Multi Platform Integration

I have been programming way too long, too many programming languages running around my head. Todays blog is about web site maintenance. I recent took over a website for a new client. It was a graceful transition, meaning that the previous website developer was leaving and no longer wanted to work on the website. After getting my hands in it code... I wonder if this spaghetti code wasn't the reason this guy was leaving town.
A small order from the customer can be a big bill. The customer asks "Please change our calendar program to do this and then that." Okay, how do you like mixing PHP and Perl with Access and MySQL? That was the hidden question.
The reason we have a potpourri of back end technology is that several developers have worked on this site. Oh, and they each have their talents in completely different technologies.
Well I was actually impressed how easy it was for me to change PHP code, I've never actually used this language before today. I'm a Perl developer, and wouldn't change. I won't knock any other programming languages either, because they all have their place, or they wouldn't be around. The mechanics of the modification mostly involved SQL changes in how data was grouped and displayed. So the framework of the application remained. Looking under the hood can be intimidating, but careful examination revealed only a SELECT statement and some table formatting in PHP was all that was required.
At what point do we revamp the whole web site... ? Fortunately, this customer is planning an overhaul, and will be planning carefully to keep spaghetti code from happening again. A word to web site owners, if your not the developer yourself, be sure to ask what the back end technologies are. Then research what it would take to replace a developer skilled in the required technologies. You may find talent hard to find, and technologies expensive to maintenance.
Article Written by Dan Sharp
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