Engines for web galleries
13:12
The last five issues «Igromaniya» we are aiming to learn a complex and multi-sites. Reviewed the most popular CMS, tested for strength forumnye engines, learned to make blogging easy and even learned the basic methods of promotion. In fact, remained unaffected, only one major theme - tools for web-galleries. But they can do as a completely separate photos or galleries to prikruchivat already prepared portals. In our view, got more than a dozen similar engines, but in the end we decided on four of the best: they are easily installed and configured, and most importantly - well protected against hacker attacks. However, the differences are also missing.
Please note all sites we have, as usual, put on our test server Condor.ru (on the same set all the engines that we saw in the article «CMS kaleidoscope» from «Igromaniya» № 1'2008), where you can always go, to see what engine is right for your site, and only then make the final choice.
Gallery 2 - to step from the ideal
In the Gallery as many settings and functions that are new and can be confusing.
Gallery (we tested the latest at the time of this writing version - 2.2.2) - cross-platform engine, open-source. It can help you create the gallery is any difficulty, even the number of albums is not limited to that often seen in other, more simple engines. This Gallery 2 is distributed free of charge. There are, however, license is GPL, but it does not restrict, but rather enhances your right - no one prevents the rewrite engine, and even sell its modifications for the money (actually, GPL, and has been designed so that no one may bring to justice programming, rewriting source code of various programs).
The popularity of Gallery 2 said that on the basis of work, tens of thousands of online galleries, and fotohranilisch videoportalov. The engine allows you to automatic processing of images uploaded to the server - zoom, rotate the image for a given angle, compression, color correction. The new version adds multi-function access to the gallery: it means that anyone can register on the site, where the engine and create a series of their own photo albums. It is equally important that the second iteration of the engine allows you to store files on the server of any type - not just pictures and videos, and music tracks, text documents, 3D-models and a lot more.
Another advantage of - the opportunity to complete two-way integration of web-gallery with the most popular engine sites, blogs and forums. Gallery 2 excellent ladit with WordPress (that is the engine and how to do it on site in just a half an hour, read the last issue of «Igromaniya»), phpBB 2, Mambo / Joomla, PHP-Nuke, Invision Power Board (IPB), Drupal, PostNuke and vBulletin.
In the Gallery vzhivlen special filter that blocks spam and, more importantly, prevents the registration site spam bots. The principle of the filter is based on a smart Turing test (using artificially distorted random letters and numbers). Not forgotten, developers and the protection of images from illegal copying. In the Gallery uses its own digital watermark technology. Lovers certainly happy to try to connect to the new modules and themes, as well as a huge number of predefined «skins» and plugins.
Another argument in favor of Gallery - download content to your site can be a variety of ways. In a browser, using the wizard publication Windows, a compact Java-applet, or a special client program Gallery Remote. Even allowed to import images from a mobile phone or web-camera.
Manage Gallery 2 is also very convenient. Gallery Administrator may establish a disk quota for each of the registered users or groups that carry out large-scale revision of the same type (say, albums, or photos), to change the level of nesting album, view and edit user profiles.
Of the small differences: integrated modules for debugging and tracking errors, a powerful search engine (there is not all the galleries), NC (chelovekoponyatnye urly, that is, logical names of all the internal pages: for example, a forum, according to NPC, must reside at the address www. Name sayta.ru / forum, and not www.nazvanie sayta.ru/d97fd9f7sdf97sdf145), slide show function, support for multiple types of databases, user-friendly web-installer, and most importantly - with all modern web standards (including XHTML 1.0 Strict).
Gallery Set 2 follows. First of all, unpack the archive with the distribution of engine in any directory. Then load all your system files and folders in a web gallery from the directory \ gallery2 (a total of 13, not counting the English-language manual for the program) to a remote web server provider (in the root folder of the site, for example, \ condor01.ru) through FTP client, for example, FileZilla. Start the browser and type in the address bar the name of the resource, which points to the directory with the Gallery 2 (in our case - www.condor01.ru). Webpage with simple server-side program to configure the gallery (Super create an account, set storage and additional modules, installation of kernel). All you ahead 11 steps - do not worry, in most cases you need only click on the Next button. If necessary, you can always go back to the previous phase and make the necessary adjustments - for example, change the login and password, or your connection settings to the database MySQL, so that you can experiment with different options.
Finally, just a few words about the stability of the engine. All web-galleries, based on Gallery 2, are loaded in an average of 3-5 seconds (the capacity of our test channel - 10 Mb / s), virtually no load the server and database, and most importantly, not sboyat. No deficiencies in testing engine, we did not find. In general, almost ideal.
4images - the functionality is the first
Gallery 4images is a very simple design, but functionality surpasses many commercial developments.
The following members of our review simpler than Gallery 2, but no less popular. This engine 4images. It is not only simple users but also to large organizations, however, they have to pay: 4images is free only for private non-commercial use. Thus, if you want to design based on 4images paid online service for storing photos, will have to fork out 99 euro.
For a set of system functions is very similar to Gallery 2. Here is everything you need for comfortable work - and the user accounts and password-protected admin center, and various counters, and RSS-feed, and simple search engine, and even user-friendly web-installer. The engine supports all the modern graphics libraries (ImageMagick, GD, NetPBM) and, consequently, allows for simple manipulation of the images uploaded to the site - Resize, rotate images, automatic thumbnail generation. Registered in the system, users can leave comments to the selected files and exchange private messages.
Administrator of the gallery can create any number of entries and photo albums, modify all settings of a few seconds, add and edit user comments, Moderate new photos, connect to the engine, new plugins and themes for decoration. This is worth noting that all options 4images not just spread on the control panel, and are grouped into logical blocks (this is often lacking in more primitive galleries).
Smooth transition to reviewed the characteristics of 4images. The first thing you will notice - support a vast number of different formats. Engine excellent job handling the files JPG, GIF, AIF, PNG, AU, AVI, MID, MOV, MP3, MPGM, WAV, RA, RM, PD, 3GPP, and even PSD. Besides, nobody prevents you to expand the range of supported extensions, - write, and connect it to the gallery plugins for document type, say, OGG. What we have there next on the list? A unique opportunity to generate a greeting card. With 4images you just a few clicks will create a branded e-card on the basis of the selected artwork, and send it to a friend (or not), relative, friend or simply a user signs up on your site. Next undoubted merit 4images - excellent security. Crack or withdrawal of the engine is virtually impossible. But the latter have played a role in this modern technology protected by CAPTCHA form of input and output data and the administration panel, and secure data encryption algorithms. In addition to integrated 4images powerful system backup, which is not all modern repositories of photos. We honestly tried to settle the system of Trojans that have emerged over the past few months (only those that already described «Kaspersky Labs»), none of them was able to take root in the engine.
But what can pozhurit 4images, so is this too simple interface. No наворотов in the form of a drop-down windows and juicy vebdvanolnyh panelek, some just plain buttons. In addition, in some menu, there is quite a strange grouping of parameters and want to take them and put in the correct order, but there is no such possibility.
WR-Gallery - easier to nowhere
WR-Gallery is also very simple, sometimes even too ... All the same minimalistichny design - not the best option for the gallery. But do not want MySQL, and thus, WR-Gallery can be installed on almost any free hosting service.
WR-Gallery - simple but very original and easy to use script online gallery of domestic bottling. The engine is written in PHP and does not require a database MySQL (to store information used by simple text files with the extension. Dat). If you take a more understandable language, this engine can be used for small online gallery on heavily loaded free hosting with no database support, and powerful storage for photos. WR-Gallery are not overloading the server that is installed, will withstand any influx of users and, most importantly, not sboit (for the entire period of the WR-Gallery 1.3 has not been recorded no crashes the system).
If functions such as sorting the images by rating, number of comments, the date of loading and size, have become the de facto standard, that is able to upload images without pre-registration is not at all galleries.
Just a few words about the installation of the engine. In order to install WR-Gallery 1.3, you need to copy all files and directories engine on the web server and set permissions on certain folders and individual executable files.
Wallist - perfect ergonomics
Wallist can automatically cause the inscriptions on all downloaded images.
The last of our testing - is actively developing the domestic gallery Wallist, developed by a single person - Andrew Pikina. All unusually engine is that it consists of several blocks of information (news, graphic visits, tips) and is able to generate extremely fast web pages (for 0,05-0,1 seconds).
Opportunity Wallist does not yield such a professional engine, as the Gallery and 4images. Judge for yourself. Users can register on the site, add your own photo albums formed administrator images, comment on selected records, this rating. Do not forget the system and the author of such features, as a function of the application of digital watermarks (copyrights) to the surface artov and hide the old files stored on the service more than a month. Administrator is allowed to edit any parameters of the engine - to build lists of banned letters, words and phrases, which should cut out a system to block access to certain sections and parts of the page, modify the maximum size of an uploaded image to the server, delete user-selected photos. The disadvantages include the engine is not very user-friendly control panel, as well as weak security - an experienced hacker would be able to take the site down.
Set Wallist 1.2 on the web server hosting provider will be able to even the novice. Loads all the files and folders engine for FTP-protocol, forming a new database for the gallery, and configure the system using the nice web-installer.
Please note all sites we have, as usual, put on our test server Condor.ru (on the same set all the engines that we saw in the article «CMS kaleidoscope» from «Igromaniya» № 1'2008), where you can always go, to see what engine is right for your site, and only then make the final choice.
Gallery 2 - to step from the ideal
In the Gallery as many settings and functions that are new and can be confusing.
Gallery (we tested the latest at the time of this writing version - 2.2.2) - cross-platform engine, open-source. It can help you create the gallery is any difficulty, even the number of albums is not limited to that often seen in other, more simple engines. This Gallery 2 is distributed free of charge. There are, however, license is GPL, but it does not restrict, but rather enhances your right - no one prevents the rewrite engine, and even sell its modifications for the money (actually, GPL, and has been designed so that no one may bring to justice programming, rewriting source code of various programs).
The popularity of Gallery 2 said that on the basis of work, tens of thousands of online galleries, and fotohranilisch videoportalov. The engine allows you to automatic processing of images uploaded to the server - zoom, rotate the image for a given angle, compression, color correction. The new version adds multi-function access to the gallery: it means that anyone can register on the site, where the engine and create a series of their own photo albums. It is equally important that the second iteration of the engine allows you to store files on the server of any type - not just pictures and videos, and music tracks, text documents, 3D-models and a lot more.
Another advantage of - the opportunity to complete two-way integration of web-gallery with the most popular engine sites, blogs and forums. Gallery 2 excellent ladit with WordPress (that is the engine and how to do it on site in just a half an hour, read the last issue of «Igromaniya»), phpBB 2, Mambo / Joomla, PHP-Nuke, Invision Power Board (IPB), Drupal, PostNuke and vBulletin.
In the Gallery vzhivlen special filter that blocks spam and, more importantly, prevents the registration site spam bots. The principle of the filter is based on a smart Turing test (using artificially distorted random letters and numbers). Not forgotten, developers and the protection of images from illegal copying. In the Gallery uses its own digital watermark technology. Lovers certainly happy to try to connect to the new modules and themes, as well as a huge number of predefined «skins» and plugins.
Another argument in favor of Gallery - download content to your site can be a variety of ways. In a browser, using the wizard publication Windows, a compact Java-applet, or a special client program Gallery Remote. Even allowed to import images from a mobile phone or web-camera.
Manage Gallery 2 is also very convenient. Gallery Administrator may establish a disk quota for each of the registered users or groups that carry out large-scale revision of the same type (say, albums, or photos), to change the level of nesting album, view and edit user profiles.
Of the small differences: integrated modules for debugging and tracking errors, a powerful search engine (there is not all the galleries), NC (chelovekoponyatnye urly, that is, logical names of all the internal pages: for example, a forum, according to NPC, must reside at the address www. Name sayta.ru / forum, and not www.nazvanie sayta.ru/d97fd9f7sdf97sdf145), slide show function, support for multiple types of databases, user-friendly web-installer, and most importantly - with all modern web standards (including XHTML 1.0 Strict).
Gallery Set 2 follows. First of all, unpack the archive with the distribution of engine in any directory. Then load all your system files and folders in a web gallery from the directory \ gallery2 (a total of 13, not counting the English-language manual for the program) to a remote web server provider (in the root folder of the site, for example, \ condor01.ru) through FTP client, for example, FileZilla. Start the browser and type in the address bar the name of the resource, which points to the directory with the Gallery 2 (in our case - www.condor01.ru). Webpage with simple server-side program to configure the gallery (Super create an account, set storage and additional modules, installation of kernel). All you ahead 11 steps - do not worry, in most cases you need only click on the Next button. If necessary, you can always go back to the previous phase and make the necessary adjustments - for example, change the login and password, or your connection settings to the database MySQL, so that you can experiment with different options.
Finally, just a few words about the stability of the engine. All web-galleries, based on Gallery 2, are loaded in an average of 3-5 seconds (the capacity of our test channel - 10 Mb / s), virtually no load the server and database, and most importantly, not sboyat. No deficiencies in testing engine, we did not find. In general, almost ideal.
4images - the functionality is the first
Gallery 4images is a very simple design, but functionality surpasses many commercial developments.
The following members of our review simpler than Gallery 2, but no less popular. This engine 4images. It is not only simple users but also to large organizations, however, they have to pay: 4images is free only for private non-commercial use. Thus, if you want to design based on 4images paid online service for storing photos, will have to fork out 99 euro.
For a set of system functions is very similar to Gallery 2. Here is everything you need for comfortable work - and the user accounts and password-protected admin center, and various counters, and RSS-feed, and simple search engine, and even user-friendly web-installer. The engine supports all the modern graphics libraries (ImageMagick, GD, NetPBM) and, consequently, allows for simple manipulation of the images uploaded to the site - Resize, rotate images, automatic thumbnail generation. Registered in the system, users can leave comments to the selected files and exchange private messages.
Administrator of the gallery can create any number of entries and photo albums, modify all settings of a few seconds, add and edit user comments, Moderate new photos, connect to the engine, new plugins and themes for decoration. This is worth noting that all options 4images not just spread on the control panel, and are grouped into logical blocks (this is often lacking in more primitive galleries).
Smooth transition to reviewed the characteristics of 4images. The first thing you will notice - support a vast number of different formats. Engine excellent job handling the files JPG, GIF, AIF, PNG, AU, AVI, MID, MOV, MP3, MPGM, WAV, RA, RM, PD, 3GPP, and even PSD. Besides, nobody prevents you to expand the range of supported extensions, - write, and connect it to the gallery plugins for document type, say, OGG. What we have there next on the list? A unique opportunity to generate a greeting card. With 4images you just a few clicks will create a branded e-card on the basis of the selected artwork, and send it to a friend (or not), relative, friend or simply a user signs up on your site. Next undoubted merit 4images - excellent security. Crack or withdrawal of the engine is virtually impossible. But the latter have played a role in this modern technology protected by CAPTCHA form of input and output data and the administration panel, and secure data encryption algorithms. In addition to integrated 4images powerful system backup, which is not all modern repositories of photos. We honestly tried to settle the system of Trojans that have emerged over the past few months (only those that already described «Kaspersky Labs»), none of them was able to take root in the engine.
But what can pozhurit 4images, so is this too simple interface. No наворотов in the form of a drop-down windows and juicy vebdvanolnyh panelek, some just plain buttons. In addition, in some menu, there is quite a strange grouping of parameters and want to take them and put in the correct order, but there is no such possibility.
WR-Gallery - easier to nowhere
WR-Gallery is also very simple, sometimes even too ... All the same minimalistichny design - not the best option for the gallery. But do not want MySQL, and thus, WR-Gallery can be installed on almost any free hosting service.
WR-Gallery - simple but very original and easy to use script online gallery of domestic bottling. The engine is written in PHP and does not require a database MySQL (to store information used by simple text files with the extension. Dat). If you take a more understandable language, this engine can be used for small online gallery on heavily loaded free hosting with no database support, and powerful storage for photos. WR-Gallery are not overloading the server that is installed, will withstand any influx of users and, most importantly, not sboit (for the entire period of the WR-Gallery 1.3 has not been recorded no crashes the system).
If functions such as sorting the images by rating, number of comments, the date of loading and size, have become the de facto standard, that is able to upload images without pre-registration is not at all galleries.
Just a few words about the installation of the engine. In order to install WR-Gallery 1.3, you need to copy all files and directories engine on the web server and set permissions on certain folders and individual executable files.
Wallist - perfect ergonomics
Wallist can automatically cause the inscriptions on all downloaded images.
The last of our testing - is actively developing the domestic gallery Wallist, developed by a single person - Andrew Pikina. All unusually engine is that it consists of several blocks of information (news, graphic visits, tips) and is able to generate extremely fast web pages (for 0,05-0,1 seconds).
Opportunity Wallist does not yield such a professional engine, as the Gallery and 4images. Judge for yourself. Users can register on the site, add your own photo albums formed administrator images, comment on selected records, this rating. Do not forget the system and the author of such features, as a function of the application of digital watermarks (copyrights) to the surface artov and hide the old files stored on the service more than a month. Administrator is allowed to edit any parameters of the engine - to build lists of banned letters, words and phrases, which should cut out a system to block access to certain sections and parts of the page, modify the maximum size of an uploaded image to the server, delete user-selected photos. The disadvantages include the engine is not very user-friendly control panel, as well as weak security - an experienced hacker would be able to take the site down.
Set Wallist 1.2 on the web server hosting provider will be able to even the novice. Loads all the files and folders engine for FTP-protocol, forming a new database for the gallery, and configure the system using the nice web-installer.