AboutLAMPPortfolioExamples
Full-Stack Web Development
About
With extensive experience architecting, deploying, and maintaining bespoke web applications, Dr Alan Amory specialises in leveraging the LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) to build scalable, production-ready digital solutions. From secure database schemas and dynamic back-end controllers to custom UI frameworks, my work emphasises modular code architecture, database integrity, and robust business logic.

This section highlights:
  1. LAMP Architecture includes the technology and Application & Implementation.
  2. A snapshot of the development over the past 29 years.
  3. Examples: a showcase of some of the developed websites.
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LAMP Architecture
With extensive experience architecting, deploying, and maintaining bespoke web applications, I specialise in leveraging the LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) to build scalable, production-ready digital solutions. From secure database schemas and dynamic back-end controllers to custom UI frameworks, my work emphasises modular code architecture, database integrity, and robust business logic.

Layer

Technology

Application & Implementation

Operating System

Linux

Server configuration, environment security, file system permissions, and deployment management.

Web Server

Apache

Request routing, custom dynamic rewrites, virtual host configuration, and security via .htaccess.

Database

MySQL

Relational schema design, optimised indexes, structured data stores, and analytical reporting queries.

Back-End Logic

PHP

Object-oriented application architecture, custom routing, session management, and server-side logic execution.

Front-End & Mobile

HTML5 / CSS3 / JS / Hybrid Mobile

Responsive UI layouts, dynamic DOM manipulation, glassmorphism design, native mobile wrappers, and offline content storage.
    1. Higher Education Web Infrastructure & Research Portals (1997–2005)
    • Engineered departmental platforms including Biology (1997), Research Group BioPED (1998), Multimedia Research Group (1998), and School of Development Studies (1998, 2005).

    • Executed full institutional web redesigns, including the University of Natal Main Web redesign (1999) and technology centre sites such as ited.ukzn.ac.za (1999) and ict.ukzn.ac.za (2000).

    • Developed specialised academic content portals including African Scholarship (2003), Shisa Portal (2003), Post-colonialism: South/Africa (2004), Ifayili (2005), and early web learning tools like the Open Learning System (OLS) (2005).

      2. Enterprise Institutional Portals & Native Mobile Apps (2012)
      Designed and deployed large-scale institutional mobile applications and tablet/desktop web portals for university-wide student and administrative engagement.

      • uGO Mobile Apps (2012): Served as Lead Developer and Interface Designer for native iOS and Android application suites serving the University of Johannesburg community. 

      • uLink Institutional Portal (2012): Designed and developed the high-traffic institutional portal engineered specifically for multi-device responsiveness across mobile tablets and desktop computers.
        3. Open Educational Resources, Non-Profit Platforms & Mobile Learning (2015–2019)
        Built comprehensive web platforms and specialised mobile applications for global literacy initiatives, educational research bodies, and international foundations.

        • African Storybook Initiative (2015–2019): Developed the primary open educational platform (africanstorybook.org) along with the accompanying African Storybook Reader App (2017) and African Storybook Maker App (2019) to create, translate, and distribute open literacy content.

        • Non-Profit & Research Platforms: Architected the primary web platforms for Saide (saide.org.za, 2015) and the higher education student success platform Siyaphumelela (siyaphumelela.org.za, 2016).

        • Roger Federer Foundation Mobile Tools: Engineered custom learning and capacity-building mobile applications including the iAct Learning App (2018) and the KnowHow App (2019).
           4. Custom Web Application Frameworks & Document Micro-SaaS
          Architected custom lightweight PHP backends focused on low latency, efficient execution, and automated document generation.

          • Bypassed overhead-heavy third-party frameworks in favour of clean, modular native PHP codebases with custom routing and session handling.

          • Implemented dynamic PDF output pipelines integrating PHP with Dompdf to render formal, tax-compliant invoices, credit notes, receipts, and legal documentation.
            5. Engineering Philosophy & System Standards
            • Data Integrity & Security: Prepared SQL statements, parameterised queries, and rigorous user-input sanitisation to guard against injection vulnerabilities and data corruption.

            • Performance Optimisation: Efficient query structuring, proper index design, and optimised asset delivery for fast page loads across desktop and mobile networks.

            • Maintainable Codebase: Clean separation of concerns (architecture patterns), well-commented modules, and reusable utility classes designed for long-term scalability.

              The University of Natal and KwaZulu-Natal (2001 - 2021)

              The UNITECH Excellence Award (often associated with the annual UNITECH Congress for tertiary institution communicators, marketers, and developers in South Africa) historically recognised outstanding achievements in institutional communication, publications, marketing campaigns, and web development. The University of Natal famously swept the board at the UNITECH Congress awards ceremony (such as in late 2001), capturing the Overall Excellence Award.

              Saide 2015


              African Storybook

              A redesign of the African Storybook (ASb) site was initiated after a review of the ASb web site. A paper on the review and developmentt of the ASb site was presented at EdMedia (2017)and was presented one of the best presentions.

              Siyaphumemela 2016

              Contemporary Learning Hub
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