Software

Open-source software is computer software that is available in source  code form: the source code and certain other rights normally reserved  for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits  users to study, change, improve and at times also to distribute the  software.
The software I use is generally Open Source software. This site runs on Joomla and my genealogy software which generates the family section for registered users, is Gramps, displayed within a section of the site. Wordpress I use on other sites, or just click on the designBethan logo below in the footer to go to my other main Wordpress site.

Joomla

An extract from its overview .......................................

Joomla!  Is different from the normal models for content management software. For a start, it's not complicated. Joomla! has been developed for everybody, and anybody can develop it further. It is designed to work (primarily) with other Open Source, free, software such as PHP, MySQL, and Apache. It is easy to install and administer, and is reliable.


Well yes, different. Not complicated, well than depends on ability! Anyway I played around with it on my own machine for a while, decided to give it a go and here it is. I use it with the above mentioned PHP, MySql and Apache. Initially I used one of the supplied templates but modified to my needs.


Another interest I have is genealogy and I use the Open source software Gramps. Gramps does produce a set of web pages with a choice of various templates to produce different looks. I tried all of them and in the early days linked to them from my Joomla site.
I like challenges and one of them was - how could I make Gramps produce something that would match in with my Joomla! By this time I had a new Joomla template with a transparency look about it. I think I may have achieved that challenge!


Joomla! is a popular content management system and because of my interest and ability shown on my own site, I was invited to become involved in another web site in my local area. This turned out to be quite a comprehensive site, set up by a youth forum, dedicated as a remembrance site to honour those from Clitheroe who fell in the Second World War. This site and the youth group went on to win several awards as a result of their efforts.The award winning site is at Ribble Valley Remembrance.

Later another Joomla! site was built especially for the activities of the youth group, but this was later converted to Wordpress.

Gramps

Gramps is genealogy software. The name derives from what it is - Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System. It is part of the open source community which I enjoy. An extract from its extensive web site describes it well.......a Free Software Project for Genealogy, offering a professional genealogy program, and a wiki open to all. It is a community project, created, developed and governed by genealogists.


I have been using it a few years now and for a while I was content for it to produce a web site for me, which it does very well. The whole essence of open source software is that one can change it to suit requirements. I then produced a template within Gramps and the resultant pages matched the colour of my Joomla site at that time. Looked good. With the new template I now use in Joomla, a new challenge arose, can I change the template again in Gramps. This was much more difficult than the previous one, because of the transparency effect, but I now have something I quite like.


It is used on this site

Wordpress

Wordpress started out as a free and open source blogging tool and developed into a dynamic content management system based on PHP and MySQL which makes it ideal for building web sites. It uses a web template system and there are many themes to allow users to change the look and the function of their web site. Also available are Plugins, and Widgets which extend the features. Wordpress is fast becoming the most popular content management system.


I first started using it as a trial on my own server, due to my interest in Open Source software, and liked what I able to do with it. I then built a web site for a club of which I am a member. This is mainly a web site but does have a one page blog for the members. I am now expanding my knowledge on using Wordpress and hope to encourage others to do the same. Note that Wordpress is available in two ways, one hosted with them and the second hosted elsewhere as in my own site shown below.


I have now converted my initial web site valandben our cycling site to Wordpress.

The Clitheroe Youth Forum site is now using Wordpress at Clitheroe Youth Forum

For more about Open Source see the sub-menu More open