Author Topic: 41South.net.nz (Read 6307 times)

41South · « **on:** September 15, 2004, 07:56:30 PM »

Well thought I might as well jump right in here and get the ball rolling.
http://www.larsenz.com/mambo is a web site I am setting up currently. It will evemtually be my 41south.net.nz site. I'm using Mambo open source CMS software, which is absolute dream to work with. There are a number of modules available to do enable extra features not in the 'base' system. One that I use helps embed other web site pages within your own site. For example the links to the satellite pic and msl analysis are from an external web site, as are the links to 2 other weather stations in the Wellington area. The Gallery and Guestbook are still experimental. Changing the look and feel is as easy as going into the admin page and selecting a new template. There are literally hundreds to choose from. Mambo is available from http://www.mamboserver.com I use a hosting company at the moment but eventually the site will be transfered to a server at home. I'll also soon add some of the graphing components and other bits from WD to compliment the WDL information.
I've had plenty of play time with this software so if anyone would like help please feel free to contact me via PM.

administrator · « **Reply #1 on:** September 15, 2004, 07:59:38 PM »

Quote from: 41South

I'm using Mambo open source CMS software, which is absolute dream to work with.

The main weather-watch.com site is built using Mambo, so you can see how different two Mambo sites can look.

snowman · « **Reply #2 on:** September 15, 2004, 08:33:19 PM »

As an alternative -
Since I started out with PHPwebsite, I've stuck with it since I am getting to know it. It's very similar to Mambo. I like how easy it is to change pages & design using an easy web interface.

My current weather page is made from the basic WD web creation. As I get more time, I am hopeful to integrate a nice WD page directly into my PHPwebsite.

Thanks for creating this forum - I am eager to learn some more HTML to create a weather page using the custom tags etc.

I hope this forum will bring some of our creative folks together to share their knowledge and wisdom.

carterlake · « **Reply #3 on:** September 15, 2004, 11:57:21 PM »

Do you have to have a special server for Mambo or does it generate the pages and upload them?

niko · « **Reply #4 on:** September 16, 2004, 12:14:03 AM »

More than you ever wanted to know about mambo http://www.mamboserver.com/

41South · « **Reply #5 on:** September 16, 2004, 12:17:04 AM »

Pages are "created" from within an administration utility that is part of the Mambo CMS. I'm not sure how best to explain it really, CMS by its nature is a content/news/blog system. I've used add-on modules and components to create what you see. Individual web pages are all based on stylesheets to control their look and feel, you can then add menu items that perform differing functions using the modules and components. In the case of my "Weather websites" these are all done using a 'wrapper' component that takes content that I define and wraps the Mambo look around them. Its a very different concept to get used to initially but once you have the hang of it you can do all sorts of things. If you allow people to create an account on your site they can even change the template to one from a pre-installed list, which gives them control of how the whole site looks when they log on. They could also post there own content if that is something you have allowed. I'm using it in a very simple form, no user logons.
The back end is MySql, Perl/CGI based. Mine is done via a hosting service called l40.com in the US. They offer a huge array of management facilities for (in my case) about USD$7.95 per month.