Galleries Take 2
Well I went ahead and looked at some of the various suggestions the dudes put out there, and here is the outcome.
Gallery 2 - 2weeks to build...and going:
http://www.rockalaskarecords.com/gallery/main.php
I went ahead and dove into the Developer version of Gallery2. The link above goes to my second attempt. Initially, I FTP'ed the large files over, which took about an hour. (I have an HE account and it seemed easier than trying to install from source, minus the long wait it went well). Seems after some fiddling, some permissions got hosed and it became increasingly unstable, It was my fault for playing with it too much. Second time around (after a call to HE to fuckin DELETE!) you see what i have, and its still in the works. Like many open source stuff...it does 10,000 things, but I only really wanted it to do 10 :) Im still weeding through it and it will probably never get finished....only abandoned.
Pros: This is a gallery you can implement and have endless features and never upload the same pic twice. Once uploaded, Installation was a snap. Augmentable Themes make it so you can make your gallery pages match what your site looks like. And a data base Gallery is just superior.
Cons: Well like i said the features are rather blinding, and if your not careful you can really hose it if you are coming into it with no data base knowledge. The forums are snobby and incomplete. Like many open source stuff, the documentation lacks details. You search their stuff, but have to search elsewhere to figure out what the hell they are talking about. Or, you dont know what the hell the keyword is because your dumb...and then you are on a wild goose chase trying to make your way through the OpenSource Jungle of snobbery. But thats the way it is for us dummies i guess.
JAlbum: 30 minutes to build
http://www.rockalaskarecords.com/pics/Mexico2005/album/index.php
http://www.authenticimages.net/webimages/India/album/index.php
JAlbum by far was the fastest when it came to building the pages. Sure, its not data base smart...but it shot pics out to the web faster than any of the others. The user interface is really hard to screw up. Id say for dummies this thing works well and mainly...its fast. Too bad it operates like a hamster on a wheel.
Pros: Frickin fast! Intuitive slide shows, and works well with some PHP code.
Cons: It uses a Java interface to run. Also it builds the actual pages, so making a change across the board means a change to each page. Some themes use frames....YUK! And finally you cant add pics to an existing gallery without rebuilding the whole gallery.
SimpleViewer: 2 days to build
http://www.alaskafishcharters.com/gallery2.php
This is a Flash based viewer that works pretty well. The interface to build these is pretty simple. And its pretty.
Pros: Well this thing looks great and it fits within a pre-existing web page (much like an swf). You can add photos to existing galleries, simply by uploading pics and augmenting the XML file. Color changes are a snap too.
Cons: Some browsers dont support it?!?! I have tested it in various situations with different browsers and different flash players installed....and I really cant pin-point what the conflict is...but IE seems to not like it sometimes...and of course Firefox plays it the majority of the time. Also I hate when people build free stuff but you cant remove their link!!
SmugMug:
Well i didnt want to pay them any money to try it...so I just didnt. I did look at it and it seems okay for the money. The big Plus is the unlimited storage.
Ax
Almost forgot... Gallery Thingie: 1 day to build http://authenti
Almost forgot...
Gallery Thingie: 1 day to build
http://authenticimages.net/gallery.php
I installed this on Jay's site for one reason...to have Jay be able to upload pics to his own site. The look of this Gallery is not easily changed...but I was able to add a user name and password so Jay can upload from any computer in the world. Besides being used as a back door to his site, he can also load personal photos of family and friends and share them without being posted to the main site.
Pros: PHP driven, Easy to build, Upload from any computer in the world, and works as a gallery in its own right.
Cons: Not easily formatted to take on a look and feel of a site. The layout is kinda Goofy if you ask me...function over form.
Ax
well done, Ax. after looking these over, i must say they all do
well done, Ax.
after looking these over, i must say they all do an equally good job of the task.
what it comes down to is "how much time to i want to spend getting something up and running?"
if the answer is 2 weeks [yikes!] then gallery2 is the answer. most likely the answer is "a few minutes" in which case you make your point with glowing colors.
regardless of the delivery method, i sure enjoyed looking at your snappies after reading your experiences with each system.
great post!
cheers.
=
w
time is money! :)
time is money! :)
Right Wax...they all work....good point. They all have a place..
Right Wax...they all work....good point. They all have a place...its just a matter of what you want, need, or can do. Jay is using two on his site and im using two on mine...you can double them up.
Gallery2:
Eventually Gallery2 saves time...its just the initial set up that can be frustrating. Once set up, and the user has some experience with it...it saves time. AXRecommended for long term galleries (i.e. galleries that can be expanded upon) and people who want to dive into more complex interfaces and tools.
JAlbum:
Saves time right now! AXRecommended for peeps that have FTP skills, and dont want to add pics to galleries in the future and build them one after the other, and that dont want the gallery to necessarily match their sites look and feel.
SimpleViewer:
This was also pretty fast, but i would imagine those without Flash knowledge would refrain from using it. AXRecommended much like JAlbum, but more for peeps that want their site built around their gallery. Jalbum is fast but you cant easily include it to your sites look and feel.
Gallery Thingie:
I think this one "Work Good, Look Bad". AXRecommended for peeps who want to upload pics while on vacation or from remote locations from any computer with internet access, yet dont care what it looks like.
SmugMug:
AXRecommended for peeps who have money to spend, and who have massive amounts of pics and dont really want to serve um up themselves. Or want the "wife to deal with it" like Colin says.
Excellent write up, although I cringe when I read these lines:
Excellent write up, although I cringe when I read these lines: "Like many open source stuff, the documentation lacks details" and "OpenSource Jungle of snobbery". I've worked with many things that have had really terrible documentation, both online and printed. And many of the forums of non-open source software packages can be just as desolate or hostile.
While it is true that some forums are more hostile than others, there are certain guidelines to follow that will help you get an answer quicker:
- Read the documentation (as much as is available)
- Read the FAQ if available
- Search the forums for questions / answers that are similar to yours
- If posting, supply as much information as possible about the configuration, if you had deviated from the standard installation procedure (and the reasons why), etc. If there is a configuration file, post it (blanking out any specifics that could be bad like passwords, etc). The more work you do, the more people will try to help you.
In the end, after figuratively pounding your head against the keyboard for a couple days, you'll end up knowing more than you ever wanted to know about something, and be smarter for it.
Like I said though, nice comparison between the different galleries.