The Monster That Ate My Machine Shop

Sneak Peek

“What have I done? What have I created? It’s too late now. It lives, it is ALIVE!“

Uh, well it’s just an update to “The Hobbyist Machine Shop” website. It is just starting to take on a life of its own. I was expecting it would.

I am moving the old pure HTML website into a PHP coded, MySQL database assisted, Content Management System (CMS). I documented my intention and provided more information in a previous post.

As of this post I have the new monster breathing and it can be viewed live at http://thehobbyistmachineshop.com/cms/.

It’s not ready for prime time with only about 8 hours work on it so far. When ready, I will change the link and the new site will just open without needing the “cms” directory pinned on the end of the URL.

I already like the better file management the CMS provides. The present (old) site is a monster of its own far worse than the new one as to how all the pieces are stuck together. I was going to let the old monster live and just start using the new beast for current events. That creates a lot of look and feel differences. So I am pretty resolved in letting the new site devour the old until the old can just go away.

That’s no easy task. There are hundreds of directories and many thousands of files. I have found a way to copy and paste and transfer whole directories of files and pictures. But that means I have to re-link every picture in an article to its new location. I could leave the photos where they are and the links will work just fine. Then the photo files live outside the expected structure of the CMS. Someday that could bite me. Monster bites are very bad…

My plan is when I have the time, to just sit down and do the copies, past, re-link process until the two monsters become one.

The reward will be a data based website that is fully searchable. It will be very easy to make changes and maintain a standard look. Linking from the outside will be wonderful with full site look and feel. (That can’t be done with the old monster.) Hundreds of available options to select that just WORK.

Life is good. The new beast is tame but will never be bland.