PHP User Management

Tonight I am working on adding a flexible permissions system to my PHP application ‘Dataface’.  I have a predisposition towards using PEAR classes where I can so naturally I decided to try LiveUser.  Unfortunately the documentation is scarce, and all but to-the-point.  I was, however impressed with this short article (http://jystewart.net/process/archives/2005/07/configuring-liveuser) that cuts to the chase on how to set up Live User.  I recommend this one to anyone looking for User management in a PHP application.

He-Man DVD Released

I purchased the newly released He-man DVD last week.  It has 33 episodes from season 1 (1983).  A total of 65 eps were made for each season so there will be more box sets to come.  In addition to the episodes, there is a documentary on the making of He-man that is quite well made.  All I can say is that this box set will keep the nostalgic fires burning for quite some time.

Working as Web Services Developer

I have been working as the Web Services Developer in the Faculty of Applied Sciences at Simon Fraser University for the past several months.  It has been an awsome experience so far as it has given me the opportunity to work with the latest and greatest in web technologies.  Quite honestly, I’m getting paid to do the same things that I would be doing on my own time (and still do on my own time).

My duties vary widely and I have a lot of flexibility to choose the projects that I think will be the most beneficial for the Faculty. I inherited a number of systems from my predecessor, including the Plone powered Faculty website.  Prior to starting this job, I had not worked with Plone.  I had heard of it and I had read an article or two, but aside from that it was foreign to me.  Plone is a web based content management system written in Python and running on the Zope application server.  In plain English, that means that if allows people to edit their own web pages on the site without the assistance of a tech person like myself.  It is, quite frankly, the best I have ever used, as I rarely need to delve into menial content editing duties.  This means I have more time to spend on interesting projects.

 

New Blog Installed

I have decided to keep a respectable website after years of allowing mothballs to build up.  Previous attempts at blogs (on Xanga, using PHPNuke, and using static HTML files) were all doomed to neglect.  I have chosen to try WordPress for a while to see how it goes.  It has a good reputation for being easy to use and provide good support for web standards.  The style sheets look very nice I must say.