My Standards

The following conventions or standards are used in my web pages:

• • Full Stack RASP: Raspberry Pi OS, Apache2, SQLite3, PHP

  • Languages: HTML CSS, bash, PHP and Python

    • • For a while, I tried using only Python and no PHP, but this really isn't worth the effort

      • To get python to work like PHP, I either need to use a Framework (Flask, Django, ...) or use a simple python webserver instead of Apache2

      • Starting in AUG2021, I have tried to write my python code in a Pythonic way

  • I don't share my passwords, host names, IP addresses and other personal data on the internet. Text enclosed in clubs, such as, ♣replace-this♣, should be replaced with your value. Of course, remove the clubs.  

    • • If you copy-and-paste a command with a link, then it may not work. Check for clubs or invalid quotes.

  • Instead of providing steps on how to edit a file, I will provide steps to download the file from my github repositories. 

  • All code and files are stored in github with appropriate links.

  • Install script

    • • Some of my guides contain a long list of commands. 

      • When there is a long list of commands, I will try to create an install script

      • Most of my guides are in active use. If a Raspberry Pi fails, then it is much easier to run a script than than copy-and-paste each command. 

      • Also, the install script should fix common errors.

  • As appropriate, instructions might have the following at the end:

    • • References: Contains links to web pages used or consulted in writing the instructions. As much as possible, I will reference sources. I apologize if I miss some.

      • Troubleshooting: Either during development or afterwards, I find issues or others may report problems and I attempt to document how to troubleshoot those issues

  • Most of my complex guides are based on Raspberry Pi. Instead of including steps common to many guides, I reference other guides.

  • For the most part, it doesn't matter which operating system you use. It's a personal preference. Almost all of my projects run headless (no GUI). I experimented with DietPi and think it is great. But, when I ran into issues that I could not resolve, it was more difficult to google a solution on DietPi than on Raspberry Pi OS. So, I use Raspberrry Pi OS. A similar argument can be made for apache2 over lighttpd

  • In general, I develop the guide as I am making the project. Once complete, I run through the instructions again to try and ensure I haven't forgotten anything.

  • I use a MacBook instead of a windows PC for many reasons, but the primary reason is a Mac's base OS is BSD, which is a variant of Unix. So, similar commands can be used in a Mac terminal window and also on the Raspberry Pi running Linux.

  • My goal is to keep project instructions up to date