Final Project Recap:
One of the major things that I learned was not to bite of more than I wanted to chew. If I knew the class requirements weren't going to be as challenging I wouldn't have picked such an ambitious project.
The major problems I encountered were getting my images actually into a database. Some of the server side stuff I didn't know. So I was forced to use some php scripts so do what I originally wanted to do. Using php to display the images and not having the images in a database took away many of the organizational features I wanted to have in the site.
Another problem I faced was finding a server to actually host my site. This was a problem because I wanted to use php and mySQL for the project rather than just plain HTML. I ended up turning one of my old iBook’s into a server for my project, and activating PHP and installing mySQL. This turned out to be a relatively painless experience thanks to many tutorials on the ‘net.
I tired to install a php plug-in on my server called "image magic", but I couldn't get it to install. This would have let me manipulate the images when they were uploaded to the server (creating thumb nails for instance).
The last thing that really annoys me is IE’s support of PNG images sucks. Why can’t Microsoft support this? It would be nice to work with transparency and not have to worry about 95% of people not seeing your design correctly. Plus, the underdogs (Firefox, Safari, etc.) all support it.
So in conclusion the project didn’t turn out as cool as I would have liked. Although I do really love the design that I came up with, I’m not so sure it fits the whole photography montage.
