Greetings!
MWS for 7th of May, 2000 (#41)
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Current versions:
Stable: 1.2.5 'Mad King'
Devel.: 1.4beta.3
Oracle: 1.2.5 Oracle 8i
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Readers,
There's a number of valuable developments which aren't recieving the news
coverage that they warrant. I'm including plugs for a couple of these
here. I'll reiterate that everyone is welcome to contribute to the MWS.
Ami Ganguli is actively developing the Midgard Library API Documentation
which is available at www.ganguli.com. This work coincides with Ami's
effort to build a Postgres port for the Midgard lib. To review the mailing
list discussions please visit:
http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=midgard-dev&w=2&r=1&s=Ami+Ganguli&q=b
Lanifex Partners has announced their intentions to translate Midgard
documentation into German and Spanish. Their announcement can be read at:
http://www.midgard-project.org/article/7743.html
Thank you
Ron Parker
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Aurora News Release
By Jean-Noel De GALZAIN, Aurora CEO and Jean-Philippe BRUNON, Aurora
Research and Development Manager
Aurora's primary goal is to develop and market an Open Source Software
(OSS) solution for building professional Web internet and intranet portals
with functionality that includes; publishing, E-commerce, groupware, etc.
After examining Midgard 1.4, we've concluded that the 2.0 version of
Midgard will make a strong core to build these Open Source applications.
While considering the best strategy, the Aurora team decided to use OSS
because it eliminates the reinvention of solutions that already exist. We
percieve this as one of the main benefits of OSS especially when you
consider the costs of writing software. Ultimately, we believe the Open
Source Software strategy is superior to the proprietary and commercial
models embraced by companies like Vignette, WebSphere and ColdFusion.
On the commercial side, Aurora has a long-term strategy. We will provide a
comprehensive and professional range of services around Midgard and the
applications based on Midgard. These services include:
* technical support,
* training,
* specific developments based on Midgard,
* consulting,
* Professional distributions,
* VARs certification programs.
We consider what Redhat has done for linux as a model of how Aurora will
work with Midgard. We'll apply Redhat's strategy to developing web portal
applications which focus on professional markets by providing a solid
basis for companies to develop affordable and professional web based
services. In our opinion, there isn't a reasonable core for building
applications. We have identified Midgard as a solution that can fulfill
this industry need and have established a relationship with their
developers. We have put our plan into action.
About Midgard 1.4
-----------------
We have concluded that Midgard 1.4 is a powerful content management system
and a good publishing tool. However, in our opinion, its primary weakness
is a lack of modularity that would allow other OSS projects to use Midgard
as the core for their applications.
We intend to help produce a Midgard 1.4 package that is easy to install,
includes user level documentation and a friendlier administration
interface. The final 1.4 product will be a professional publishing
solution for advanced and beginning webmasters who don't have programming
skills that other solutions require. Everyone will be able to customize
the 1.4 product to meet their needs. The goals for 1.4 include:
*completing the development of the 1.4 core
*improve installation and documentation
*redesign and write a friendlier administration interface
*market and position 1.4 to guarantee a smooth transition towards version
2.0
Ultimately, 1.4 will be a solid publishing and content handling tool that
precedes the modular development environment of version 2.0. We will do
everything in our power to help the Midgard core developers begin focusing
their energy on version 2.0. We will apply additional resources towards
the packaging and documentation of 2.0.
We believe September 2000 is an acceptable deadline for completing these
goals and releasing the final Midgard 1.4 branch.
V2 Architecture, License Considerations
---------------------------------------
It is a primary concern to have a modular and scalable architecture. Our
proposal for licensing applies to the unique module layers. We think a
three layer model addresses the modularity and licensing issues. The
following graphics depict the model for architecture and states our
suggestions for licensing within each layer:
------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Upper layer : Applications (GPL) |
| |
| ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- |
| | | | | | | |
| | Other apps | | Aurora apps | | Midgard apps | |
| | | | | | | |
| ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- |
| |
------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Middle layer : Services (LGPL) |
| |
| ---------------- |
| | | ---------------- |
| | Other libs | | | ---------------- |
| | | | Aurora libs | | | |
| ---------------- | | | Midgard libs | |
| ---------------- | | |
| ---------------- |
| |
------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Lower layer : Midgard Core (LGPL) |
| |
------------------------------------------------------
Dependancies are top/down and left/right.
The documentation which we consider to be a key feature for establishing
Midgard as a viable product, will follow these layers and will be
protected by the GFDL license.
We believe the Midgard version 2.0 core should be available by October
2000 for
developers to begin designing and running libraries on the top of. The
version 2.0 core and main libraries, i.e. topic and article, should be
released by December 2000. The documentation is being designed with the
O'Reilly style guide and should also be available by January 2000.
Aurora, Midgard Developers
-------------------------------
Aurora believes the Midgard core developers are working well together and
we want to support this culture. Contributions we can make in the interest
of increase productivity for the Midgard and Aurora developers include:
*hiring developers that will dedicate their time to the Midgard version
2.0 core, Midgard libraries and other libraries
*provide additional resources for development and critical peripheral
tasks, i.e. documentation and packaging.
*use Midgard for developing and serving Aurora's customer projects.
Of course, our Midgard project strategy will always remain visible. We are
very
impressed with the skills of the core developers and their history for
assisting both new users and developers. We want to encourage this
behavior. This is the way the Aurora teams works. This friendly atmosphere
will attract and keep more users and developers. Consequently, it has a
serious impact on the success of Midgard and Aurora.
Aurora Position Concerning Midgard Project Ry
---------------------------------------------
Aurora does not want to have an influence on the Midgard Project Ry (MPRy)
policies. We think the Midgard culture is best protected by not
interfering. In addition to hiring developers, Aurora will sponsor MPRy so
its members can take part in OSS talks and events.
Midgard Developer Meeting in Paris, France (June 24 and 25)
-----------------------------------------------------------
Aurora will be happy to host the Midgard developer meeting in our offices
at
Boulogne-Billancourt near Paris, France. Technical issues aside, this
should be an opportunity for the Midgard and Aurora developers to meet in
person.
----------------------------
Midgard Documentation Effort, Mandates Revision of Virtual Midgard Using
Company Site
In an effort to produce a definitive Midgard 1.4 manual, David Guerizec
and Alexander Bokovoy, Midgard developers, will begin work on an upgrade
of the Midgard example site "Virtual Midgard Using Company (VMUC). Lydia
Michotte, of Aurora, and I, Ron Parker, will write a tutorial that
includes step-by-step instructions for building the site and theoretical
explanations of each application feature. The VMUC site ships with Midgard
and is designed to be an example for users who are beginning to study
Midgard. The redesign will be named VMUCv1.4 to coincide with the Midgard
1.4 application branch.
The redesign plan is to incorporate all the 1.4 application features into
VMUC1.4. For example, the site will make use of Alexander Bokovoy's
CodeSnippet features. Which will improve the reuse and sharing of the
site's code. Additionally, we'll incorporate Emiliano Heyns' BlobServing
feature to manage image files, etc. The new site will also demonstrate
David Guerizec's MyCalandar which when finished will include many of the
same features found in Yahoo's MyCalander.
The new site will demonstrate the content management and publishing
capabilities of Midgard by including a product catalog and news article
script amongst other features.
If anyone is interested in contributing to the project, they're encouraged
to do so by expressing their specific concerns on the
[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list. In addition to the code and
feature design, the project will consider a graphical design. There hasn't
been any discussion concerning graphics.
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About Midgard
Midgard is a freely-available Web application
development and publishing platform based on
the popular PHP scripting language. It is an
Open Source development project, giving you the
freedom to create your own solutions in an open
environment. Midgard is the tool for creating,
modifying and maintaining dynamic
database-enabled web services.
-> http://www.midgard-project.org
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About MWS
The Midgard Weekly Summary is a newsletter
for the Midgard user and developer community.
The MWS is currently being distributed in
following mediums:
-The Midgard Project's Web site
-> http://www.midgard-project.org
-Linux Weekly News
-> http://www.lwn.net
-Linux Today
-> http://www.linuxtoday.com
-Linux Developer's Network
-> http://linuxdev.net
-LinuxProgramming
-> http://www.linuxprogramming.com
-Midgard mailing list
If you would like to release it elsewhere,
please contact Henri Bergius
([EMAIL PROTECTED]) or Ron Parker ([EMAIL PROTECTED]).
Previous issues of Midgard Weekly Summary can
be found archived at the Midgard web site.
-> http://www.midgard-project.org/topic/169.html
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