+++ /dev/null
-By now, OpenIsis is mainly used for web publishing of Isis databases.
-Web developers use the Java, Perl or PHP binding for this.
-
-
-There also is a command line version which serves as a demonstration
-and test of the various features and can be used as a utility for
-data import/export and similar tasks.
-
-
-A graphical, standalone user interface similar to UNESCO's WinIsis
-will be developed during 2003, after the Tcl/Tk binding is finished.
-See
-> Status current status
-
-* developing OpenIsis
-
-In general, there are no plans to reimplement every piece of code ever
-written for isis. To be of practical value, OpenIsis has to maintain
-compatibility in the format of the database files anyway. So, one may
-use winisis or whatever existing import scripts to create and maintain
-the database, yet deploy OpenIsis' perl interface to run powerful
-reports and the Java Native Interface to allow queries from a Servlet
-based web application.
-
-
-OpenIsis will focus on providing tools rather than applications. For example,
-there will be no attempt to mirror the full functionality of winisis.
-To achieve this, OpenIsis provides access from the most important
-programming languages: Java and PHP for the web, Perl for the scripts
-and Tcl/Tk for platform independent GUIs (partly DONE).
-All others can, of course, link the lib.
-
-* Roadmap for the development of OpenIsis -- as of September 2002
-
-After more than a year of OpenIsis development,
-experimenting with various options and environments
-and some feedback, we learned something about what
-is important to the community and what is not.
-
-
-* findings and goals
-
-- A fairly portable C library that can be plugged into Java, Perl, PHP
- or Tcl proved to be valuable and estimated by several developers.
- There was not much demand for a pure Java version.
-- There is high demand for a GUI version similar to WinISIS
- (cross-plattform, of course) with a safe multi-user capability.
-- This in turn requires a simple but fast and robust server.
- Multithreading can greatly improve the throughput.
-- Users are used to incompatible file formats, formatting and so on.
- There is little of a standard to follow.
- So building a next generation system clearly is more
- important than sticking to the (which?) legacy too much.
-- The power buried in the similarity between ISIS records
- and other structures like, for example, E-Mails is not leveraged.
-- The existing versions of the formatting language are the result
- of a process of growth, adding feature after feature.
- The logic is mixed with the presentation (e.g. HTML literals).
-
-* conclusions
-
-- The multiformat support will be dropped in favour of an efficient
- support of the "DOS/WinISIS" (packed little endian) structures.
-- The database kernel has to support basic thread-safety
- for use in Java and other server environments.
-- Tcl will be the scripting language of choice: Tcl/Tk for portable GUIs
- and a limited set of Tcl commands for server side scripting.
-
-* flavours
-
-- The core library will not contain any particular external technology,
- so it is as lightweight as possible and can be linked into Java,
- Perl, PHP, Tcl and the like.
-- There are binaries in plain, with Tcl and with Tcl/Tk.
- Any of these can act standalone, as client, as server, or both.
-
-
-volunteers are welcome !
-
-... ToDo
projects / webpac / blobdiff