Flat Calendar Hosting: Compare Hosting

What is Flat Calendar Hosting?

Flat Calendar is a basic calendar and event book system that works without a database. It originates with author CircularGenius.com, though is no longer supported by the site.

About Flat Calendar

Online calendars may be as simple as a grid of dates or as complicated as a social network. While large organizations generally need programs with lots of database space, versatility, and features, smaller businesses and individuals might be satisfied with something less complex. With simple text files, flat calendar is designed to meet the scheduling needs of users who don’t have access to, or use for, a database.

History of the Technology

As of its last update in 2002, Flat Calendar 1.1 used version 4.0 of the PHP Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) scripting language. It required 34 kilobits (kb) of space, and was free for public download. Scripts written in PHP are known for being quick, flexible, and pragmatic. No need for a database management system (DBMS) such as Oracle or MySQL.

Installing & Hosting Flat Calendar

Like other simple PHP scripts, Flat Calendar is easy to download and install. Despite the fact that no database is needed, users can tweak the program to make the calendar suit their needs and styles. Choose to view your calendar by the day, week, or month, and add, modify, or delete events as needed.

Because Circle Genius ceased development on Flat Calendar, you might consider seeking an alternative option that can provide more support. However, Circle Genius is open to hosting updated versions, and posting them for public download. Other sites continue to offer downloads of, and hosting for, Flat Calendar.

Security Vulnerability

Due to it’s age and use of PHP4, Flat Calendar 1.1 is subject to some major vulnerability flaws. HTML Injections can allow hackers to modify the content of your calendar without permission, making it a non-ideal solution for keeping track of events and dates.

Who should use Flat Calendar? Generally, finding an alternative is the best solution for anyone. Flat Calendar has very simple functionality, and while it was ahead of it’s time in 2002, there are now applications 100x more powerful that can meet specific website or personal needs far more effectively.

Available Alternatives

Flat Calendar has a gaping vulnerability, and legacy code that needs an older version of PHP in order to run correctly. It also lacks dozens of features in comparison with competitors. Solutions which are integrated with a Content Management System (CMS) – are far more powerful and dynamic.

• Calendarize.it – a super powerful calendar application as a WordPress plugin, with multiple views, page configurations, subpages, and many features:
  • Deeply Customizable Themes & Color Pallete
  • Support for Custom Post Types and new Taxonomies
  • Configuration of Multiple Date formats for localization
  • Detailed Venue Page with Google Maps
• Joomla! Multi Calendar – is a module for Joomla which adds event management, and a responsive editor similar to that found in Google Calendar. Events can be repeated, and the calendar can be viewed at the Daily, Weekly and Monthly Level
• Drupal Calendar Module –  a module that allows a view of any dates found in the pages. It is connected with the Date module, and can work in conjuction with the iCal module for Apple users. It allows for multiple calendars to be reviewed and can assign a calendar to an individual.
• jQuery Flat Calendar – very similar to “Flat Calendar” – this jQuery plugin can be incorporated into almost any site on any technology stack – or at least any modern platform that allows for Javascript.
• TeamUp – a web application as a service, Teamup creates a team based calendar that can be used for organizing events, tracking deadlines, or for displaying information to the public.
• Google Calendar – can be surprisingly robust. Anyone with a Gmail account can use Google Calendar, and can choose the privacy level of what events they want to display to the world. This can be useful for a personal calendar but also can be used in conjunction with Google Business Apps.
• Genbook – a calendar SaaS optimized for online booking. This tool can be super useful to small businesses, consultants, publicists, or any team which needs to keep availability listed to the public eye.
• UpTo – a phone based calendar app that is useful for scheduling meetings and integrates with most popular social networks and other calendar apps.

To summarize, most competitors have better features and less risks than Flat Calendar. The code for Flat Calendar is still available, and under certain circumstances can be used, but the code is severely outdated and modern calendar applications have hundreds more features.

Where can I host Flat Calendar? Any service provider that can run PHP4, so most linux and IIS servers can handle the job. In fact, with code this old, even the tiniest servers could run Flat Calendar.