[TDP] On easy software deployment (was: Alternative to mark-up languages)

[Massimo Dentico]

Hello all.

> The one huge advantage of SQLite is its simplicity.
>
> To run my new CMS prototype on tunes.org, I just copied the directory
> from my home machine to my account there, downloaded Sqlite 3.3.13 and
> Python 2.5, and installed them in ~/bin.  No other dependencies.  IT
> JUST WORKS.
>
> Do you know of any other DBMS like that?  I don't think MYSQL or
> POSTGRESQL is right for us.
>
> Tom

I agree, Tom, the ease of software deployment is import.
Even more important for what I have in mind for TDP
(I will not describe my vision in details here).

I would like something as Starkits:

  Starkit packaging
    http://www.equi4.com/starkit/index.html

  A Starkit is a wrapping mechanism for delivering an
  application in a self-contained, installation-free, and
  portable way. The name comes from being based on a
  StandAlone Runtime, called Tclkit.

  A Starkit creates the illusion of a "file system in a
  file" - on the outside, it's a single file, yet the
  application code continues to see a complete directory of
  scripts, extensions, packages, images, and whatever other
  files it needs. Starkits can be multi-platform. And they
  can be written to, due to the underlying Metakit database.

.. but with a light RDBMS instead of a Virtual File System,
a good programming language instead of TCL and a toolkit
(based on constraint propagation/data flow) for post-WIMP
interfaces instead of Tk. All packaged in a small file.

This is typical for TUNES: some interesting functionality
exists somewhere but bundled with other components
unsuitable for us.

I have seen only one environment that come close to this,
it was an old version of kdb (www.kx.com - IIRC they
dropped the GUI in subsequent releases). A vector oriented
programming language, k, packed with a data flow GUI and
a DBMS with high performance was about 100 KB on Windows.
But is a commercial, closed source product.


Well, I think we can go with SQLite fro now, as an expedient.


P.S.: I'm *trying* to programmatically convert the articles
      in TUNES MediaWiki, dealing with old CLiki code in
      articles and other issues, like categories, a real mess.
      I have a dump of MediaWiki db thanks to Tom.
      But I'm leaving this Monday, 2 April, for about
      10 days, so the process will be delayed.


Best regards.

--
Massimo Dentico