 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
Practical Use of Open Source Code Software
As we started the project of our web site, we knew that the proprietary software costs
would be too high for our financial resources. Our only option then was to make use of
Open Source Code softwares.
However, within the Open Source Code there are lots of softwares to choose from, and
it´s up to the system analyst/programmer to pick the ones that best suit the project
goals.
In our case, we picked Linux as our operating system. However we faced a big question:
Which Linux distribution ? There are dozens of linux distributions, each one with specific
advantages, sometimes with or without paid services.
We chose linux Slackware because we thought that it would suit better our needs, in
terms of stability and reliability. Slackware is a conservative distribution, meaning that it
only offers in its distribution package kernel versions and third party libraries, once it´s
been proved to be stable and reliable. As a result, Slackware is one the most stable
Linux operating system on the market. If the user wishes the most recent Linux kernel
and libraries, we recommend to look for a different distribution.
Another reason for us picking Slackware, was because of its text interface, which at the
beginning may become a bit difficult, in the long run however it offers a better
understanding of the Linux environment. This way most of Slackware configurations are
done thru text scripts.
Once it was set the operating system, we picked Apache as our web server. Apache is
one of the most popular web server in the internet. For server programming language,
we chose PHP. Also, a very popular programming language. Our experience with
Apache/PHP proves that this setup is very reliable, working extremely well in our
production environment. For workstation programming language, we chose javascript,
which besides of having a simple syntax, it offers lots of resources.
Apache web server is really a complete web server. Also, it can become very complex
with many configuration setups.
For our database, we picked Postgresql. This database has been made available to the
public for more than 15 years, and besides of being well debugged, it offers so many
resources that it has become one of the best database options from Open Source Code
softwares. Extremely reliable, Postgresql has reported cases where there have been
databases in production with over 4 terabytes. Besides all of that, Postresql is not the
most popular Open Source Code database. A matter of marketing ? Probably.
As for the programming language PHP, we had to use an object oriented application
structure. There are many PHP application structures being offered with Open Source
Code license. Object oriented application is very important, because it makes
programming very easy and scalable up to the point where the system may grow without
many problems. Also, it helps to keep PHP code separated from HTML, with the help of
some specific libraries, such as Smarty. We make use of Smarty library and we believe
that it is a very important resource, which can even make web pages faster thru the use
of its cache functions.
Also a very important set of libraries worth mentioning for PHP systems, is the PEAR
libraries. In PEAR web site, among the many libraries being offered, there are the
database interface DB and the MAIL_QUEUE, which sends emails thru the use of
database.
As we came to the end of our project, we had to use some sort of real time database
replication. For that we chose the DRBD and Heartbeat libraries. The use of database
replication is very important and should not be postponed. Just after 3 months our
system got into production, our server hard disk became bad. Thru the use of
DRBD/Heartbeat we were able to put the system back into production within seconds,
without loosing any data. DRBD/Heartbeat replication is done thru the use of a lan
network between the server and slave nodes.
Our project also makes use of ImageMagick (enlarge and reduce images), Iptables
(firewall), Tsearch2(text search in portgresql) and Mon (linux monitoring tasks).
Also a very important library worth mentioning is the pseudo APC compiler for PHP.
Speed is always a critical factor for internet sites.
Our web site is already in production and based upon our experience we can say that
the Open Source Code softwares we picked, proved to be extremely reliable and stable.
Open Source Code softwares can certainly be an excellent option for developing web
sites.
As we started the project of our web site, we knew that the proprietary software costs
would be too high for our financial resources. Our only option then was to make use of
Open Source Code softwares.
However, within the Open Source Code there are lots of softwares to choose from, and
it´s up to the system analyst/programmer to pick the ones that best suit the project
goals.
In our case, we picked Linux as our operating system. However we faced a big question:
Which Linux distribution ? There are dozens of linux distributions, each one with specific
advantages, sometimes with or without paid services.
We chose linux Slackware because we thought that it would suit better our needs, in
terms of stability and reliability. Slackware is a conservative distribution, meaning that it
only offers in its distribution package kernel versions and third party libraries, once it´s
been proved to be stable and reliable. As a result, Slackware is one the most stable
Linux operating system on the market. If the user wishes the most recent Linux kernel
and libraries, we recommend to look for a different distribution.
Another reason for us picking Slackware, was because of its text interface, which at the
beginning may become a bit difficult, in the long run however it offers a better
understanding of the Linux environment. This way most of Slackware configurations are
done thru text scripts.
Once it was set the operating system, we picked Apache as our web server. Apache is
one of the most popular web server in the internet. For server programming language,
we chose PHP. Also, a very popular programming language. Our experience with
Apache/PHP proves that this setup is very reliable, working extremely well in our
production environment. For workstation programming language, we chose javascript,
which besides of having a simple syntax, it offers lots of resources.
Apache web server is really a complete web server. Also, it can become very complex
with many configuration setups.
For our database, we picked Postgresql. This database has been made available to the
public for more than 15 years, and besides of being well debugged, it offers so many
resources that it has become one of the best database options from Open Source Code
softwares. Extremely reliable, Postgresql has reported cases where there have been
databases in production with over 4 terabytes. Besides all of that, Postresql is not the
most popular Open Source Code database. A matter of marketing ? Probably.
As for the programming language PHP, we had to use an object oriented application
structure. There are many PHP application structures being offered with Open Source
Code license. Object oriented application is very important, because it makes
programming very easy and scalable up to the point where the system may grow without
many problems. Also, it helps to keep PHP code separated from HTML, with the help of
some specific libraries, such as Smarty. We make use of Smarty library and we believe
that it is a very important resource, which can even make web pages faster thru the use
of its cache functions.
Also a very important set of libraries worth mentioning for PHP systems, is the PEAR
libraries. In PEAR web site, among the many libraries being offered, there are the
database interface DB and the MAIL_QUEUE, which sends emails thru the use of
database.
As we came to the end of our project, we had to use some sort of real time database
replication. For that we chose the DRBD and Heartbeat libraries. The use of database
replication is very important and should not be postponed. Just after 3 months our
system got into production, our server hard disk became bad. Thru the use of
DRBD/Heartbeat we were able to put the system back into production within seconds,
without loosing any data. DRBD/Heartbeat replication is done thru the use of a lan
network between the server and slave nodes.
Our project also makes use of ImageMagick (enlarge and reduce images), Iptables
(firewall), Tsearch2(text search in portgresql) and Mon (linux monitoring tasks).
Also a very important library worth mentioning is the pseudo APC compiler for PHP.
Speed is always a critical factor for internet sites.
Our web site is already in production and based upon our experience we can say that
the Open Source Code softwares we picked, proved to be extremely reliable and stable.
Open Source Code softwares can certainly be an excellent option for developing web
sites.
FREE Estimates on all PC and Laptop Computer Repairs + FREE Collection and Return*