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for a taget audience of completly illeterate computer users is a complete ball-breaker. If offered the oppourtunity to work on such a project (even if they are flying you to france for the week to demonstrate it - like me on 23rd) dont do it - buggerin thing ¬_¬
v_Ln
Thanks for the advice.
I knew someone who wanted to build an entire doctor's office management system with XRay scanning, graphic charting, full color patient pictures, etc, using Paradox 9, with little cash outlay and in his spare time!!
Thought he could really pull this off.
I had to advise - Sure, go ahead! (if you like torture)
;)
well project team is made up of 5 people
me - only coder in group others are deigners
(names removed to protect innocent)
Guy 1 - Porject leader and client liason
Guy 2 - wannbe CSS designer (which is worse than being nothing as I ahve to redo his work)
Guy 3 - Tea boy (at least he admits to it)
Girl 1 - Research and graphic development
so i have all the php/HTML code to do on own
current software features :
full WYSIWYG interface for page design (based on tinyMCE)
backup up custom coded basicBB tags for older browsers without javascript support
full page creation and updating capabilities
automatic backup creation (cause you know someone is gonna over-write wrong page)
basic user authentication
image uploading and tag generation
admin notification and event logging
and its in 4 languages >.<
v_Ln
heh, fork a current CMS, change the code around a bit and be quiet about it.
Shh, I will not tell anybody
*cough*Drupal*cough*
Right now I'm rewriting the backend (from scratch) to my website to dynamically create galleries, search galleries, and allow password protected galleries (storing it all in mySQL). The front-end is SimpleViewer. It isn't much fun, but I'm getting somewhere in my spare time. My current system (which I also coded) works well enough right now, but in the future I want something more organized than editing files on my PC and uploading. At least most of the work is automated through PERL scripts, but it is still boring...
Anyways I remember trying to make a do-it-all CMS. Didn't go very far, especially with a flat-file database where I got carried away attempting to write a program to manage it... Good luck :p
I'm actually in the midle of writing one for my company in php/mysql. The framework is done and has all the user management abilities completed, with multiple access levels. Its all oop programming and thusly very easy to install new plugins into. It also has a built in templating engine that keeps the php code seperated from the html code.
should work great for me.
:)
I just did a complete rework of the CMS in a day >.<
moved it from a flatfile system to mySQL, built in proper user managment, file handling, page genration etc etc etc
dont think i did bad for one day - lol
I should ahve gone with mySQL to start with but dunno if the host server is going to have it - but to be honest i dont care I'll carry on providing temp hosting until I can convine them to set it up ;)
v_Ln
I totally understand how you feel and sympathize. I've been on quite a large project for the past few months. I'm in debugging at the moment and suddenly I've been thrown in with several people who have no idea what the system or the original concept behind it is about. The person who I've contracted with has paired me off with his special project director who is not technical whatsoever (go figure) and who will be managing the site upon completetion. (So the documentation I am writing is geared toward what I feel his aptitude would be with the system and it's beginning to sound like a guide to the internet for the blind.)
It's a site based off a very popular commercial script and where I should be cleaning up code, optimizing, dealing with minor bugs, and whatnot, I'm getting requests such as: "We need a language filter." I'm annoyed that I have been paired up with someone who has no idea or the brains to look at the base system documentation and see that what he has just requested has been there since the beginning.
I'm getting requests for new features that aren't in the original contract and a note in my inbox that says "launch is set for June 1st". Not going to happen. My contract ends in 9 days, so anything past that would be amending. I'm yet to meet with the designer, who has just been contracted to this project (probably should have been in on this since the beginning), so I'm not even sure of the experience they have with the base system and hopefully won't have that dumped on me as well to have to bring them up to speed in such a limited amount of time.
I am frustrated and tired and want some intellect to work with.
Want to go get a beer with me, val?
Thats when you start charging extra, and twice your normal fee.Quote:
I'm getting requests for new features that aren't in the original contract
Double overtime is sounding great right now. I think I'll request that before flying back up to Toronto and burning the place down.
I hope you made that site specification doc..... you know... the one I told you to write before taking on the contract.... to prevent things like additions being crammed on you...
It's there, believe me. Like I said, I'm working with someone who hasn't even read or understands the original scope of the project. It got passed off to him to manage it up until deployment, which is part of the reason I'm so annoyed. If he had just read the original phase layouts, he would know these things.
It is much easier to be blind and ask for new features and have things run off course than to keep with the orginal course. I have been through this before and was ran through the mud when it came to adding new features. Why? Because when somebody sees what can be done, others seem to get ideas on what could be cool. Most do not understand the complexity of new features and how far back it will set the launch of the project. I am not saying _all_ because I have worked with many intelligent folks, but that number, unfortunately, is not the majority.Quote:
It's there, believe me. Like I said, I'm working with someone who hasn't even read or understands the original scope of the project. It got passed off to him to manage it up until deployment, which is part of the reason I'm so annoyed. If he had just read the original phase layouts, he would know these things.