Backporting the Admin CMS for retro computers

[Bolkonskij]

Hey everyone,

as some of you may know, I'm into retro computing (particularly old Macintosh computers). Get Simple is my CMS of choice for the speed (no database queries) and ease of use. (thanks to doing its magic on the server-side and leaving JavaScript mostly out of the game)

So with the holidays up ahead I thought it would be fun if I could actually use my old machines to update content. Get Simple CMS on a 1989 Macintosh IIci? Sure, why not?

The task would be to backport the admin cms to HTML 4 (or even 3.2 for that matter) and strip it of any CSS. That would give me even more speed. Har! Before I'm about to venture into this adventure, a few thoughts though

1.) Anyone ever tried to rewrite the Admin CMS template ?
2.) Given the architecture, this is likely to break the upgrade cycle, is it?
3.) Other than going through every single php file in the admin folder - any advice / ideas on how to proceed best ?

If I manage to get this done I'll post a screenshot of browsing the CMS with Netscape 4.08 (last browser version to support a Mac with a 68030 CPU :

[Felix]

Hi,

For all that retro I suggest you try wysiwyg webbuilder
It works and exports pure html
https://www.wysiwygwebbuilder.com/

[Bolkonskij]

Thanks for the suggestion, Felix! I have no trouble "hand-coding" old HTML, it's a nice trip back into history. I think I'll go through the admin files and make all the changes manually. Tables, where are my tables ... :-)

[Bolkonskij]

Finally found the time to tinker with my above mentioned plans for Get Simple. I had to make some significant changes to the /admin files like stripping out all of the JS / CSS and changing the templates (remember good ol' table layouts?).

Future updates will require a manual merging but I now have a HTML 3.2 compliant back-end but with modern security.* It works fast and reliable with Netscape 4.8 on my 1997 Power Macintosh 8600 / 200 (yeah, that's 200 Megahertz) which is a true testament to the flexibility and unbloatedness of Get Simple CMS. Love it!

Kudos to all GS devs! Great job! :-)

* well, yeah, no SSL / TLS for this buddy

[davetest]

Well done Bolkonskij. Is there any possibility that you will release your work for others to try?

[Bolkonskij]

I didn't give it a thought as I didn't think there's anyone else interested in really using it. (drop me a line if you do!)
It was just to prove that it is possible within a decent timeframe to do due to the flexible nature of GetSimple.

That said, I may pack everything up. Essentially it's just backing up your old admin folder and replacing it with the new one. You can go back any time you just copy your old /admin back over.

There's still a few things I need to iron out and it's pretty basic at this point but it works with good ol' Netscape 4. Working in that environment brings back a lot of memories ... :-)

[Melyssfrtz77]

Thanks for the suggestion, Felix! I actually don't mind "hand-coding" old HTML; it feels like a nostalgic journey into the past. I reckon I'll go through the admin files and manually implement all the changes. Tables, here I come! ?