Our Technology

Overview

EdmontonBroadcasters.com is powered by Open Source software, a concept that sees software developed and maintained mostly by volunteers, so that the software can be used worldwide without charge. Web hosting is donated by RadioWest.ca.

WordPress is the primary piece of Open Source software used on our web site. Originally meant strictly for Blogging, by the end of 2008, WordPress has become a practical way to create complete web sites. Our Webmaster has custom-programmed some additional Infrastructure for WordPress, to make it easier to use for both traditional and database-driven web sites.

MySQL and php, also Open Source, provide the database and programming language used by WordPress and the custom functionality on this site. RadioWest.ca uses Arvixe as it web hosting provider.

Site Concept

The redesign and merger of EdmontonBroadcasters.com and the Edmonton Broadcasters Club web site is based on a database-driven approach employing the most widely used Open Source (free) software available anywhere in the world. The advantages are many:

  1. Information is separated from Appearance, allowing the Look and Feel of the web site to change with minimal changes to the Information (text, pictures, audio, video) itself;
  2. Entering Information requires very little concern for, or even knowledge of, the format of the Information, opening up the possibility of sharing the responsibility for adding or changing Information, with minimal knowledge or training;
  3. A single piece of Information can be used in different places in different ways, without replicating it, reducing effort and potential errors;
  4. Updated information is available immediately, rather than awaiting the rigorous Quality Assurance process associated with changes in Design;
  5. Everything needed to change the web site is stored on the web site, not on someone’s home computer, as is normally the case with traditional web site design tools like FrontPage;
  6. External information can be integrated into the web site without replicating the information, which would require constant monitoring to synchronize updates of that information from the external source to our web site.

Two Databases and a Style Sheet

MySQL is the database used to store the information on this web site. This is divided into two databases:

  1. Basic information on Club members and Radio and TV stations, including links to external sites, that you see on this site; and
  2. Club member biographies, catalogues of pictures, audio and video, php programming to extract and format information from the first database, and the HTML code to format informational pages such this, which are stored by WordPress in its database.

Although not technically a database, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are used for many of the same reasons.  For example, the font (“type face”) used on this web site is specified once in the CSS file, yet it controls every piece of text used on the web site, including the words you are reading right now.

Web Hosting

Hosting for the Club’s web site is donated by RadioWest.ca, the Club’s partner on the “Broadcasters by Letter” portion of this site, which is attempting to document everyone who has ever worked in the broadcasting industry in Edmonton. RadioWest.ca uses Arvixe as its web hosting provider.

Arvixe uses the Linux operating system and other Open Source software to reduce their costs of providing a high level of service at a low cost. Hardware consists of eight quad-core Intel processors on a single web server, providing the equivalent of 32 current technology computer processors to handle this web site and those of other customers sharing the same server.

Early in 2009, the Club’s webmaster, who also handles the technical support for RadioWest.ca, did extensive research before selecting Arvixe for its reliability and support. If you are in need of a host for one or more web sites, you can help RadioWest.ca defray its costs on behalf of the Club, by considering Arvixe. Depending on your needs, you can buy a web hosting account from RadioWest.ca or directly from Arvixe.

  • To see Arvixe’s offerings and have a commission paid to RadioWest.ca should you decide to purchase, please click here;
  • To explore a hosting sub-account, and additional Support and Assistance, through RadioWest.ca’s Arvixe account, please click here to e-mail RadioWest.ca.

Open Source

This web site would not exist without Open Source software. Open Source is a concept of free software, created and supported mainly by volunteers, with the programs that make up the software freely available for review by anyone. Without it, our software costs would be just too expensive.

We use Open Source software for this web site in three ways:

  1. WordPress and its Multi-level Navigation Plugin (for menus) deliver the functionality of this web site to you and your computer’s web browser;
  2. Linux, MySQL, php and countless other pieces of software are installed on our web host, and are required to make WordPress function;
  3. NotePad++, FileZilla, Audacity, ExactAudioCopy.de, GIMP and OpenOffice.org are used by our Webmaster to build this web site.