In the past month, I have done numerous things for the PrestigeCode ecosystem. I have transitioned PrestigeCode.com to a new development framework and rewrote the site to better adhere to mobile standards. I have also completed the Antilobby migration which now includes the about page and downloads page.
PrestigeCode
With the transition to Laravel and rewriting the design, I now have the task of transitioning some of my old projects over to the new framework or migrate them to the new server. This is being done as a result of my poor infrastructure planning, I had made separate projects on different servers. these different servers required more resources from AWS and ultimately cost more in the long run, increasing monthly cost by ~125%. So in an attempt at saving resources on my end, this had to be done. As a result, many of my so-called legacy projects are no longer accessible. I must make the decision to leave them be, put them up on Github, and discontinue their active demonstration. Or attempt to transfer them to the new server and migrate everything over and then debug them to the point where I can demo them. I am currently leaning towards moving them to Github and not demoing them. Certain projects I will be rewritten in the new framework such as the URL shortener and obfuscator.
Antilobby
Finalizing the migration and consolidation for Antilobby meant that I had to deal with how the program updates itself. I rewrote the logic on the web service side which allows the program to fetch the most current executable. I made a system that automatically locates the most up-to-date version and grabs the appropriate file for that update. This system allows any developer to upload and provide notes for each version iteration. All interconnected, I automated the process so that I no longer need to spend time manually updating the version number in the so-called version file.
The decision to make a custom update solution was done as a result of weighing the cost of buying a certificate and maintaining that cost over the lifetime of Antilobby. This code signing would enable me to use a feature provided by Microsoft and Visual Studio that automatically deals with version control. I was not able to use this feature without singing the code. Signing code not only enables people to simply open Antilobby and have no issues running it (given there are no programming errors), but it is also a layer of protection for the user.
As a way to establish trust with users, I have provided the entire source code of Antilobby on Github.
My next phase is to come back to Antilobby and enhance the Desktop application. With that, today I have been able to add a new Alert feature for program focusing (experimental) that will be released in the coming week, along with other interface changes. I plan on slowly changing the codebase to allow me to make more data-rich features. that communicate with the database. I plan on exploring the C# LINQ capabilities for these new features and will slowly transition other critical components of Antilobby to use these. I have more plans for Antilobby that will be revealed in the coming months.
Thanks for stopping by and remember, watch this space!
~ Sean