User talk:Colslee/once:radix

once:radix is a Rapid Application Development system for Intranet and eXtranet environments. Built on a suite of Rich Internet Applications, it is believed to be the first to exist entirely within a web browser. End-user Intranet applications are deployed in Mozilla browsers, while eXtranet applications will operate on any web browser. It replaces conventional client-server architectures such as Microsoft Access and FileMaker Pro. Purpose-designed for internet delivery, it combines best-of-breed open source projects including PostgreSQL, Apache Tomcat and JasperReports. It has been compared to AJAX and Ruby on Rails, though its key differences are the Graphical User Interface of the once:editor and its focus on high performance, feature-rich business applications. once:radix was announced as an open source project in June 2007 at OSCON.

Features
once:radix is an enterprise class client-server environment. End-users, developers and system administrators operate entirely within Mozilla browsers (Firefox and Camino) that host the Rich Internet Applications – once:client (oCLI), once:editor (oED), once:admin (oADMIN), once:help (oHELP) and once:logon (oLOGON). The technology is notable for the ease with which people with limited computing skills can build and deploy sophisticated applications. This is achieved through the abstraction of the database using a system of Metamodels and Models and the once:script programming language – an extension of Javascript. End-user applications are created using oED, a GUI-based application designer within the browser. oED includes the ability to customize tables, fields, joins and conditions within the database through an ER diagram interface.

History
once:radix was developed by Cormoran Communication, an Australian software developer. Cormoran's CEO, Rob Napier, foresaw the coming of Internet applications to replace conventional client-server software. Finding that no such technology existed, the company commenced development of once:radix to fill that need. Published initially under a proprietary licence, it was released under the GPL open source licence at OSCON 2007.

In announcing the move, Napier stated, “I recruited recent college graduates because they didn’t know what was impossible. Computing power and browser technology have caught up, but in 2003, what we were trying to achieve really was impossible, but we didn't know that at the time. I guess that’s how the impossible becomes the possible.”

once:radix was created by a small team of developers and demonstrates the extra leverage that comes from building solutions on open source platforms. Work began in January 2004, with the first ERP/BPM end-user application to be built using this platform being released in March 2005. The technology has continued to develop, with particular emphasis on speed, stability and functionality; and a number of other applications have been created for the finance, manufacturing and service industries.

Vadzim Karacharski of Quasitex, a Belarussian software developer, joined the project in August 2004 to create the once:secureserver and other key elements of the system. Along with two other members of the original team, Dean Glencross (browser applications) and Jamie Deppeler (database and deployment), he has been a key contributor to the project.

once:technologies was established in 2006 to promote and support the once:radix environment and associated enterprise-level applications. once:technologies is headquartered in The City of Greater Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Users of their technology are typically Small and Medium Enterprises as well as departments within large corporations and government.

once:fabrik was the first business application to be developed on the once:radix platform. A conventional ERP/BPM system – it includes contact management, project management, costing, estimating, billing, purchasing and timekeeping of worker activities. once:fabrik was released as an open source project in July 2009.