Dynamic image gallery generation using PHP and jQuery



I've got an idea in my head, something I want to create, but am not
sure about the best approach. I'd like to pitch the idea and get some
opinions on a smart way to go about this before I dive headfirst in
the wrong direction!

I've got a photography website that displays multiple portfolios for a
few different photographers. It's got thumbnails and large images, and
they are organized into li in a ul.

The idea:

I'd like to have a login requiring only a password that takes you to a
page allowing you to upload, rename, or delete files in a specified
directory. The directory would be defined by a selection in a dropdown
menu.

After the images are uploaded I'd like them to be resized into a large
image and a thumb, the thumb in a sub-directory, and have the files
named sequentially.

The gallery page would automatically create one gallery per folder in
a specified directory. Each folder containing the images and a thumb
folder.

What I'm thinking:

I'm thinking PHP or Perl script for image upload and manipulation, and
maybe using a script out there for AJAX file upload and manipulation,
but I'd like to hand code as much as possible.

I imagine after each upload session is finished that a PHP script
would generate HTML into the gallery file, rather than each time a
visitor access the page having it create the content based on the
directory.

Could I get some advice on how best to approach this?

  • Which languages are best suited for
    each step? (I'd like to use mostly jQuery as that is most of my JS)
  • Any suggestions on the
    methods or sequence?
  • Things to avoid
    doing all together?

Thanks in advance!