Anyone who can write an APL function should be able to host it on the web.™! "
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April 2012"
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and jQuery!
Introducing MiServer"
"Write Less, Do More"
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Goals for Today" •!Teach a bit about MiServer" •!Teach a [very small] bit about jQuery" •!Develop some enthusiasm"
–! Get you to participate in the project"
April 2012"
Introducing MiServer"
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What is a Web Server?"
•!A program that listens for HTTP requests for “resources” from clients, which are typically web browsers." •!The server attempts to locate the resource (typically an HTML file) and send the contents to the client." •!If the resource is a “script”, execute it and generate “dynamic” output." April 2012"
Introducing MiServer"
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April 2012"
Introducing MiServer"
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What is MiServer?"
•! A web server written in APL by APLers for APLers" –! Both experienced and new Dyalog APL users"
•! An extensible web server framework" –! You can add your own features"
•! A web application server"
–! Provide a web interface to existing and new APL applications" –! For example, the Dyalog File Server will use MiServer to provide a web console for administration and monitoring"
•! An open-source community effort"
–! Available at tools.dyalog.com and aplwiki.com (soon!)"
April 2012"
Introducing MiServer"
5"
Why ”Pure APL”?" •! Dyalog APL can be used as a ”scripting language” to develop IIS web sites" –! Many sites in production for >5 years"
•! Java interface will allow use of Javabased web frameworks" •! BUT: Sometimes the big frameworks add unwanted cost and complexity" •! MiServer allows Dyalog APL to be a Web Server ”out of the box”" April 2012"
Introducing MiServer"
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Web Server or Web Service?" •! A Web Server is a server that handles HTTP and returns HTML" •! A Web Service uses HTTP to receive function calls and return results using a form of XML called SOAP" •! MiServer is a Web Server" •! SAWS – the Stand-Alone Web Service framework - is a ”pure APL” tool for building Web Services" •! See http://video.dyalog.com/apl2010 for SAWS Presentation by Brian Becker"
April 2012"
Introducing MiServer"
7"
What is jQuery?"
•! “Cool” Web UI is hard to do in HTML" •! JavaScript is a programming language which runs in the browser and CAN make cool UI’s"
–! (but we don’t really want to learn JavaScript!)"
•! jQueryUI is a JavaScript Library that provides nice “Widgets”, event handling, animation, and “Ajax” interactions" –! It is cross platform/cross browser" –! It has a broad user community (is “open source”)"
April 2012"
Introducing MiServer"
8"
What’s the Problem?" •! Web application design can involve many technologies" –! HTML, XHTML, HTML5" –! Cascading Style Sheets - CSS" –! Scripting - Javascript, VBScript, jQuery"
•! The challenge for the APL’er" –! These may be foreign" –! Not easily “usable” from APL"
April 2012"
Introducing MiServer"
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MiServer Goals" •! Make these technologies easier to use by:" –! Providing interfaces that address common usage patterns" –! Make them more familiar to an APL’er"
•! Provide access to the underlying features for more advanced use." •! Promote community use and development" –! The MiServer Project is also “open source”"
April 2012"
Introducing MiServer"
10"
MiServer Benefits" •! Easy to install and deploy" –! Stand alone"
•! All you need is an open port" •! And Dyalog APL !"
–! Configuration is maintained in XML files"
•! Open source and extensible "
–! You can examine, modify and extend MiServer as you see fit" –! All the code is in script files, so easy to manage:" •! Use almost any text editor" •! Use other text file utilities, compare" •! Use source code management tools like svn"
April 2012"
Introducing MiServer"
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And now..." •!Enough with the slides already! ! Let’s see MiServer!"
April 2012"
Introducing MiServer"
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jQuery Web Page here..."
April 2012"
Introducing MiServer"
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April 2012"
Introducing MiServer"
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April 2012"
Introducing MiServer"
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Other Features of MiServer" •!HTTP compression and encryption" •!Configurable data sources" •!Flexible resource mapping" •!Virtual resources" •!HTTP authentication" •!Configurable access control" April 2012"
Introducing MiServer"
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MiServer’s Future" •! We are committed to working with the APL community to extend MiServer and will continue to develop it on our own. " •! We will use it for own web sites and products (e.g. DFS Console)" •! Make MiServer easier to administer:" –! Run as a service under Windows or *NIX" –! Remote management and configuration using a browser-based management console."
•! Continue to enhance JQuery support"
–! Add interfaces for more widgets and plug-ins (grids, trees, etc)" –! Client side form validation"
•! Implement additional authentication"
–! Use TLS (HTTPS) certificates for authentication" –! Other authentication mechanisms"
•! Make MiServer available as a “Mapping Handler” in other web servers " April 2012"
Introducing MiServer"
18"
MiServer’s Future" •! Clearly there’s a lot we’d like to do..." •! We’d like your feedback and contribution." –! What should we be building?" –! Please participate and contribute!"
•! If you want to play but don’t have a copy of Dyalog APL, download the unregistered version… MiServer is also a free download." April 2012"
