Blog

Introduction:

This blog is built on my own from scratch (e.g. server, database, backend and frontend) and the current version is 3.1. It's mainly based on Mysql, Bootstrap and Flask.

I started to build my blog in 2014 and it’s hosted on a VPS and online for about 8 years!

Here are some descriptions of the tech I used:

• Server
  • A 24/7 online OpenVZ VPS with DDoS Protection (hosted on budgetvm bandwagon).
  • Auto-backup and auto-restart service using supervisor.
  • A reverse proxy (Nginx) to manage multiple servers for different websites.
  • A WSGI (uWSGI) proxy to accelerate the communication between the server program and Nginx.
  • A SQL (MySQL) database to store the data and database-migration information.
• Backend
  • A server based on Flask with different configurations (i.e. deployment and development).
  • A command line interface (CLI) to test the backend and manage the database.
  • An authorization system with
    • Password Hashing and Salting.
    • A Password retrieval system through email (removed now since there is only one user).
    • User grouping and permission management.
    • CSRF Protection on the forms.
  • A file server that
    • With Hotlink protection (removed now)
    • With the size and type filter.
    • Stores/Manages/Sorts the uploaded files.
    • Automatically uploads the pasted images instantly in the editor.
  • A SQL-based data-schema with an object-relational mapping (ORM) definitions.
  • A database auto-migration component.
  • An analysis component based on Google Analytics.
  • A set of RESTful API that allows other applications to fetch the posts.
• Frontend
  • A responsive design based on Bootstrap 3 4.
  • An editing tool that can dynamically load the content with AJAX.
• Features
  • Editing
    • A rich text editor with CKEditor 4, which can edit images, formula, code, tables, embedded video and many other elements.
    • Customizable tags and categories.
    • A shared JavaScript management system (e.g. code-highlighting scripts).
    • Embeddable and Customizable Scripts (e.g. embed React code in the post).
    • An unsaved file warning when exiting.
  • Viewing
    • Auto-pagination.
    • Searching and filtering.
    • An auto-hiding navigation bar.
    • A timeline-based log.
    • A focusing effect when pointing the brief description of a post.
  • Streaming
    • Broadcast with SRS+FFMPEG via RTMP+HTTP
    • RTMP: Low latency (~5s)
    • HLS (HTTP): No flash needed

Updates in 3.5(Ongoing):

• About me.
• A twin site with the same piece of code
  • Redesign the frontend
  • Refactor a site-specific rendering system
• fixed the spotlight bug
• fixed the encoding problem
• fixed the ulog clickable
• Added online stream
• Local timezone feature
• Added pin logo in the post list
• Enabled remember me
• Updated the line height
• Added highlight for log (anchor)
• Supported login with timezone
• [2020/05/23]: Support Reversed Timeline

Updates in 3.4:

• New filter design.
• Move to a new server (new IP).
• Redesign the filter.
• Move to a new server (at bandwagon)
• A change log system.
• Updates in 3.3 (Aug 2018)

• New Features:
  • A reader app based on React and Ant Design.
• Backend-side updates:
  • Added a set of RESTful API routes.
  • Added an API Key table. 
• Server-side updates:
  • Re-installed the server, upgraded the packages and moved to python3.
  • Used uWSGI emperor to manage different apps to make a better load-balance management (nginx cannot).
  • Switched the browsing UID to www-data to ensure the safety.

Updates in 3.1 (July 2018)

• Refactored the backend.
• Upgraded all flask-related libraries and move to Python3.
• Upgraded from Bootstrap 3 to Bootstrap 4.
• Separated the CSS from HTML entirely.
• Re-designed the navigation bar.
• Added the “focusing” animation.
• Updated the CKEditor.
• Added a “script” field to the Post table.
• Simplified the post categorization.
• Corrected the encoding of the database.