Jaslabs: High performance Software

By Justin Silverton

In a recent article from zdnet:

“Oracle played a big card when it bought InnoDB, the most popular way to inject data into the open source mySQL database.

Monday mySQL responds by getting Solid™ Information Technology, a proprietary database vendor, to take its solidDB Storage Engine for MySQL open source, under the GPL, starting in June.

Solid has its base in telecommunications and transaction processing, which had been considered a completely different market from the small fry mySQL supplies. It has 3 million copies out at places like Alcatel, Cisco, EMC, HP, NEC, Nokia, and Nortel.

The addition of Solid technology to mySQL, the company said, puts mySQL into the enterprise league and makes it a direct threat to Oracle.” (full article available here)

Where is mysql going from here? The purchase of the solidDB storage engine is a direct result of the Oracle buy out of the innoDB storage engine currently being used. Oracle attempted to buy out the mysql database back in February for an undisclosed amount, but were unsuccessful. They are now trying to rid themselves of their competiton by purchasing the developers and the technology behind it. It was only a matter of time before something like this was going to happen. As a company based on an open source product, its biggest asset is its developers. Large companies may not be able to take the company over, but they can purchase the developers behind its main technology. The Mysql corporation now has control over technology that sets them apart from their competition.

Is this better than Innodb? It does support transactions, but it does not support foreign keys (it will, however support them in the future). The following is a list of solidDB features:

* ACID transactions.
* Automatic roll forward recovery after failure.
* Uses optimistic (or pessimistic) multiversion concurrency control.
* Database and log files are binary compatible among different platforms.
* Fully multi-threaded using kernel threads. It uses multiple CPUs/cores if they are available.
* Supports all MySQL SQL data types
* Supports full MySQL syntax
* Isolation levels supported: READ COMMITTED, REPEATABLE READ and SERIALIZABLE
* The MySQL-specific SHOW command can be used to retrieve information
about databases, database engines, tables, and indexes.
* Function names occupy a different name space than table or column names.
* No practical limit on number of tables or columns, or database size.
* The EXPLAIN command can be used to determine how the optimizer resolves
a query. (not yet supported in the prototype)
* Foreign keys and on-line backup will be supported in future product release. They are already supported by solidDB, but the interface between MySQL and solidDB is not yet available for these features.

By Justin Silverton

1) WadgetOS - http://www.theartofennui.com/wadgetos/wadgetos.php

An Ajax- based WebOS. It includes a web-browser, chat client, caclulator, and games (slot machine). I can’t find a lot of info on this, because most of it has since been taken down, but it is still interesting.

Here is an update I received from the co-creator:

i’m the co-creator of wadgetos, thanks for mentioning it. the whole thing was basically a proof of concept, the biggest feature being the ability for anyone to create programs using the powerfull php language. and the info hasn’t been taken down, it’s just not too easy to find
http://www.theartofennui.com/2006/03/20/wadgetos-v1-source/

2) Kiko - http://www.kiko.com/

a) dead simple calendar you can use right in your web browser
b) Universal access: Kiko integrates with your mobile phone and AIM and lets you access your calendar from any computer.
c) Share your calendar: Invite anyone to events (not just other Kiko users!) Let others view your calendar with just a click. Check out the example calendar
As easy as paper - or maybe easier: Write “Pay gas bill every month” onto your calendar and watch Kiko do the Right Thing!

3) time-tracker - http://www.formassembly.com/time-tracker/

Time Tracker is a simple tool to keep track of the time you spend on any task.

4) Del.icio.us Director - http://johnvey.com/features/deliciousdirector/

del.icio.us direc.tor is a prototype for an alternative web-based rich UI for del.icio.us. It leverages the XML and XSL services of modern browsers to deliver a responsive interface for managing user accounts with a large number of records.
The main features are:

A) In-browser handling of del.icio.us bookmarks (tested up to 12,000 records)
B) Find-as-you-type searching of all your bookmarks, with basic search operators
C) Sort by description, tags, or timestamp
D) Ad-hoc tag browser

5) Ajax IM - http://www.unwieldy.net/ajaxim/

ajax im is a browser-based instant messaging client. It uses the XMLHTTPRequest object in JavaScript to send and receive commands to and from the server. No refreshing of the page is ever needed for this “web application” to work, as everything is updated in real-time via JavaScript.

6) Ajax Write - http://www.ajaxwrite.com/

AjaxWrite is a streamlined word processor, comparable to Microsoft Word. To keep the program lean, we left out some obscure advanced features; you’ll find the functions you use most often, right where you’d expect them to be. (We’re still working on the spell checker.) You can import and export documents in all popular formats, including documents with graphics. The save function lets you save your work to a drive on your computer. Also, since you run ajaxWrite from your web browser, it is platform independent and can therefore be used with any operating system.

7) Ajax Sketch - http://www.ajaxsketch.com/

AjaxSketch is basically a pared down version of Illustrator or Inkscape — perfect for creating quick charts and diagrams from scratch. It includes autoshapes, pencil mode, and text for creating the basics. You can also edit by resizing, rotating, changing background or pen color, and altering opacity.

8) Eye Spot - http://eyespot.com/

Use the eyespot Mixer to edit and combine your videos, music and photos online! Share your video and mixes with the world for Free.

9) webezz - http://www.webezz.net/

Build your website using an easy-to-use Ajax Editor.

1o) meebo - http://www21.meebo.com/

Sign into your AIM, MSN, ICQ, Google Talk, Jabber, or Y! Messenger account with this ajax based web site.

By Justin Silverton

Back due to popular demand, here is a list of sites that provide free icons that can be used in any application. Anyone may use the list in it’s entirety.

If anyone has any other sites that offer free icons, please let me know and I will add it.

Updated 4/27/06

My goal is to have the largest list of free icon sites on the Internet

http://www.opentux.com.ar/lordcrow/packs/kneu.html
http://moglenstar.net/freeicons/
http://www.bluevertigo.com.ar/bluevertigo.htm
http://www.yellowpipe.com/yis/download/free-icons.php
http://www.zeldman.com/icon.html
http://www.forrestwalter.com/icons/index.html
http://www.silvestre.com.ar
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/18808605/
http://www.graphicpush.com/index.php?s=icons
http://tango-project.org/
http://www.entity.cc/
http://www.famfamfam.com/about/
http://www.fasticon.com/downloads.html
http://strawbee.com/2005/11/06/tiny-little-icons/
http://www.macnn.com/articles/06/04/05/free.icons.flash.fab/
http://e-lusion.com/
http://www.yellowpipe.com/yis/download/free-icons.php
http://icon-king.com/
http://sa-ki.deviantart.com/
http://mattbrett.com/
http://www.iconsdesigns.com/2005/12/17/snowish-first-release/
http://www.iconbuffet.com/
http://www.drweb.de/webgrafik/symbol_sammlungen.shtml
http://www.graphicpush.com/index.php?s=icons
http://www.pixelgirlpresents.com
http://www.iconbazaar.com/
http://www.iconfactory.com/show.asp
http://www.aha-soft.com/iconlibs.htm
http://www.icongalore.com/sales/purchase-and-download.php
http://ndesign-studio.com/resources/pixel_icons.htm
http://www.websiteicons.com/
http://web.thenetter.com/free-icons.html
http://www.brainybetty.com/icons.htm
http://www.aceicons.com/free.html
http://i-cons.tk/
http://www.iheartny.com/icons.html
http://www.glyfx.com/free.html
http://www.sharewareplaza.com/Free-Icon-Gallery-download_24998.html
http://www.iconbulk.com/stockfree.asp
http://www.freewarebox.com/free_762_free-icons-for-winxp-software-download.html
http://www.instantroyaltyfreemusic.com/directory/index.php?c=6
http://www.gold-software.com/xpstyleicons-review19366.htm
http://www.treepad.com/free_icons/
http://www.top20free.com/icons.html
http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/downloads
/royalty_free_icons_software/
http://www.obout.com/t2/icons.aspx
http://jeenaparadies.net/webdesign/free-icons
http://www.fileedge.com/get/free-icons/
http://www.clickfire.com/content/graphics/favicons/favicons.php
http://turbomilk.com/freeicons/

Here is a random site in Japanese I found while searching for free icons. Although it contains no icons, it does contain i-candy. Enjoy:

http://www.akikobrand.com/

By Justin Silverton

For those of you that still remember the early days of computing, there is a commodore 64 emulator written in PHP.

A live demo is available here: http://phpc64.extra.hu/c64/index.html
the sourcecode is available here: http://phpc64.extra.hu/php_c64_source.tar.gz (released under the GPL License)

Homepage is here: http://phpc64.extra.hu/

Some Commands

The following are supported: NEW, RUN, LIST, LIST N-M, SAVE “NAME”, LOAD “NAME”,

Programming examples

PRINT “HELLO WORLD”
IF 2″A” THEN XXX (Note: XXX being a line number.)
GOTO XXXGOSUB XXX (…)
RETURN

10 FOR I%=1 TO 1020
PRINT “C64″
30 NEXT I% (Note: variable after NEXT is optional, but recommended)

Known Bugs

—–* doesn’t check BASIC programs for syntax errors (because of size limitations)*
Internet Explorer crashes when loading programs longer then approximatly 700 bytes
* when the frame containing c.php is loaded before creation of frame named ’s’, it causes javascript error; you should reload the page when this bug shows

Tricks

in Opera the execution of the BASIC program stops when INPUT commands are being executed; it will continoue if you activate another tab, then return to the window of the Emulator (you should press RETURN)

By Justin Silverton

Is it possible? a full-fledged operating system written in PHP? I never thought so before, but I recently found a great application that proves me wrong. Even though it has some help from java, flash, and javascript, it is still a very fast and functional OS. It is also open source, so you can install it on your own server, but if you don’t have the hardware, a free account can be created on their servers.

first, here is some info on how to get it:

it’s called eyeos and you can create a free account here: http://www.eyeos.info
the main site is located here: http://www.eyeos.org
API Info: http://www.eyeos.org/appsAPI
mini-server for windows: http://www.eyeos.org/miniserver
Source code: http://www.eyeos.org/Downloads

Introduction

With eyeOS you can access your data and your applications anywhere, anytime. A virtual office in your hands, no need to install anything in the computer. Everything lives in the browser, for you and your work colleagues. eyeOS is open source and free software. Set up freely an account on our servers or, if you prefer it, install it in your server. Make your life easier with the virtual word processor, calendar, file manager, messenger, browser and other applications. And if you want more applications, just visit the eyeOS Application Database!

My review

Today, I created a free account online. Below is a screenshot of the built-in word-processor:

What I liked about it:

A) Very fast and Responsive Interface
B) Open Source and easy-to-use API
C) Written in PHP
D) eye candyish graphics

Where I feel it needs work

A) Not many apps. I think with an increase in user support, it will become more of a development platform than a proof of concept.

Conclusion

Although it may not have a wide variety of uses right now, it is very interesting to see that it is possible to create an entire platform using PHP and other web technologies.

Other Operating systems in PHP

Ssearching the Internet, I also found some other Operating Systems written in PHP:

Phoenixz: http://sourceforge.net/projects/phoenixz/

Jsuix (not PHP, but a unix like OS written in javascript): http://www.masswerk.at/jsuix/