PureBasic Forums - English

Hey guys!
I got the idea ( from this post: http://www.purebasic.fr/english/viewtop ... 51#p348351 ) to open my site with the easy ability of uploading files with no ads for their clients to be bothered with. Currently I have an 8MB limit on uploaded file size, but once I've removed any bugs that arise from use of the service I plan on increasing this size to a few hundred MB.

The reason for this is I don't really use my website for anything but a few things, mostly to test new web development ideas out on. So it's basically just wasting out on the internet as it is. I've overhauled my site, coded a custom login/registration/download system to play with. There are a few things missing right now(file deletion, file download tracking) but it should be fully usable for anyone that would like to use it.

When you upload a file, my site will output a unique download link for you to hotlink to. Anyone who wishes to download simply has to click the link to initiate the download. There are no ads to be annoyed by at all.

My site is hosted in the USA, I currently have unlimited bandwidth to play with so there shouldn't be any slow downloads.

If you find any bugs please let me know so I can fix them.

Here is the link: http://anotherprophecy.com/

Features:

• Website uses md5 to encrypt important account detail(email, password, etc)
  Users can now delete files from their accounts
  Users can now view all uploaded files on their accounts
  You can view your total upload file size now
  Unlimited account space. Currently there is an 8MB limit on each uploaded file, though. Will be changing this sometime in the near future.
  Easy to use download links, give it them to your friends and the download begins the moment they click it.

TODO:

• Private download tracker, view total times a file has been downloaded.

[edit1] updated website features

Two bugs in my eyes
The striped background is hurting. And it "moves".
Also the red textcolor is blinding and at the same time almost invisible.
You should pick some sans serif fonts instead of Times New Roman, a calm background and other colors than #FF0000 (red) and #00FF00 (lime/green).

This is considered a good choice of font families among webdesigners.Also use a table for the input fields on the register page. The current alignment looks messy.

Why do you restrict the content of the password?
I hope you're saving it as a hash. So special characters won't cause any problems in the database.

The button on the register page is not wide enough.
Remove any width-parameter so it does fit automatically for any language.
It currently says "Daten abs", which should be "Daten absenden" ("Send Data").

The login field should empty itself onFocus(). I had to remove "Username" manually.
Also "Tab" doesn't jump to the password field.
This happens usually automatically if the fields are within the same (excuse unnecessary code-tags, but "greater than" / "lesser than" is removed instead of replaced with > / < by phpbb, otherwise...

You said that a unique link is created.
But that's not the case. The link is: ?cid=username&file=filename
I uploaded two different files with the same name and after uploading the second file the link was still the same, but it pointed to the second file.
I don't know if the other file is still available on your server or not.

On the my Account page it says the size of my folder is 0 kb.
And I cannot delete the files I uploaded.
The download log doesn't show up, either.
I suppose all those features are yet to come?


EDIT: This how you page should look like, imho (never mind the rough corners of the png overlay and the arrows. It's sloppy mspaint work).



EDIT2: "Welcome to the site" should actually name your site eg: "Welcome to anotherprophecy.com, your free, ad-free (can you say that in english? (although I rather wouldn't because of "free/free")) file hoster". For SEO's sake.

TomS wrote:Two bugs in my eyes
The striped background is hurting. And it "moves".
Also the red textcolor is blinding and at the same time almost invisible.
You should pick some sans serif fonts instead of Times New Roman, a calm background and other colors than #FF0000 (red) and #00FF00 (lime/green).

This is considered a good choice of font families among webdesigners.

Code: Select all

font-family: arial, helvetica, verdana, sans serif;

Also use a table for the input fields on the register page. The current alignment looks messy.

Thanks for the tips, the site is still in an early draft. I'll change the font like you suggested. I will also change the background, it does seem a bit annoying when the page scrolls(which it's not supposed to!).

TomS wrote: Why do you restrict the content of the password?
I hope you're saving it as a hash. So special characters won't cause any problems in the database.

I've restricted characters like: ~!@*./\<> etc. The password is encrypted with MD5. Further note, I am not using MySQL.

TomS wrote: The button on the register page is not wide enough.
Remove any width-parameter so it does fit automatically for any language.
It currently says "Daten abs", which should be "Daten absenden" ("Send Data").

I didn't take this into consideration, thanks for pointing that out! I forgot to take width out after tinkering, thanks again.

TomS wrote: The login field should empty itself onFocus(). I had to remove "Username" manually.
Also "Tab" doesn't jump to the password field.
This happens usually automatically if the fields are within the same

Code: Select all

<form>

(excuse unnecessary code-tags, but "greater than" / "lesser than" is removed instead of replaced with > / < by phpbb, otherwise...

The tab jump is caused by style="float:right;" and positioning. Username field and Password field have basically swapped places. The reason for this was to prevent some automatize bots(I took the advice of an article I read about combating bots). OnFocus() is a javascript function and I won't be using javascript on the site at all. A lot of people still don't run with javascript enabled on their browsers. My personal quirk with javascript is the fact that it makes my code even more ugly.
I think Internet Explorer automatically clears the field upon selection.

TomS wrote: You said that a unique link is created.
But that's not the case. The link is: ?cid=username&file=filename
I uploaded two different files with the same name and after uploading the second file the link was still the same, but it pointed to the second file.
I don't know if the other file is still available on your server or not.

The file will overwrite any existing files inside of the users upload directory. I used to rename files with a date added into the name. But after considering some people might not like their files renamed I took out that code. If you upload a file with the same name as another file in your account it will overwrite that existing file. I can add file overwrite protection code again if more people wish.

TomS wrote: On the my Account page it says the size of my folder is 0 kb.
And I cannot delete the files I uploaded.
The download log doesn't show up, either.
I suppose all those features are yet to come?

Yes these features are still being worked on, there will be a bit more available too. There is no limit to the size of your upload folder though, the meter on this page is merely aesthetic

TomS wrote: EDIT: This how you page should look like, imho (never mind the rough corners of the png overlay and the arrows. It's sloppy mspaint work).



EDIT2: "Welcome to the site" should actually name your site eg: "Welcome to anotherprophecy.com, your free, ad-free (can you say that in english? (although I rather wouldn't because of "free/free")) file hoster". For SEO's sake.

Good idea!

Thanks for the input, and tips! I've hand coded everything on the site and it was incredibly fun! It was also a great experience.
Some uninteresting facts:
MySQL is not used at all.
No javascript was used.
Hard coded image paths!
I support http://ie6countdown.com/ (IE6ers can still use the site, though).
Basename() and Preg_Replace() was used with unconditional love.
Entirely made in PHP5, HTML and CSS.

[Edit] This morning I had to clear the database to make an important change to the login routine(There was a carriage return that shouldn't have been in my database). TomS, your account was also deleted because of this. If you want to remake your account, please feel free to do so. There will not be anymore database cleaning, so all accounts from this day forward will remain intact.

Maybe I miss something here Nituvious, but why the absolute paths for images in your css?

• /* Don't like hardcoded image paths? Bite me. */
  
  body#bodyBackground {
  background:url("http://anotherprophecy.com/files/images/fill.png");
  }

Wouldn't it make more sense to use relative so you can migrate a little easier in future if you want?

• body#bodyBackground
  {
  background:url("/files/images/fill.png");
  }

If you don't use JS onFocus() then leave the input field empty.
If IE really clears the field automatically, that's just another sign, that IE sucks.
Imagine a series of fields, where you want to edit the content that came from a database. You'd have to write everything all over again instead of just adding or chaning a single char oO

If you use MD5 there's no need to restrict any characters.

>>The reason for this was to prevent some automatize bots(I took the advice of an article I read about combating bots).

Any "tips" agains bots are mainly BS. Bots never choose their fields by position, but by ID or name.
The only thing that does is annoy normal users just like captchas that you still can not read, even if you knew what words is supposed to be typed in.
Please change it so Tab works again, thanks.

Baldrick wrote:Maybe I miss something here Nituvious, but why the absolute paths for images in your css?

• /* Don't like hardcoded image paths? Bite me. */
  
  body#bodyBackground {
  background:url("http://anotherprophecy.com/files/images/fill.png");
  }

Wouldn't it make more sense to use relative so you can migrate a little easier in future if you want?

• body#bodyBackground
  {
  background:url("/files/images/fill.png");
  }

It's an inside joke with some friends of mine.

Make a dynamic php file instead of a css file.
You can still have your joke but it's also quite easy to move to another domain by changing just one variable (or don't change anything. Let php get the absolute path for you )

Nituvious, you may want to check your terms and conditions from your hosting company... I think you will find your account suspended quite quickly if you are not very careful. 1&1 are renowned for enforcing their T&C's religiously. If you have a dedicated server, then it is pretty much up to you how you manage it, but the core T&C's still apply unless otherwise stated in the package option you chose.

Not trying to piss all over your idea or anything, Just giving you a friendly heads-up thats all. Had issues with them myself in the past

8.16.
You shall at all times use Web Site Space exclusively as a conventional Web Site. You shall not use the Web Site Space or Your Services in any way which may result in an excessive load on the 1&1 Equipment, including but not limited to installing or running web proxies, using your allotted space as online backup or storage, or mirroring mass downloads. Use of Web Site Space and Your Services shall be in a manner consistent with this Agreement and shall not in any way impair the functioning or operation of 1&1's Equipment or network. Should your use of the 1&1 Services result in an overly high load on the 1&1 Equipment, in 1&1's sole discretion, 1&1 may suspend your account until the cause of any such overload is determined and resolved.

LuCiFeR[SD] wrote:Nituvious, you may want to check your terms and conditions from your hosting company... I think you will find your account suspended quite quickly if you are not very careful. 1&1 are renowned for enforcing their T&C's religiously. If you have a dedicated server, then it is pretty much up to you how you manage it, but the core T&C's still apply unless otherwise stated in the package option you chose.

Not trying to piss all over your idea or anything, Just giving you a friendly heads-up thats all. Had issues with them myself in the past

8.16.
You shall at all times use Web Site Space exclusively as a conventional Web Site. You shall not use the Web Site Space or Your Services in any way which may result in an excessive load on the 1&1 Equipment, including but not limited to installing or running web proxies, using your allotted space as online backup or storage, or mirroring mass downloads. Use of Web Site Space and Your Services shall be in a manner consistent with this Agreement and shall not in any way impair the functioning or operation of 1&1's Equipment or network. Should your use of the 1&1 Services result in an overly high load on the 1&1 Equipment, in 1&1's sole discretion, 1&1 may suspend your account until the cause of any such overload is determined and resolved.

Hi Lucifer!
Thanks for the concern on the T&C. My website is apart of a dedicated server, and I've confirmed with 1&1 about this and they said that my service wouldn't be suspended for using a lot of bandwidth. I will double check the above quote just to make sure, though.

@Nituvious
What a nice way to use extra storage! I know several people who can not receive anything in email over a couple MB so I will take you up on this offer soon. Thanks.

Hello again everyone, I have made a lot of changes to the website. There is more account control available as stated in the original post under the feature list.
I took the advice on changing color and font as well as other things too. I haven't yet changed the background image yet though, as I completely forgot all about it. But I will get too it!