Here is a list of ideas for open source apps to build with, or for Webware. If you add an idea or comment, please sign your name and leave a date stamp. Many of the project ideas listed below will be interrelated, so use cross-references where appropriate.
Extensions to the Webware and WebKit core (as opposed to other Kits or stand-alone applications) belong on the `Wish List`_ page.
I'm not sure what this would look like, but some object to facilitate the collection of RSS feeds and embedding them into a web page. I guess there would be a few parts coded into a single class, or a single class with helper classes:
Configuration info: which site to connect to, how often to refresh.
Read and parse the RSS file at the specified interval.
Send some kind of "observe me now" signal to the object that's serving the final output, so it can refresh itself. Perhaps Threading.Event or a port of Java's Observable/Observer interface can help with this.
Offer the RSS data in a Python data structure to any routine that asks for it. Perhaps a method in the RSS-retrieval object can offer this, or it can be in a well-known attribute somewhere.
Have some boilerplate output objects that convert the RSS data into HTML hyperlinks, for simple sites that want an "out of the box" solution. These classes should be scalable for adding cosmetic enhancements via stylesheets or subclasses.
-- Mike Orr - 14 Apr 2002
The following other web application servers may have objects worth porting to Webware:
Horde Horde may have some objects worth porting. "The Horde Application Framework is a general-purpose web application framework in PHP, providing classes for dealing with preferences, compression, browser detection, connection tracking, MIME handling, and more."
-- Mike Orr - 04 Apr 2002
Webmail software that could be ported to Webware or ideas stolen from.
Horde IMP -- IMAP/POP e-mail access.
(This isn't something I need anytime soon, but would be worthwhile someday.
-- Mike Orr - 04 Apr 2002
BoboMail is a decent POP webmail client that runs off CGI and bobo (an old version of Zope). It's fairly decent code, and even if a lot of stuff gets rewritten it would serve a good starting point for writing such a client. -- Ian Bicking - 08 Apr 2002
(See Python Card Interface)
PythonCard -- looks very interesting, and maybe it could provide an alternative to a browser interface, in those cases where the browser provides a less-than-optimal interface (e.g., data entry). Using XmlRpc, maybe there's a way to make this sort of thing easy.
-- Ian Bicking - 23 Jan 2002
(See Webware Objects)
Just finished reading MiddleKit docs. What are the chances of adding a feature to MiddleKit that will read an XSD file, instead of CSV. I'm more than willing to take the point on this ... since I'm bringing it up, but I would like some help in some of the nitty-gritty details of MiddleKit. It's new to me. Otherwise I'm just re-writing a whole bunch of stuff that's already been done.
Thanks -- Ray Leyva - 20 Jan 2002
I know ambitious name, but it's an ambitious plan. Generate simple reusable objects that know how to render, replicate, and store themselves. I'm initially interested in creating objects that will automagically tie themselves into a database once imported into a framework, and immediately become available for data entry using internally defined display / validation schemes
This came from my initial, and now semi-abandoned attempts to create a single interface WebwareReportKit.
I have so far created a validation, rendering, and reporting scheme. I'm starting work on the storage components right now. Don't want to redo the MiddleKit stuff, but until I know where I'm going with the general object layout I don't want to commit to any single OR mapping.
Things to note, the items I've completed work with XML / XSL / XSD, and AFAIK the current best crop of those tools live in the java world. I don't have the time to be able to both build this infrastructure, and help out on the PyXML stuff. Wish I did. I use XmlRpc to tie them together, of course this could be SOAP / CORBA or whatever remote invocation procedure you like to use.
WebKit is the Application server that I'm basing the framework off of, but I'm designing these objects with modularity in mind. IE : I don't want to rule out using Java based App servers ... if push comes to shove, and some client somewhere REALLY doesn't want to use Python / Webware ;D
Is this of interest to anyone. I'm trying to figure out the best way to make this available ... I really want to give back to the community.
All this because I figured out that for me to be able to print the stuff from WebwareReportKit I would need to have a semi-intelligent data-entry component first ... duh! ;D
PS : I'll get to that re-org sometime soon! :D -- Ray Leyva - 19 Jan 2002
I have been working on (and then reworking over and over again...) some XML tools, imaginatively known as XMLTools, which attempt to provide mappings from database schemas to XML "instances" through descriptions of those instances, which are themselves highly simplified documents with the same purpose as XML Schema documents (which is what I presume you mean by XSD).
The aim is to support XML instance validation, templating and storage in various forms (such as in relational databases). An object-relational mapping could be a consequence of this work, but that doesn't interest me that much right now.
Eventually, I want to bring XMLForms back with its core replaced by XMLTools, so that the main purpose of XMLForms is the integration with Webware (and possibly other Web frameworks).
-- Paul Boddie - 02 Apr 2002
This would be more of a general compendium of standard reports that can be generated. For example:
Invoices
Bill Of Materials ( BOM )
Legal documents
Real Estate Documents
Generic process mandated documents.
Heck .. tax forms!
This could be used in conjunction with WebWare, and a database to generate data driven reports. It'd be a very useful component because a great many applications require reporting functions.
PS: Are we putting newest ideas at the top, and oldest at the bottom? If so I'd like to ask for general permission to re-order the older inputs to reflect that.
-- Ray Leyva - 27 Nov 2001 <br />
That certainly does sound useful! Have you looked at Biggles for producing charts? ... fine with me about re-ordering -- Tavis Rudd - 27 Nov 2001
Sorry, moved away from python, and code based reporting tools ... moved towards XSL:FO solutions. -- Ray Leyva - 19 Jan 2002
(See WebwareXManagement)
the link point to a page about some meta discussion about the several SomethingManagementSystems. The "X" stands for "something" and not a well known display manager :-) -- Stephan Diehl - 22 Nov 2001
(See Webware User Manager)
A good user management system is essential for most of the ideas listed below! Click on the link above for more notes and discussion. -- Tavis Rudd - 20 Nov 2001
(See Webware Document Management System)
This might be the same than Webware Content Management System and/or a Webware Knowledge Management System. More can be seen on the topic page -- Stephan Diehl - 21 Nov 2001
(See Webware Wiki)
a wiki built with Webware. Wikis are wicked! -- Tavis Rudd - 30 Oct 2001
(See Webware CVS Manager)
A WebKit/Webware implementation of the infamous viewcvs.cgi script. WebKit's persistence and potential for caching could make a huge improvement in responsiveness and allow sites like SourceForge to consume less hardware for this feature.
-- Chuck Esterbrook - 31 Oct 2001
(See Webware DB Admin)
A database management frontend. Like phpMyAdmin, but database agnostic. phpMyAdmin is one of the most popular applications on SourceForge. Someone said that "the application sells the platform", well a high quality tool like this would be a huge selling point for Webware. -- Tavis Rudd - 01 Nov 2001
(See Webware Content Management System)
A ContentManagementSystem built with Webware (Similar to Zope and Macromedia's SiteSpring). Comprising:
WebAdminInterface
WebwareCVSManager
WebwareTaskManager
SafeDelegation
WebwareSearchEngine
WebwareFolders (like ZopeFolders)
NOTE: this AppIdea is strongly interrelated with the WebwareSourceforge AppIdea and WebwareXManagement.
-- Tavis Rudd - 31 Oct 2001
(See Webware Cofax)
Cofax is the Java software that powers Knight-Ridder newspaper web sites, like http://inq.philly.com/.
(See Webware Sourceforge)
a sourceforge/tigris like application built with Webware. -- Tavis Rudd - 30 Oct 2001
(See Webware List Archive)
a geocrawler-like email archive viewer (that actually works!) -- Tavis Rudd - 31 Oct 2001
(See Webware Forum)
a discussion forum component -- Tavis Rudd - 01 Nov 2001
(See Python Web Stats)
a modular web log analyzer with a webware front-end, that can also be used programmatically or with other frontends. The existing Open Source log analyzers suck! -- Tavis Rudd - 31 Oct 2001
I have a totally (overly?) interface-agnostic web log analyzer that I never polished with a nice frontend. If someone wants to try something with this, contact me -- Ian Bicking - 02 Nov 2001
(See Webware Slash)
a slashdot news site that sould let users upgrade from a common news app such as PHPNuke. The existing PHP sites get slow under load and the code is getting pretty complex and ugly. A python update will get attract frustrated PHP webmasters -- Aaron Held - 2 Nov 2001
(See Webware Vaults)
a Parnassus-like site, not just using WebKit's base features, but also using some of the other kits and extensions -- Paul Boddie - 06 Nov 2001
(See Webware Groupware)
Looking to create a Webware based Groupware application. It should include email, and calendaring functions. There's a million of them out there, but not for Webware ;D
With this as a starting point I would like to eventually get to something like a WyattERP (it's hosted on SourceForge), except ASP and Python/WebWare based.
-- Ray Leyva - 17 Nov 2001 <br />
Facilitating non-browser interfaces -- Ian Bicking
Why is there the avoidance of discussion on commercial implications of Wiki and related material? An example would be for how we might implement it our (ASP) ecommerce software http://www.veracart.com please inform me if such a discussion is taking place already: y@mytechsupport.com