Webmentions: how I used 1990s technology to avoid writing JavaScript.
> When I started building websites over 20 years ago, I used Perl and CGI to run simple scripts, like a guestbook (I wrote my own). I prefer Ruby these days—and Perl has deprecated CGI—but could that approach still work? I thought it would be fun to try. It turns out it does work!
@negative12dollarbill@Npazo What they mean is that “runs on #Apache and #Perl” isn’t specific enough to offer a recommendation. Is the web app using #CGI or the #mod_perl extension to Apache httpd? Does it rely on custom additions to the Apache configuration? etc.
You can try using #PSGI as @ovid suggested, but there may be more work involved and I don’t know how familiar you are with the app you inherited.
Was a busy day making sure that my #bifrost graph instancing animated arnold standins exported correctly out to a larger consolidated standin. So far it was unsuccesful which is a real pitty. Hopefully I can crack it tomorrow.
💡 #TIL that, aside from fancy #CGI and #3D workstations and servers, legendary manufacturer #SiliconGraphics also sold an #espressomaker for ca. 190 DM in Germany.
How easy is it to tell the difference between waxwork dummies and CGI? Sometimes surprisingly difficult. MovieMaker shares this slideshow of 10 images featuring actors like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Carrie Fisher and Will Smith.
How the NORAD graphics in WarGames were generated is quite fascinating.
The TL;DR; is that they got a consultant who had contacts at HP and managed to borrow a $90,000 (inflation adjusted) 9845C desktop running BASIC and filmed one frame and one colour at a time.
Years ago I was pushed out of a job because management was upset with me. I pointed out that what they were doing wasn't scalable.
A few years later, with new management, they retained me as a consultant for two years fixing some of the problems I told them about. I was paid considerably more money and they lost many developers in the interim.
Have you ever been doubted at work? What happened?
@ovid Few years ago I had a potential long-term #Perl client. We made a first small contract. In their #CGI hell I found they had #UTF8 in their database and told browsers to do so but both I/O were not configured. It seemed to work but internally all their strings were garbage. Nobody understood. Some string operations were done in #SQL because there it "magically" worked.
I tried to explain but they didn't understand or even believed me there was any issue at all. I do not miss that client.