Every dark cloud...

Not everything is bad though.

Since I was blocked by hosting my website and mail locally, I began taking a look at the Google App Engine (there is probably a trademark in there somewhere).

It also uses Python as the language for apps, so - I have begun trying to figure out how to host the 'data server' for my origami web site on GAE.

Not there yet.

Again, hopefully soon.

False starts anyone....?

Well, I put together my server and set up my web server and app server then tried to 'tunnel' through my hardware firewall.

No dice.

And that is where I've been stuck all this month.

This sucks.

And they're off...

Well, I put together my new server system that will (hopefully soon) be the host for my email and web sites.

Soon I should be saving a few buck by 'hosting my own'.

Finally.

And baby makes three...

Well, there isn't actually a baby.

But, my original website (that is kind of my baby) is back in semi-active development.

I haven't gotten very far, because I am waiting to see if I have to stay on the original language that it was written in (PHP) and just add AJAX functionality with DOJO. Or, if I can completely rewrite it in Java or Django.

Now that I think about it, rewriting it in both would be a useful exercise - and advertisement.

Now I just need to be able to host everything myself.

From home.

Oh what a tangled web...

I have owned several domains for some time, and I seem to be accumulating them (slightly).

When I started (I can't remember exactly when that was), I only had one. Then I bought a second one that pointed to the first.

Now, I have five. And I haven't gotten much further than I was when I had two.

At this point, I have the two that pretty much point to the same place - a web site hosted on someone else's servers. And a third that is pointing to email - hosted on someone else's servers.

Since I now have 'extra' domains, I can afford to try setting one up to do the things that I am paying others for now (web and email hosting). Also, if I am hosting my own web sites, then I will be able to take advantage of languages and hosting environments that I would be unwilling to pay extra for (JavaEE, etc).

And, I have a computer that spends all of its time turned on doing nothing hooked up to a broadband internet connection.

Hopefully, before Monday rolls back around, I will have at least a functioning test for my own web and mail host running.

Hopefully.

It's not just a scary snake anymore...

Looks like computer languages are going to get boosted.

I have begun taking a look at both Groovy and Python/Django.

So far, Groovy seems to be a streamlined version of Java that preserves complete compatibility with Java bytecode. I will have to do more playing before I can say anything more interesting about it though.

Python/Django are actually a combination of a language (Python) and a high-level web framework written in it (Django).

Python is kind of strange. There is no real declaration of variables - they just start to exist when you first use them. And, they are loosely typed - So, you can assign a variable a string value, then assign the same variable a numeric value. And the type magically changes. Also, whitespace matters. Rather than having any kind of code blocking characters, Python uses indenting.

Django looks like it should be useful for me at least for some more utilitarian sites. I'm fairly sure that as I get more comfortable with it, there will be more uses that 'pop up'. But for now, my unfamiliarity with Python and basic distrust of high-level languages are holding that back.

Stay tuned.

Ack! Too much progress...

After so long with no steady posting, this week should be a turn around.

I already have one post unrelated to my 'three post topics for May' and I have started doing something for each of the topics I pre-picked as well.

Watch for updates.