BLUF Technical credits

BLUF 4.5 is the latest evolution of our site. This version of BLUF is built on the code originally written in 2016 for BLUF 4, which was based around a new database design. The principle coder is Nigel Whitfield, Director of BLUF, but it wouldn't have been possible to create a site like this without using many resources, both free and paid for. Those are listed on this page, and we hereby acknowledge the rights of the creators and owners of these works.

Core design and layout

The basic framework for this site is called Skeleton. We've modified it for our needs, including swapping the fonts for Clear Sans by Dan Rhatigan and League Spartan from the League of Moveable Type. The menu system is Responsive-Nav, and some additional elements of the site interface come from Bootstrap.

Icons are from Glyphicons Pro, emoji support is provided by JoyPixels, and our photo gallery is PhotoSwipe 4. The BLUF logo was designed by Eliot, from Digital Deluxe.

Libraries and utilities

To make a site like this work, and to build it quickly, there are lots of libraries that we call upon. Thanks to the creators and maintainers of all these essential items:

• Complexify, for checking password strength
• DropZone, for simple file uploads
• Facebook PHP SDK, for posting to Facebook
• tFPDF, for creating PDF documents
• GeoDataSource, for calculating distances between two locations
• Go Cardless Pro, for processing bank payments
• Google Maps and Places, for various location based functions
• Jcrop, for live image cropping and selection
• jQuery, for so many things
• jsDatePick, for selecting dates easily
• JW Player, for playing videos
• owfont, for weather symbols
• Parsedown, to enable formatted text on profiles
• PasswordHash, for managing password storage
• phpFlickr, for fetching images from Flickr
• PHP QR code, for displaying QR codes
• Postmark, for delivering email
• Postmark Inbound, for handling email replies
• Sortable, for drag and drop lists of photos
• Stripe PHP library, for processing payments
• tmhOauth, for Twitter functions
• TOTP library, for Authenticator
• Twilio PHP, for sending SMS messages
• WebAuthn, for WebAuthn/Passkey support
• Yubikey PHP class, for two factor authentication

The site is coded in PHP, using the Smarty templating engine, and hosted by Hyve. Security certificates are from LetsEncrypt. IP location data provided by Kloudend

Mobile app development

Our mobile apps for Android and iPhone are developed using tools from Anywhere Systems

If we've missed you out...

Please accept my apologies, and get in touch, so you can be added to this page.