One of the topics I have talked about a lot on this site (and regarding this site) is the gallery and the software that powers it. Not just in regards to the current software that is being used, which is Coppermine, but also the many, many, many other software alternatives that I have tried and tested. Prior to using Coppermine, though, I had found a little-known solution called Plogger. Even though it was still in beta (being developed), I was extremely impressed with it, but ended up having to move away from it when I began having problems with the database because my hosting provider does not offer support for the InnoDB database type, which Plogger uses. I had communicated with the lead developer, Mike Johnson, on several occassions, mainly to provide feature suggestions or bug fixes, so I regrettably sent an email to let him know that I had to make a switch because of the database problem. Therefore, I was on the hunt again, looking for another gallery alternative. That’s when I stumbled upon Coppermine, and decided to give it a shot, to see if I could integrate it easily with my site. I was also pretty happy with the features that Coppermine offered, and very happy with the ease of uploading large groups of files into the albums (a huge plus for someone that is starting from scratch with putting a large amount of images online).
A week or so after getting my Coppermine install finalized, and adding a large portion of my images, I noticed that the developers for Plogger decided to change the type of database they were using to something that I knew my hosting provider allowed. Also, at about that same time, I revisited the site of Tristan Harward, who had set out this past April to “make the best web photo album application ever,” to see how his progress was coming with his project, zenphoto. As it turns out, there are now two excellent gallery projects that are currently being actively developed, and I can’t wait for the initial release of both of them. As of this writing, there are no specific dates from either developer regarding when they plan on releasing their respective software for public consumption (NOTE: You can visit the Trac repository for Plogger to browse the latest source, or use a CVS client to checkout the latest revision).
So I’m continuing along with my Coppermine install, adding albums, pictures, and descriptions when I can, but I have a strong feeling that another major overhaul will occur with the gallery sometime in the near future. Until then, be sure to check out the websites for Plogger and zenphoto, especially if you’re in the need for a great gallery solution for your site.
September 20th, 2005 at 4:06 am
Oh, right, I see you already knew that. Sorry for not reading your front page
September 20th, 2005 at 4:05 am
There’s also now a public beta of zenphoto on zenphoto.org. Might not have all the features you’re looking for yet, so you might want to use plogger for your gallery, but it’s something anyway.
September 15th, 2005 at 10:59 pm
Thanks for the heads up, Mike! I’ve been so busy lately with my new job that I haven’t been able to check up on the progress of Plogger as much as I was before. I appreciate the notice on Beta 2, and I’m definitely excited about some of the features slated for future beta releases. I’ll probably hold off on doing a full upgrade right now, to minimize the amount of work for me, at least until the initial release comes out. But I’m definitely interested in checking out the latest revision, and throwing together a test site to see the latest Plogger in action.
Keep up the excellent work!
September 13th, 2005 at 1:22 pm
Hey Chris — Just a quick sidenote…
In response to your letter awhile back about the database problems: We decided to ditch InnoDB altogether since we found out it’s support was not as wide as we had hoped. The new version of Plogger (Beta 2) now runs solid on MySQL default MyISAM tables.
Hopefully you will come back to the light! BTW, Beta 2 has been released at plogger.org. Cheers!
September 8th, 2005 at 11:10 pm
Hey Mike!
Now, now, Coppermine isn’t that bad… Well, at least as far as the gallery part of it goes. Integration would definitely be an unbelievable pain in the ass. But that’s why I’m waiting for the initial release of your software! I’ve had less and less free time lately, so I haven’t been able to checkout the latest SVN copy. I’m continually impressed with the effort that you and the other developers have put into Plogger, and I’m very excited about the future development and features that you want to implement.
Keep up the great work!
September 8th, 2005 at 3:35 pm
Oh c’mon man! Coppermine sucks