About

This website was created in late 1995.  Back then, the Web new, I created these pages using the most convoluted process you can imagine.  I changed it a few times over the course of the next few years, then spent time moving much of the dynamic content out to separate sites, implemented using a range of different technologies: majordomo, a custom templating engine, phpBB, and Drupal 6.  In September 2010 I rebuilt this site entirely in Drupal 7.

Technological History

In the beginning ... they were Microsoft Word

They were created on December 26, 1995 using HTML Author.

.. then there was a simple HTML editor

Subsequently they were modified (mainly for URLs and backgrounds) using an evaluation copy of HTML Easy! Pro Version 1.3.

Desktop tools to do Web things

The Roadmap was created using Visio 3.0, saved as a Windows Meta File, converted to a GIF file using Hijaak Pro for Windows. The positions were worked out by loading it into Microsoft Imager and jotting down the positions the mouse pointer was hovering over, then working out the widths, heights and vertical and horizontal intervals.

The 'generate everything' stage

Mostly they were maintained using vi, with the assistance of a monster UNIX Korn-shell script that put in the background and colour tags, modified links into relative links and put in the buttons.

vi will never die

Then they were maintained for the longest time using vi, but all links are hand coded and the graphics for the background and buttons, as well as the links to the shared pages are maintained using the <base> HTML tag and relative links.

And ... finally, "horses for courses"

Still using vi for quick touchups, but I am moving to keeping them in Microsoft FrontPage 97, for creating indices and playing with advanced HTML options, positioning, and some Active content. For the main editing I have switched to HomeSite , a gorgeous HTML Editor, it makes a perfect match with CSE 3310 , an HTML Validator. I liked the pair so much, I went out and bought them. I'm using HomeSite 2.5 Beta 2 and CSE 3310 2.00 Beta 1a. Highly recommended.

They shoot horses, don't they?

Well, Microsoft FrontPage 97 is dead; I was getting sick and tired of its rewriting of my neatly laid out HTML. I am still very happily using HomeSite, with the invaluable CSE HTML Validator. HomeSite is now in its 2.5 Release, CSE 3310 HTML Validator is on release 2.00a. Still highly recommended and better than ever.

... and on and on it goes, in ever increasing circles.

Few changes to report; I'm still using Homesite, now in version 5.0. Nick Bradbury sold it to Allaire, they of Cold Fusion fame and stayed with them through release 4.0, in charge of HomeSite development. In February of 1999, he started Bradbury Software, which release TopStyle, a great Style editor, just upgraded to version 2.50. TopStyle rocks, especially its validation against different standards and browsers' support. I wish Nick the best, and hope for the best for HomeSite, and though I kept my fingers crossed for HomeSite, it seemed not to help: Macromedia bought Allaire. I still use the incomparable CSE HTML Validator, now on release 5.10. Highly recommend; it doesn't come any better.

For Change Management of the website content, I use Microsoft Visual Source Safe, and Ipswitch WS_FTP (version 7.04) to synchronize the website content between my local staging server (running Microsoft IIS4.0 on Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server SP6a) and my ISP, Pair, an excellent provider.

For graphics I use the heavy-weight tools I have professionally; top of the bill tools from Adobe: Adobe Photoshop 6.0. I use Adobe Illustrator 9.0, to create vector-based drawings and export them to Photoshop for razor sharp, clean web graphics. I use a full version of Acrobat 4.06 to generate PDF (Adobe's Portable Document Format) files and forms.

And now, the 21st century, open source, and a Content Management System

I got fed up and put it all in Drupal, an open source content management system. Right now it is an out-of-the box Drupal 7 Alpha 6 with a dev version of the contributed theme Earthish. Considering the swath of other Drupal sites I run, undoubtedly it will gain contrib modules.

With the exception of version control, the tools are more or less upgraded versions of the same tools.

Microsoft Visual Source Safe was free as I was a Microsoft Partner.  It was worth every penny.  After leaving the exclusively Microsoft world, I could no longer stand the nightly analyze runs, each and everyone with loss of links, sometimes data loss, and so on.  The lack of support of platforms was an issue too.

For Change Management of my own website content, I use Bazaar: Distributed Version Control Systems are the future and Bazaar is easy to use.  I think Bazaar and Mercurial are on a par and which one you like I think is a matter of which one you get comfortable with first.  For me that was Bazaar.

For graphics I use the heavy-weight tools I have professionally; top of the bill tools from Adobe: Adobe Photoshop CS2. I use Adobe Illustrator CS2, to create vector-based drawings and export them to Photoshop for razor sharp, clean web graphics. I use a full version of Acrobat 9 Pro to generate PDF (Adobe's Portable Document Format) files and forms.