Nothing to see here...

But that doesn't mean nothing is happening. A whole new database structure is being built and tested. Sync tools are being built to feed the data from beerengine.com into the new DB. Template pages are being created with multilingual capabilities.

Not only is that happening but I'm currently building another single country site which will work in a similar way to the engine. It will concentrate on bars & shops and is hoped to be a source of information for a regular printed guide to the country in question. Although you will never know it when using the new site it will be using the beerengine database. Unlike the engine (so far) this site will be heavily publicised as soon as it's in good shape.

No, I'm not telling anyone which country! I really want to see this stand on it's own two feet.

If you think you know which site it is drop me a note and I'll send a bottle of something very special if you're the first to guess correctly.

Anyway, I think I'll go write some more sync scripts.

Been thinking about the site again and I've decided to pretty much start again.

I can use the existing dataset so nothing will be wasted.

I was mulling over the new features I want to add and brainstorming a new indexing system. (developed about 8 years back to index tens of thousands of photos but gathering cobwebs since then. Shame since it's very simple and powerful.)

As I said earlier I've now started to view the site as a collection of datasets. I've come up with a way to easily index a disparate collection of datasets which should result in a very simple user experience. Still got to bench test it. Watch this space. Must go create a new database....

Progress is close to glacial but things are actually happening. I've created a new domain mobile.beerengine.com and have been experimenting with optimising the site for mobile use. I got myself an iPhone last month so that's mostly what I've been using to develop the pages. A couple of friends have Blackberries and the site seems to work quite well on that platform. Haven't had a chance to look on an Android device yet but I'm sure someone I know uses one.

All the new stuff is being developed in PHP. I don't see any point in spending any more time on the old ASP site.

Just to keep things interesting I've also started work on a completely new section of the site. I've long wanted to add a dictionary / glossary / translation feature to the beerengine. It's not just a new feature but the start of a much more versatile indexing system for the whole site. It also provides the infrastructure for making the site multilingual. I might not have much time for writing code but long drives can be a good environment to mentaly test ideas and data structures. I now view the site as a collection of data sets rather than one big rambling set.

Hopefully some of this will be visible in a week or two.