Archive for December, 2006
SimpleViewer Gallery.xml Generator
SimpleViewer is a great tool to create your own image galleries. The interface is smooth, intuitive and user friendly.
I have been using SimpleViewer for a while. I used to generate its gallery.xml file manually. There are ways to generate the xml using Picasa and other tools, but then you need to have the images on your desktop. I have my photos on photobucket . The best part with photobucket is that it offers static URLs for all your images. So, you can download your images in full size from anywhere. Also, there is a handy Windows XP publisher plugin available to easily upload your photos in your account 🙂
The problem was to automatically create Simpleviewer’s gallery.xml from photobucket static links. I could not find any tool available on the internet which could help me in doing so. Hence, I decided to write a tool myself :).
Being a Java programmer, I built the tool as a Java class. The tool worked smoothly. Then I thought of making it available for everyone through the internet. I created a HTML form to call a JSP which used this class to generate the xml and print it on screen. I tried uploading these in my account on myjavaserver.com but they did not work. I then merged the JSP code and the JAVA code into a servlet and thne tried to deploy it on myjavaserver.com. But all efforts went in gutter. Actually, I think its fair. The procedure to get a myjavaserver.com account is not easy. How can we expect the deployment procedure to be easy ?
So, I shifted to the server side scripting language of the heaven: PHP. I referred to w3schools.com and php.net just to learn the required stuff. And yes, I have the tool up and running at http://www.setugarg.in/SimpleViewerXMLGenerator.
Please use it to create your own image galleries. Feel free to pass this URL to your frinds and family. Its the basic thing (kind of beta) right now. I will be enhancing its functionality as and when I get time. People who are wandering over the internet for such a tool, please accept it as my chritmas gift to you :).
And yes, please mails your comments/suggestions/bugs to SimpleViewerXMLGenerator [at] setugarg [dot] com
Ahmedabad trip
Just checking base from Ahmedabad.
I am still awake at this off hour. I came to Ahmedabad for the first time. Infact I am visting Gujarat for the first time in my life !
I have come here to attend Jashan’s sister’s marriage. Yes, the same Jashan Parikh who has contributed a lot on this site’s Photos section :D.
We (all bhatara guys from JIIT) are staying in an awesome room in an apartment on the 9th floor in a posh area in Ahmedabad. And I must say that I am feeling nostalgic. This is the way we used to live in our hostel :).
We have 2 laptops with bluetooth and my state of the art Reliance Mobile with RConnect facility. Since 4 other guys have gone to have tea at 2 am in the morning (god knows why), and the other 3 are sleeping, I am blogging ! What a great way to kill time.
I like Ahmedabad. More than the place, I like the people here. Basically, after living in Delhi, you will find that you like people from anywhere else in the country. Last time I went to Punjab for the first time and fell in love with the place and the people there :).
Gujarati food is marvellous. I have had a lot of dishes since I came in here. I am in love with their “kadhi“. Also, their marriages are a lot better than marriages in the north. No ho halla, no DJ. Just plain classical instrumental (mostly Santoor) in the background and the marriage ceremony is performed with grace. Also, I haven’t seen the complete family getting involved in such functions anywhere else. Basically, what they show in “Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi” about Gujaratis is all true. Although that soap sucks.
I love technology. Right now I am sitting near the balcony, wirelessly connected to the internet over a bluetooth connection to my phone which is getting charged simultaneously and is lying around 10 meters away on a bed.
Anshuman Johri is trying to call me. Even after telling him that I am connected through a weak and low speed connection to the internet, he is insisting that we atleast give it a try. Hence, I have to sign off.
Some more content with pics from the marriage later…