Last time, I wrote about working on "a thing"; well it's almost ready for the world.
BUT WHAT IS IT ???!!! you ask
Sit back with a cuppa and get ready for a long tale.
Several months, even before the BIG WALK, I started pondering a database where I could track the tools, I own, for the hydraulic press I have trust me; there is a never ending list of things to purchase. Yes, it's for metal geeky stuff. Some items come with a part number on them but some things, like the rolling mill texture plates and the impression dies do NOT or it's written in marker that eventually wears off.
To solve my dilemma I started a MS Access database what would have the information I wanted and I could put pictures of the various items in the record. I won't list the fields I settle on but let's just say it's the basic info about what was bought.
After I returned from my month long vacation, somehow in the PotterUSA Facebook group (a.k.a PotterPeople) a discussion began on how do everyone keeps track of their stuff because many people have bought things two or three times! Some use Excel, others Word or other text document and of course the question arose about pictures to identity dies that don't have numbers or the number wore off. I eventually chimed in with my little database application which raised many questions as most members (9.5K+) don't know me or that I write software for fun; crazy eh??
Some people asked if I would give them "my app" but when I questioned if they knew how to use MS Access (or if they used a Windows PC) I got crickets!
Over the next week I thought about it and I realized that there was a need for an application so others could keep track of their stuff too. I put several polls in the group regarding what devices (desktop, laptop, phone, tablet) and operating system (Winx, Mac OS, Linus, iOS, Android) and oh the confusion that resulted was amazing. I decided that this application would have to be web-based otherwise I would be spending most of my time providing installation support; upgrades would be a nightmare.
Since I work mostly with Microsoft technology the tech stack I chose is MS SQL Server 2019 with MS SQL Server Management Studio, Visual Studio 2022 as the IDE for coding with the following: .net (Core) 6; ASP.NET with Razor Pages; Entity Framework (for db operations); Bootstrap for the styling; jQuery/javaScript for front end stuff; and various other packages for all sorts of functionality.
It took about 2 weeks to all this out and then I sat down and created a clean Virtual Machine (VM) on my development laptop so I could then begin installing all the software I would need.
To cut a very, very, long story down to just a long story; I resurrected a framework I built 2 years about and upgraded the various backend software to be the most recent. Then I started the real building of the database tables, configuring the UI with a menu, logo and other static pages; then on to the pages where all the user interaction would take place as well as pages for me, the admin/webmaster would manage the site. I also had to make it so a user would only see their stuff - including adding, editing, deleting, viewing and printing.
This week, the majority of the code was complete so I bought a domain and setup an account with a hosting provider; configured the email system; setup PayPal, Buy Me a Coffee, and Stripe for donations. Oh, I guess I forgot to mention that the application is DonationWare - I am hoping to cover operating costs. I also have it so sample data is seeding into each user account so a user can see how it would work.
It's now been 3.5 weeks, I have been working on it EVERY DAY of the week, since I started and I just pushed the Alpha version to the remote server and I have been working on/with it to find things that need to fixed.
During this time I have posted pictures of what the app will look like, in the Facebook group and I have some very excited people looking forward to it. I have a long list of things yet to do to make some parts of administration easier but that can be worked on after I do the first release which I hope will be next week.
BUT WHAT IS IT ???!!! you ask
Sit back with a cuppa and get ready for a long tale.
Several months, even before the BIG WALK, I started pondering a database where I could track the tools, I own, for the hydraulic press I have trust me; there is a never ending list of things to purchase. Yes, it's for metal geeky stuff. Some items come with a part number on them but some things, like the rolling mill texture plates and the impression dies do NOT or it's written in marker that eventually wears off.
To solve my dilemma I started a MS Access database what would have the information I wanted and I could put pictures of the various items in the record. I won't list the fields I settle on but let's just say it's the basic info about what was bought.
After I returned from my month long vacation, somehow in the PotterUSA Facebook group (a.k.a PotterPeople) a discussion began on how do everyone keeps track of their stuff because many people have bought things two or three times! Some use Excel, others Word or other text document and of course the question arose about pictures to identity dies that don't have numbers or the number wore off. I eventually chimed in with my little database application which raised many questions as most members (9.5K+) don't know me or that I write software for fun; crazy eh??
Some people asked if I would give them "my app" but when I questioned if they knew how to use MS Access (or if they used a Windows PC) I got crickets!
Over the next week I thought about it and I realized that there was a need for an application so others could keep track of their stuff too. I put several polls in the group regarding what devices (desktop, laptop, phone, tablet) and operating system (Winx, Mac OS, Linus, iOS, Android) and oh the confusion that resulted was amazing. I decided that this application would have to be web-based otherwise I would be spending most of my time providing installation support; upgrades would be a nightmare.
Since I work mostly with Microsoft technology the tech stack I chose is MS SQL Server 2019 with MS SQL Server Management Studio, Visual Studio 2022 as the IDE for coding with the following: .net (Core) 6; ASP.NET with Razor Pages; Entity Framework (for db operations); Bootstrap for the styling; jQuery/javaScript for front end stuff; and various other packages for all sorts of functionality.
It took about 2 weeks to all this out and then I sat down and created a clean Virtual Machine (VM) on my development laptop so I could then begin installing all the software I would need.
To cut a very, very, long story down to just a long story; I resurrected a framework I built 2 years about and upgraded the various backend software to be the most recent. Then I started the real building of the database tables, configuring the UI with a menu, logo and other static pages; then on to the pages where all the user interaction would take place as well as pages for me, the admin/webmaster would manage the site. I also had to make it so a user would only see their stuff - including adding, editing, deleting, viewing and printing.
This week, the majority of the code was complete so I bought a domain and setup an account with a hosting provider; configured the email system; setup PayPal, Buy Me a Coffee, and Stripe for donations. Oh, I guess I forgot to mention that the application is DonationWare - I am hoping to cover operating costs. I also have it so sample data is seeding into each user account so a user can see how it would work.
It's now been 3.5 weeks, I have been working on it EVERY DAY of the week, since I started and I just pushed the Alpha version to the remote server and I have been working on/with it to find things that need to fixed.
During this time I have posted pictures of what the app will look like, in the Facebook group and I have some very excited people looking forward to it. I have a long list of things yet to do to make some parts of administration easier but that can be worked on after I do the first release which I hope will be next week.
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