHP and Apache done as well, phpinfo() shows that the Postgres PDO driver is enabled as well as the Mapscript module. So, that should be ready. Just need to do a bit of testing and try to get some old code plugged in and working.
I wonder what version Qooxdoo is at now? Ever since version 1.2 it seems that they've been releasing updates/changes more frequently. For me, I don't like that. That means the version I'm dev'ing in is getting older faster (not really, but it makes it feel that way).
Importing some test mapping data should be pretty easy. What I'm not looking forward to is getting all my old code to work. I didn't have a very good backup system. There's a few pieces to the puzzle that still need to be found. Mainly, my user-authentication server-side code and database sql file. I'll also need to get a copy of Qooxdoo and hope it's compatible with my old code. So, I have some digging to do.
I now have a server running Ubuntu 12.04 LTS that is running all programs mentioned above. It's also going to have my code hosted using git. Plus, I have an Ubuntu One account now so I can put snapshots of milestones up to the cloud. So, the file-backup situation seems to be well-in-hand.
I still have a long way to go before I can get back into coding. I hate you server.
Elysian Shadows Devs Have Inspired Me
Head on over to http://elysianshadows.com to check out their projects status.
Quite a few years ago, I ran into "Adventures in Game Development" on YouTube (must have been about 4 years ago). What they were doing looked fun. So, this lead me to start into game development of my own. I tinkered, a lot. I wrote mostly experimental code, as time went I tried writing a small game. I actually completed a break-out style game, then I tried another platform-style game. Anyway, the game-dev days kinda fizzled out - as is true with most projects I attempt.
Many years ago, around 2004 I was working on a mapping program. I learned a ton, and had a working application with only a few minor bugs. That project never panned out to anything. Then a few years later, I stumbled across Qooxdoo. Immediately, I thought - hey, this is perfect for that mapping project I was doing a few years back. So, I began learning the Qooxdoo Framework and made pretty good progress. Nothing that would be publicly usable, but a fun little toy was born. I stopped working on it after a few months and again, nothing came of the project.
Then in February and March of 2011, I resurrected the old Qooxdoo mapping project. I had to rewrite pretty much everything, because Qooxdoo had gone from version 0.6 to 1.2+ in that time. After about two months I had the same toy as before, entirely re-written. I had added a few new features too. But, as we all know, the project again fizzled and faded.
Okay, now onto the actual title of this post...
I was just browsing around and happened to end up at the Elysian Shadows website. Wow, it has matured. And, they are still making "Adventures in Game Development" videos! I thought, these guys rock because they can do what I have never done... They have stuck with the same project for four-years and it's still going.
So, that got me to thinking... Just think if I stuck with my mapping project since 2004. That would have been eight-years of development. I was thinking how cool my mapping application would be if I had spent that much time dedicated to one thing. So, hats off to you Elysian Shadows Dev-Team! You have inspired me!
Time to turn this what if, to why not. Why not spend the next eight-years on my mapping project. Sure, I could have long breaks from it. But, when I do work on stuff - I already will have the project sitting there waiting - calling out to me. No more, hey this would be fun to try! I've spent most of my programming experience as a tinkerer - a tinkerer that never actually has a true-project.
I know I can finish projects. I've programmed for other people before, and completed their projects. Might as well complete one of my own for a change. Or, not complete, but continually develop would be a better term. Good projects are never complete. They are continuously evolving into something grander and grander.
We'll see how true to the words of this blog-post I am. Will I follow through and stay dedicated to my mapping project? I should almost start a poll. If I look at my track-record with personal-projects I'd vote NO. However, maybe this is a turning-stone. Maybe I can follow through. Only time will tell.
Quite a few years ago, I ran into "Adventures in Game Development" on YouTube (must have been about 4 years ago). What they were doing looked fun. So, this lead me to start into game development of my own. I tinkered, a lot. I wrote mostly experimental code, as time went I tried writing a small game. I actually completed a break-out style game, then I tried another platform-style game. Anyway, the game-dev days kinda fizzled out - as is true with most projects I attempt.
Many years ago, around 2004 I was working on a mapping program. I learned a ton, and had a working application with only a few minor bugs. That project never panned out to anything. Then a few years later, I stumbled across Qooxdoo. Immediately, I thought - hey, this is perfect for that mapping project I was doing a few years back. So, I began learning the Qooxdoo Framework and made pretty good progress. Nothing that would be publicly usable, but a fun little toy was born. I stopped working on it after a few months and again, nothing came of the project.
Then in February and March of 2011, I resurrected the old Qooxdoo mapping project. I had to rewrite pretty much everything, because Qooxdoo had gone from version 0.6 to 1.2+ in that time. After about two months I had the same toy as before, entirely re-written. I had added a few new features too. But, as we all know, the project again fizzled and faded.
Okay, now onto the actual title of this post...
I was just browsing around and happened to end up at the Elysian Shadows website. Wow, it has matured. And, they are still making "Adventures in Game Development" videos! I thought, these guys rock because they can do what I have never done... They have stuck with the same project for four-years and it's still going.
So, that got me to thinking... Just think if I stuck with my mapping project since 2004. That would have been eight-years of development. I was thinking how cool my mapping application would be if I had spent that much time dedicated to one thing. So, hats off to you Elysian Shadows Dev-Team! You have inspired me!
Time to turn this what if, to why not. Why not spend the next eight-years on my mapping project. Sure, I could have long breaks from it. But, when I do work on stuff - I already will have the project sitting there waiting - calling out to me. No more, hey this would be fun to try! I've spent most of my programming experience as a tinkerer - a tinkerer that never actually has a true-project.
I know I can finish projects. I've programmed for other people before, and completed their projects. Might as well complete one of my own for a change. Or, not complete, but continually develop would be a better term. Good projects are never complete. They are continuously evolving into something grander and grander.
We'll see how true to the words of this blog-post I am. Will I follow through and stay dedicated to my mapping project? I should almost start a poll. If I look at my track-record with personal-projects I'd vote NO. However, maybe this is a turning-stone. Maybe I can follow through. Only time will tell.
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