Over the last week, I've been playing with http://po.zrmt.com.

It scratches a very small itch for my uncles company - and is going to be quietly expanded to manage more and more things for him. However, the current state of the program means that it'll work well enough 'as is' - but I really need a framework for developing the ideas further.

I'm already learning and seeing better ways of doing what I've already done. I guess it's just the learning process kicking in... but there are lots of things that I'm not entirely happy with. Feel free to take a look at the code :) I guess it's time to switch to Django.

I've tried a couple of times to switch to Django.. but I never really managed to get off the ground. However, I think this project required that I use a framework, and will also help me make the code scalable. With the potential for this same project to be used by at least a handful of companies around Birmingham.. it's not something I should turn my nose up at (although it's unlikely to make me a millionaire).

I've always used php before for my web-coding. It's one of those things that just seemed nice at home to me; sitting embedded in HTML. I basically used it as variables for HTML processing.. without a loop or an array in sight! I can see now where I can actually begin to use the programming to make things simpler.. not more complicated. Ooh it's exciting.

The other thing is that it means applications I create are more likely to be used by other people. Django applications (as far as I understand it) are a collection of lots of small apps based around a solid framework. It means there's probably going to be less work for me, and less work for other people. The comments that I made in "Using the Long Tail" are massively relevant. The more applications there are around a common base - the more random and unique the connection between two applcations.

So soon I shall be starting my move to Django. Hopefully there'll be a few readers that'll follow my trials and tribulations (and also help me with any potential problems). The first thing I need to do is install it on a remote ubuntu server.. if there are any gotchas with doing that - please let me know.