How this page was created
I have created this page using wordpress as an underlying platform. However, the image management as well as the dive data display have been written for this page specifically. Both software systems are available under an open-source license. This page tries to explain what the benefits of this special software is so you can judge if you want to use it as well.
The problem
Managing a photos on your own computer is a lot of work. Displaying them online is additional work and can be very complicated and cumbersome. One has to handle each image individually and it’s hard to keep track. A system is needed that takes the most work away from the photographers and allows a quick upload, automated management and as simple as possible publishing.
The second part is the dive data. While dive computers are good at managing dive profiles and additional information, it’s near impossible to get the data outside of proprietary applications and even if that is possible, the information is hard to convey to people looking at the photos. A system is needed that allows easy access to the data as well as an easy link between the dive information and the photos taken during the dive.
The solution
Dive photos are available in a simple structure: They all occurred during a dive which started at a certain time and ended roughly 1 hour later. The time when the photo was taken is already stored in the image. One only needs a system that reads this data and makes the photos available based on the time they have been taken. In the system that I have created, one only needs to define when a dive started and when it ended. The photos are then automatically, chronologically displayed in a blog post. In wordpress, one can insert a dive by simply using a code like this:
[un_gallery start_time=”2016-03-11 08:00:00″ end_time=”2016-03-11 10:00:00″]
Regarding the dives, they are stored already in a database by the dive computer. Once the challenge to download, decode and read the data was overcome, I was able to simply list all the dives stored in the dive computer in an administration interface. The dive information contains the time, duration and date of the dive and therefore it is easy to combine the dive information and the photos taken during the dive. So in order to display the dive data, the diver only needs to know which dive number in the database he wants to show and the correct dive profile along with the embedded photos can be shown. So a dive can be added easily to the blog with a code like this:
[my_divelog dive_id=”79″]
Development Status
The first module, the photo management system, is stable. You can get the software on GitHub. The development still continues, please feel free to contribute with code or feedback on the github issues page.
The second module, the divelog management system, is still under development. You can get the software on GitHub as well. Please feel free to contribute with code or feedback on the github issues page.