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.