Website Development

This Trac page follows the development of the  DesuraNET Web Engine which runs on a LAMPJ stack (Apache, mySQL, PHP, jQuery) and is coded according to the MVC (Model View Controller) pattern. This engine powers ModDB.com and a number of other sites, providing a CMS (content management system) which organizes content into profiles (i.e. games, groups, members, mods etc). These profiles are then filled with content from generic sources such as articles, downloads, videos, images etc. This allows new profiles to be deployed and new/old content to be linked quickly and easily. Each module (a module been a profile or a generic source, i.e. games or articles) implements a number of standard methods, allowing content to be added, edited and browsed in the format required (HTML, XML, RSS etc).

Design Philosophy

At DesuraNET we believe in agile and minimalistic design practices. Excess functionality is bloat which interferes, slows down and confuses the users experience, while also increasing time and development complexity. The minimum number of steps, buttons and words (without sacrificing ease of use) should be used when adding/editing functionality. This philosophy applies to both the sites design and usage. Think Google or Apple for an example of top brands whose designs are built purely with the end users experience in mind. An example of the DesuraNET Web Engine applying this philosophy is our "in-place editing" system, which allows all users to edit their profiles and content where it is, without having to navigate through a complicated admin controlpanel.

We also believe in the power of a community and consider the wisdom of many to be better than the intelligence of one. Much like Wikipedia, Youtube, Facebook and other Social sites, since 2002 we have encouraged our communities to contribute content and control the direction of the site by posting news, images, videos, downloads and comments. All functionality is built with our community in mind, so submit a ticket if you have and idea regarding how we can better serve your needs as a member of our community. And harness the power of the DesuraNET Web Engine powered sites by posting news, features, adding videos and engaging people with your ideas and creations.

Additional Website Functionality

The DesuraNET engine also uses a external libraries and applications to:

  • Encode audio for streaming online (using LAME to create *.mp3)
  • Encode video for streaming online (using FFMPEG to create *.mp4 - h264 video with AAC audio)
  • Mirror files to be served via internal and external mirrors (contact us to discuss mirroring our files - advertising and other benefits)
  • API for use by external applications (available to discuss on request)
  • Batch email for newsletters to our sites subscribers
  • Process payments directly via Paypal and Visa / Mastercard
  • Present daily statistics via a powerful interface allowing trends to be easily monitored

A number of features commonly found in other web engines are also implemented including templating, WYSIWYG editing, RSS generation, GeoIP, link inheritence, pagination and sessions among many others.

Usage

PLEASE READ BEFORE EDITING A WIKI PAGE OR SUBMITTING A TICKET

Our aim with this Trac page is to document all site / engine functionality using the wiki, manage bugs and site feature requests using tickets and track site updates and releases via the roadmap. So if you notice a bug or want a new feature to be added, or perhaps you just want to know what functionality will be available in the future this is the place to be. All logged in community members can add tickets and edit the wiki so please make sure you do this in a professional manner and do not duplicate content or your access will be denied. Here are some quick links to help get you started:

For a complete list of local wiki pages, see TitleIndex.