Can Rev be used as server database?

Alex Rice alrice at ARCplanning.com
Fri Jul 11 22:10:00 EDT 2003


On Friday, July 11, 2003, at 08:06  PM, 
revolution at knowledgeworks.plus.com wrote:

> To me the xTalk way is far more acceptable (and I prefer xTalk to 
> Python).  For me it is much easier to get a grasp of fields, cards and 
> stacks than the objects that get packed away into the ZODB...

Bernard, glad someone else is thinking along the same lines!

> Having said all that, I don't want to belittle Zope.  It is a 
> fantastic concept, and is probably on a par with J2EE and .Net as an 
> object-oriented web application framework (I just hope that Apple are 
> going to publicly re-market WebObjects, but I doubt it).

Aren't Apple actively marketing the "new" Java WebObjects?

> But I will be totally dumbfounded if the Rev/MC users come up with 
> anything like it.

Other than the threading problem which you mention below, why?

> However, there is no getting over the fact that Python doesn't even 
> have a true IDE (don't talk to me about Wing), and Zope has to be 
> programmed through a browser interface... browsers are a poor 
> interface for users, so they are definitely are a poor interface for 
> developers.  Moreover, the Zope project seems to be in perpetual flux 
> with DTML, Plone, ZPT...

I agree totally.

> I would love to see something like Zope, but using Transcript, and 
> with a proper IDE (even the Metacard IDE is light years ahead of what 
> is used for Zope)....

How about the Rev IDE can be used, and Revolution cards can somehow 
represent themselves via HTTP as XML, or as HTML + CSS!

> I really have little idea of what Transcript might be capable of vis a 
> vis web applications.  (I've followed Pierre's work on the Metacard 
> list, and it sounds quite amazing.)

I'll have to search for Pierre.

> I have some idea that the principle limitation of the Rev engine in a 
> multi-user environment is that it is not capable of threading.  To me 
> that means that any new HTTP request is beholden on the previous 
> request(s) having been dealt with in a timely manner.

It may be OK that there is no threading! I believe ZOPE is based upon 
the Medusa package of Python. See 
http://www.nightmare.com/medusa/medusa.html

"""
Medusa is an architecture for very-high-performance TCP/IP servers 
(like  HTTP, FTP, and NNTP). Medusa is different from most other 
servers because it runs as a single process, multiplexing I/O with its 
various client and server connections within a single process/thread.
"""
  ^ python style quoting :-)

> IMHO this is where Runrev need to focus.  They really, REALLY need to 
> see Revolution as a replacement for Java applets, Flash, REBOL, even 
> replacing browsers as the UI for web apps.  This has barely been 
> scratched by Richard's GoRevNet, as impressive as that is.

I agree- but replacing Java Applets or Flash is overly optimistic isn't 
it. Since there is no browser plugin for Revolution, we'll just have to 
do the converse and embed the browser into our apps with altBrowser!

Alex Rice, Software Developer
Architectural Research Consultants, Inc.
http://ARCplanning.com




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