Bespoke programming

ITYGRYS creates bespoke management applications under the form of web-interfaced MySQL databases for which it offers full-stack development and installation services. Web-interfaced means that the application consists of an Internet site viewable with a conventional browser such as Chrome, Edge or Safari, which guarantees easy portability. Furthermore, both the database and web servers can be hosted on any machine regardless of its operating system (Windows, macOS, Linux).

Design style

ITYGRYS creates ergonomic interfaces that are comfortable for the eye to look at, with only light decorative style that doesn't undermine the site reactivity. We favour so-called brutalist design which presents the required information, nothing more, and just a minimum of graphic sophistication.

We enforce RWD (Responsive Web Design) so that your interface layout adapts automatically to the media it is displayed on. For example, the ITYGRYS site looks different when you look at it on a computer screen or on a mobile device. It also contains style specifications that ignore irrelevant elements and reformat others when printing on paper or in a PDF file.

Technology

The application is programmed using the widely-used PHP (version 7) language. PHP is a server-side language as opposed to client-side languages. With a server-side language, the application is executed on the server. When it works once on the server, it will work everywhere. On the other hand, client-side languages are executed within the user's browser and the reliability depends on the user's computer configuration.

Furthermore, a client-side language such as JavaScript is highly vulnerable to cyber-attacks, particularly within the AJAX framework, as reminded by the CISA (Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency) in the USA in one of its 2020 reports.

The database technology used is MySQL and the web server technology is Apache. These servers are widely used and are easily movable from one server to another. While Apache is free, MySQL has a price starting at 2000 USD which should be enough for most businesses. For a much lower price, MySQL can be hosted on a shared server outside your company.

Case study

The LHOMME bookshop and auction room in Liège, Belgium, was using Mac computers of various generations, each of them having a different version of Filemaker Pro or Omnis to cover various needs for databases developped over time. Compatibility became an issue when some Macs had to be replaced but the same version of Filemaker Pro could not be installed everywhere.

The machine/system barrier was lifted by choosing to create a new database to group all data within a web interface. Data from all databases were exported using CSV files then imported into a new unique MySQL database. The new database contains the bookshop inventory, invoices, deposits, auctions and one unified address book without duplicates. A customised application was developped in PHP to manipulate the data which are now hosted in the cloud to be accessible from anywhere.

Documents created from the data, such as deposit and auction slips, invoices, and various sheets, can be exported to PDF files and feature a QR code for easier payment. Some data can also be easily exported to CSV, JSON and XML files. JPG illustrations can be imported in the database with a compression process to reduce their size. The third-party phpMyAdmin application is also used for backup.