in reply to Auction Software Project

VERY impressive. The interface is sweet and the amount of coding that went into the site must have been tremendous. Good work.

I'm interested in writing software programs and marketing them, too. I've an idea for a niche web-based application that I think would sell well and for big bucks. Problem is, I don't know if I have the skill to do it right. I can just imagine myself spending endless hours agonizing over the project and rewriting it from scratch several times. It's more than a little intimidating.

So how much experience did you code/program web applications before writing your auction software?

$PM = "Perl Monk's";
$MCF = "Most Clueless Friar Abbot Bishop Pontiff";
$nysus = $PM . $MCF;
Click here if you love Perl Monks

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: Re: Auction Software Project
by CodeJunkie (Monk) on Jul 08, 2003 at 16:48 UTC

    Thanks :-) I'm glad you like it!

    Yeah it has taken me a long time to get it to where it is!

    Well to be honest I started writing the software way back in 2001. I was still a student then, just in the middle of a years work experience from my uni course (as a web developer). The software originally came about because a friends company contacted me and asked if I could write them some custom auction software. I said, no problem, and it went from there!

    The original code was a little dodgy (looking back at it now :-) ) but it worked fine! Since then i've done a major re-write of the code (earlier this year) and improved the interface.

    I have been working as a web developer now for a couple of years, so I do have a certain amount of experience, although I don't claim to be as good at Perl as many of the guys on Perl Monks!

    The main problem i've found with writting software applications, is there are so many free scripts out there, its hard to compete! Why pay for something, when you can get it for free!

    I'm sure that a lot of people could make serious money by using my software to sell their products... if only I had products to sell I would use it myself! :-) But it is hard to get people to realise this.

    I would be interested in hearing more about your nice web based application idea though... I know what you mean about being more than a little intimidating! :-)

[reply]
      My idea for marketing web apps in general is to cater to a niche market so there is unlikely to be any competition for it. To write a discussion board program would be suicidal because they are a dime a dozen.

      I've got a background in another field and have some ideas about using that special knowledge I have to help me put useful features into the software. I doubt that a web-based application in this field exists (at least I didn't find it on the web a couple of years ago when I last looked). I think if it was marketed well, it could definitely sell for a handsome profit. The target audience is underserved but still has plenty of money to throw around. But I'd be more interested in doing it for the challenge than the money.

      $PM = "Perl Monk's";
      $MCF = "Most Clueless Friar Abbot Bishop Pontiff";
      $nysus = $PM . $MCF;
      Click here if you love Perl Monks

[reply]

In Section Meditations