Corporate Software Then

Nine years ago in 2000, writing Windows applications with Microsoft tools was almost rocket science, except messier, and more prone to error. Businesses (and developers) were still using tools like 4D, C++ Builder and Delphi to develop corporate Windows applications which were (relatively) inexpensive, secure, and bulletproof. 

Open Source Gems. Perl, PHP, Python, and Ruby.

Every web server needs a scripting language, a database language, and a database. The web server for Linux is Apache. Three languages common to Apache/Linux are Perl, PHP, and Python. Notably, the history of these languages is tied to the history of the web, and they continue to grow in popularity.

 What is XML?

"XML is the closest thing to a universal data language for software systems. HTML (for the web) is a type of XML. All significant SQL databases have XML input/output features. Web Services, and now AJAX and Web 2.0, use XML. XML capabilities should be a part of any software investment."

 What Can Web 2.0 Do for Me? What is a Thin Client?

"Employees enjoy having secure access to documents, reports, real-time business information, and management tools in their browser. Portals work with the latest web and data standards to deliver useable, flexible and inexpensive software applications, to large groups of people in diverse locations. New applications require no deployment costs and little training." 

The Linux/Apache Model

Linux/Apache as a platform has been doing web-based networking, backed by large-scale community development, for a long time. The most mature SPAM filters , email handlers, RSS tools, web data-miners, and web automation tools are Linux/Apache based. For those tasks, that's what we may recommend. These services or components can be integrated easily with Microsoft Exchange and other Microsoft servers and systems.

Are we talking about “Open Systems” or “Open Software”?

No. We’re really trying to discuss the important business move toward open architectures. Enterprise or service architecture is not related to “open systems” or “open software”. For open systems, think “UNIX-like systems which have been standardized”. For open software, think free Linux software, free licensing, and community development.

Is Linux more “open” for business software architectures?

No. What matters are your software applications, not your systems. Linux is important, however, because most of the web runs on Apache web servers running on Linux, and the internet (worldwide) and intranet (corporate) ARE vital to open architectures.

Written by Keith Mitchell, Senior Developer at NSKinc