This version of Gruta Progressiva was a very new experience for me. I had to discover how to create a database, manage it and create dynamic content to it. The main site was done in PostNuke, an open-source PHP script that looked very promising at the time with a very active community. I added several functionalities to it through plugins/modules and changed them to fit the theme of the site. Everything got quite nicely integrated, and the result was much better than what is seen in the screenshot (I didn’t get to take one before the site was taken offline).

But there was more to it: the actual band list was taken to another database, and the pages displaying the band list were done in PHP. I created quite complex relationships among three tables: one featuring the bands and their info, another featuring their discography and another for their videos. One could sort by different fields, get lists by country, get albums by year, etc. The whole programming was done in Dreamweaver, mostly late into the night. One could also put in new bands, albums and videos through sets of forms to which only administrators would have access to.

The site got quite popular among prog-rockers, and by the end of an year we had a few hundred members. The success was such that when it was time to renew the domain name, the “company” from which I got it from wanted much more money to renew it. Myself, still a monk, could not afford to pay for it, but a friend paid for it on my behalf. The “company” denied having received the money – even though it was 100% paid. I just had to let it go then… The domain is still not available after all these years.

I learned a lot about dynamic websites with this personal project, something that really helped me in future projects. I was by no means a professional web designer and had no prospects or strong ambitions of becoming one at that time, I was too engrossed into my work as the manager of the children’s home in Romania. A Gruta Progressiva was mostly a hobby I enjoyed.