SSL Consulting
Think strategically, organize logically, prototype quickly, implement carefully, teach patiently.
World Wide Web
- Business Analysis: what to publish, what to ask (forms).
- Information Strategy: how to structure the presentation, how to gather desired information.
- Automation Strategy: how to organize workflow to automate Web publishing.
- Gather Information: talk with key people, assemble documents, extract database information.
- Create Pages: convert existing documents, build new pages from scratch.
- Automate: write scripts to convert existing documents and process new information as it becomes available.
- Train: transfer skills to employees.
This web site is published 100% with scripts, using my No-Tags Markup preprocessor and Stage Three system. I can help you get up and running with any combination of these tools, the web publishing framework in UserLand's Frontier 4.2, conventional Macintosh web tools or a custom solution. Source documents can come from any platform, though I write scripts only for Macintosh.
Although the scope of my web consulting is broad, I don't pretend to do everything that might be required. For a complete, polished Web site, the services of a graphic designer may be helpful. To set up a dedicated Web server (rather than have an Internet Service Provider host the site), an "Internet Plumber" is required. A different specialist will be required to establish a secure transaction processing system (for credit cards or some form of digital cash).
Macintosh scripting
- Strategy: what tasks to automate.
- Design: which applications are scriptable, what utilities are available.
- Prototype: develop proof-of-concept scripts.
- Implement: write fully-documented scripts.
- Review: Your scripts work, but you know they could be improved. You don't want someone else to polish them up, you want to learn how. I'll teach you, with specific feedback on your scripts, and general principles that you can apply in the future.
- Train: Perhaps you don't even know where to begin. Maybe you've written a few scripts, and want to quickly jump to the next level. Or, you've hit a wall and need to go back and build a solid foundation. I can teach a standard class or customize it to your needs. One person or many, Boston area or on-site.
Most of my work is done with UserLand Frontier. I may do simple projects in AppleScript.
One specialty is controlling otherwise non-scriptable apps with PreFab Player, for tasks such as batch processing with Photoshop, one-off or broadcast FAX, controlling MORE and Nisus, handling control panels, etc. I regularly script FileMaker Pro, have automatically built Web pages from InfoDepot, customized Eudora, CompuServe Navigator, and SITComm for my own productivity, and delivered solutions using MacProject Pro, Microsoft Excel and Kaleidagraph.
Automated Web Publishing