Me thinking out load on technical issues of new site

This post is probably only of inerest to a few people but I figured those few people might appreciate the insight into my current thoughts so here goes!

Firstly, I have a new server obtained, a dedicated server that is all mine (well actaully mine and my better half's to be precise) that will only be used for our pet projects. I'm going to let IFAS use this server for the same price as I was giving them the shared hosting space that we are currently on, 60 Euro a year. Basically dedicated hosting for the price of a really basic shared package! The main advantages of this move would be: 1) an end to our bandwidth problems, the dedicated server has un-metered bandwidth! 2) The ability to install just about any programming tools I want so that we are nolonger tied down to using php and mysql but can switch to any technology we like!

This really opens things up and has got me thinking. The only thing that is tying us to php ATM is phpBB because we do not want to loose our existing posts and accounts etc. However, in an ideal world I want to move to proper enterprise level technologies for this site, and IMO the best option for that ATM is Java and in particular the Apache Struts Frame Work ( struts.apache.org/ ). This is a very widely used technology so it is not obscure and it is VERY powerful. However, what about phpBB, well, I found the answer to that today in the form of JForum ( www.jforum.net ) which is a very slick Java Based Bulletin Board system that looks like phpBB on the surface but is fully Java under the hood and uses a proper Java based templating engine to make it much easier to customise the look etc. But the icing on the cake is that it supports migration from phpBB!

Another nice thing is that it supports postgreSQL for the backend which is good because it is a much better system than MySQL which we currently use.

Basically, as I see it ATM the future is bright, the future is; Java, Struts, JForum and PostgreSQL!

This really opens things up and has got me thinking.

Oh dear

The only thing that is tying us to php ATM is phpBB because we do not want to loose our existing posts and accounts etc. However, in an ideal world I want to move to proper enterprise level technologies for this site, and IMO the best option for that ATM is Java and in particular the Apache Struts Frame Work ( struts.apache.org/ ). This is a very widely used technology so it is not obscure and it is VERY powerful.

I'll go chat to some Java Developers to see what they think. The more I use php the more I think it is vastly over rated.

However, what about phpBB, well, I found the answer to that today in the form of JForum ( www.jforum.net ) which is a very slick Java Based Bulletin Board system that looks like phpBB on the surface but is fully Java under the hood and uses a proper Java based templating engine to make it much easier to customise the look etc. But the icing on the cake is that it supports migration from phpBB!

Looks good on the site ive seen it running on.

Another nice thing is that it supports postgreSQL for the backend which is good because it is a much better system than MySQL which we currently use.

I wouldnt go as far as saying its much better. Horses for courses really. Dont suppose you have an oracle license lying around? (No I cant give you one!)

Basically, as I see it ATM the future is bright, the future is; Java, Struts, JForum and PostgreSQL!

Dont suppose I can tempt you with an enterprise OS as well www.sun.com/software/solaris/get.jsp , and other free goodies www.sun.com/software/javaenterprisesystem :-)

Guess the AOP will need to move to Java quicker than I thought.

Cheers,
~Al

Just to come back on some points Al raised - the OS is FreeBSD and no, you can't tempt me with anything else!

The OAP is currently hosted on MiNDS> and can stay there if you are affraid of taking the leap into Java (and to think you work for Sun :roll: ) Having said that, moving to Java and away form php is no bad thing to do!

Also, having a lof of experience admining phpBB I can say that it is very over-rated! This is partly because hte developement team had a big bustup and phpBB3.0 is still in limbo and 2.0 is literally years behind on new features because it's feature list was frozen once work on 3.0 got some momentum (but not for long) and partly because php it self has suffered some major security problems and because php is VERY "fluid", php3 is very different to php4 and php5 is a change again from php4 so the phpbb code base is a mess because it has been repeatedly butchered to make it work on new php releases.

Bart.

Hi Bart

Great news on the server. Great having the run of the place and being able to install what you like.

All nice ideas, cant pretend to have much experience with the software you mention. Just been looking at Jforums, looks really great. Much as I love php, I think your probably right about moving towards java. I've read a little about struts, from what I gather its the only way to go for java dev. However I'm always a little nervous about embracing relatively new platforms (struts) until they have been totally proven. Maybe thats a wrong approach but I've been stung too many times with 'the latest thing'.

I know I've mentioned this before and you might consider it a step backward but have you considered mambo/joomla CMS? I'm such a fan. The template based approach makes skinning the whole thing a piece of cake and theres even a version fully integrated with phpbb. Because its a CMS it could end up taking a lot of the maintenance work off your hands and even put content development into the hands of some selected users.

I just think its an ideal platform for a community based site.

FreeBSD

Respectable enough i suppose

The OAP is currently hosted on MiNDS> and can stay there if you are affraid of taking the leap into Java (and to think you work for Sun :roll: ) Having said that, moving to Java and away form php is no bad thing to do!

Well it started in php more because I happend to be able to develop something quicker with that that I would be with Java. Granted thats a flaw in the programmer

php5 is a change again from php4 so the phpbb code base is a mess because it has been repeatedly butchered to make it work on new php releases.

make it work? I'm spending a lot of time 'upgrading' php4 code to work with php5 just because someone thought they needed the new 'features'. Its as if they heard of backward compatability and though 'right, lets do the opposite'.

digging around in jforum now, looks good.

Cheers

anyone found a serious debate java vs php? I cant seem to find any :S

Personly i know php ok, but i know the syntax of java better though i have never tried making webpages in java. But from the language i would think php is faster to develop and java slower but java will be "stronger" because of "stricter" code.