Lightweight Web Application Platform
In case you haven’t noticed, I’m running Wordpress as my blog engine. It is a lightweight and flexible application that allows me to post my journal entries and to categories and administer them effectively. Like many web applications, it runs on PHP and MySQL. It is a ubiquitious environment that many webhosting companies provide and it is simple enough for most lightweight applications.
My recent survey of the market came up with a huge list of high-quality web applications running on the PHP/MySQL platform. It was a few years ago that O’Reilly identified the LAMP as a viable web development platform. It stands for Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP - a suite of open-source applications that complement each other very well indeed.
Besides this journal, I also maintain the Catholic Church’s Directory online - it is now a spaghetti of PHP scripts thrown together by part-time volunteers over a weekend. I’m amazed that it’s lasted so long (first version went out in 1999), and is now showing its age. I’m looking around considering some of the alternative Content Management Systems (CMS) running on PHP/MySQL that might be suitable replacements. The OpensourceCMS site allows users to try out these applications before going through the hassle of installing it, which is extremely useful (which proves that free software isn’t exactly free - it still takes precious time and effort to evaluate suitable alternatives).
The other outstanding task is to identify willing volunteers who are able to provide maintenance and update on the Veritas website. That may prove a more difficult task than finding suitable software.