"Journal Software"
06 / 10 / 02
General
(This post is mainly for Raine, though I'm not denying anyone... ooh, this one click post is neat... ahem...)
To read the complete post, click on the accompanying "link" that's conveniently posted with every entry...
Okay, I knew this would come up eventually. There are more journaling softwares out than you can shake a stick at. You can do a search on google and probably blow your brains out with the amount of sites returned. Some are free, some require a link, (the dreaded "powered by" link back or something), others can only be used through a certain condition, (I heard blogger is mainly ftp, though there are programs that let you access it through other means), and others cost, period.
I can't really promote any one software, because everyone's needs/tastes/expertise is different. I know I had a hard time looking for an alternative to Greymatter when the time came, but I lucked out a wee bit. It didn't import my GM over like it claimed, but I got around that. If the bug ever gets fixed, I'll port it over then.
I'm getting off track. At this point, the only two programs I can comment on is Greymatter, a perl based journaling software, and Nucleus, a PHP/mySQL backend.
Both have pros, both have cons. I used them for different purposes and they perform to the necesary requirements.
Greymatter: This is the one I used first, and will always stay close to my heart. I was a little intimdated by the templates, but the manual explained everything pretty clearly. There's bugs in the templates, but nothing that I couldn't get around. It's very easy to change the look to match your site, or change it to whatever you feel like at the moment.
Greymatter [can be/isn't necessarily] a space hog. It depends on your needs and how you have it configured. With most perl based journaling programs, static html files are created. In the case of GM, (if you have it configured that way), for every single entry, an html file and a cgi file are created. The small cgi is so the core will know what content goes where in the html file itself. So if you post a lot, those entries will pile up on you. If space isn't a problem, no worries. But if you're in the two digit area of megs, be careful.
However, if you don't necesarily need every Tom, Dick, and Harry commenting on everything you say, you might consider turning off the individual entries feature. The cgi file is still created for each entry, but only the archives get HTML files (weekly or monthly depending on how you have it).
The biggest problem with Greymatter that I had came when I had over 150+ posts and needed to do a dreaded rebuild. What happens is, with creating static HTML files, if I had to change the entry templates (or any that may have affected the entries on the individual level), then obviously the HTML files have to be re-edited to reflect those changes. So I'm having to sit there and watch as it slowly takes the entries in blocks of 20, and rebuild the files...
This can get very tedious. I got to the point where I hated having to change anything because of this rebuild. Mind you, I had my individual entries turned on. I could have saved myself a lot of hassle if I'd had only archives, but I like having people comment directly to my post instead of having to go see if maybe they responded on their own journal. And I'm sure those who do comment find it convenient as well.
Another problem with GM is support. The original creator, Noah Grey, no longer offers support. Actually, he took himself off GM some time ago for personal reasons. That's fine, he's really a nice guy and he needs the time off. There is a support forum run by volunteers, but since they aren't the original programmers, well, sometimes they might not know the answer either. This is a rare occurence, but it does happen.
But I will always love GM because of the complete control and flexibility of design over the look and feel. THe learning curve isn't that high, IMO. I'll just tend to use it for things where I'm not generating a lot of HTML files, or I don't mind the space usage.
Nucleus: This is a newcomer (least far as I go) in terms of use. So far, it's okay. It's got a few things GM doesn't have. The major attraction is the lack of static html files, and no longer needing to rebuild when I change the template. It's an instant change that takes effect immediately across the site.
However... it has a HIGH learning curve, and confusing templates. Apparently, they have 'templates' and 'skins'. Skins refer to the actual layout itself, while templates are for the look of individual elements. I also lose some slight control over design. It's very slight, but it happens to be things I personally would like to control. Add to that the fact that you need to have mySQL abilities on your webserver/host. Well that's an option that may or may not be available, and most times I see costs a little extra to get. If you already have it, then it's not a problem.
Installation for Nucleus is a bit trickier than GM as well.
GM only supports one blog, while Nucleus supports several. However, the templates, skins, and making sure you refer to the right one can be confusing. Both support multiple authors and author restrictions. I could go on and on, but I'm getting tired (cycle).
Yes, getting any type of journaling system/software can cause its headaches, but in the end, I feel it's worth it, because 1: You have complete control. 2: You don't have to worry about sytem outages. 3: It's there as long as you continue to pay for the space (unless you're on a free server).
I'm something of a control freak. And I like having all of my things in one central location, versus having to log into one place, then another, then another. And if I get tired of it, boom, it's gone, and I don't have to email anyone with "delete my account" or some such nonsense...
In the end, it's just a question of if you want to devote the necesary time to installing and learning the program, or if you're okay with letting someone else have partial control (i.e. radio userland, diary.com, etc).
I had a link that contained a partial list of different journaling programs, but it seems to be down at the moment. If it comes back online, I'll post it. Until then... ::goes to lay down and prays cramps go away::
Sorry, spammers forced my hand. Comments reviewed before being published.
Comments: 1 wind
[
link]
Gen, you're such a sweetie. ^_^
( 7:29 pm )