AIDA/Web

Infobox_Software
name = AIDA/Web

developer = [http://www.aidaweb.si/contributors.html The AIDA/Web Community]
latest_release_version = 5.6
latest_release_date = release_date|2008|01|11
operating_system = Cross-platform
programming_language = Smalltalk
genre = Web application framework
license = MIT License
website = http://www.aidaweb.si/

AIDA/Web is an object-oriented, open source Smalltalk web application server using the model-view-controller (MVC) architectural pattern. First developed in 1996 by Janko Mivsek, AIDA/Web was designed to integrate the quite distinct object and web philosophies. Viewing the web as essentially a web of objects, AIDA/Web declares that each object should have its own URI. This means that web pages can have meaningful, bookmarkable addresses, unlike some other approaches to web design. This idea anticipated a call one year later by Alan Kay at OOPSLA97 [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2950949730059754521] where he suggested every object should have it's own URI.

AIDA/Web provides a powerful mechanism for simplifying the inherent complexity found within multiple interacting objects and reduces the need for difficult and complicated HTML programming. Since Smalltalk objects maintain their own state and respond to requests, AIDA/Web uses the power of the Smalltalk language to simplify the building of web sites, providing dynamic content with persistent state management.

History

AIDA/Web was written in 1996. It's first commercial application was the Gas Billing System of the Slovenia national gas company in 1998 which is still in operation and this year celebrates it's 10th anniversary. In 2000 AIDA/Web was made open-source and it's web server part was merged with Ken Treis's [http://kentreis.wordpress.com/] Hydrogen to form the basis of Swazoo [http://www.swazoo.org/] an open-source, vendor agnostic, Smalltalk Web Server.

In 2003 BiArt/ISO [http://demo.nets.si/] Quality management system was built onto AIDA's core document management functionally (which is now forming the core of the Scribo CMS). In 2005 BiArt/BPM web based Business Process Management framework for executing business processes according to standard BPMN was built using AIDA/Web.

In 2007 the AIDA/Web community developed it's own mailing list and web site, and in 2008 Scribo [http://scribo.bioskop.fr/wiki/wiki.html] has been developed on top of it.

Community Development

AIDA/Web is an open source project with an active community [http://www.aidaweb.si/community.html] providing support and development.

The growing popularity of AIDA/Web is demonstrated by the creation of English [http://www.aidaweb.si/tutorial.html] , French [http://community.ofset.org/index.php/Tutoriel_Aida] and Spanish [http://www.lordzealon.com/articulos-tutoriales/aidaweb-tutorial/] tutorials together with the 300% increase in web site visits over the past year.

AIDA/Web has been selected as the basis for Scribo [http://scribo.bioskop.fr/wiki/wiki.html] a new, powerful open-source CMS (content management system).

Features

AIDA/Web provides:

Integrated Ajax support

Ajax libraries for Prototype [http://www.prototypejs.org/] and Scriptaculous [http://script.aculo.us/]

A rich collection of web components to build web pages programmatically

MVC compliant separation of presentation from domain

REST-like bookmarkable url links

Integrated session and security management

Multilingual support

Real-time statistics

Built-in Joomla [http://www.joomla24.com/] Templates

A built in Swazoo [http://www.swazoo.org/] web server

HTML is generated programmatically.

Architecture

The MVC paradigm is fundamental to AIDA/Web because it provides distinction between the object model, the various presentations (views) of the objects and the control of their relationships. This provides clarity between the functional and presentational aspects of a web page and overcomes many of the design and complexity issues otherwise created by the shortcomings of HTML/ASP/JSP etc.

This Model-View-Controller principle is well established and has been used in Smalltalk since the 1970s [http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?ModelViewControllerHistory] and has recently been rediscovered in Java Struts [http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/ibm/library/j-struts/] . It's value to web design has become increasingly obvious, see: [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?tp=&arnumber=991332&isnumber=21378] , [http://developer.apple.com/tools/webobjects/] and an early overview of objects and the web here: [http://www.amazon.com/Objects-Web-Object-Oriented-Applications-Technology/dp/0070062811] .

Examples of AIDA/Web Sites

AIDA/Web is now being used in many different kinds of web sites and in several languages:

The Swazoo Web Server: [http://www.swazoo.org/]

Nicolas Petton's blog: [http://nico.bioskop.fr/]

Belgian football fan site: [http://www.skherdersem.be/]

Chateau les Villettes: [http://www.chateauvillettes.com/]

A Management Consultancy: [http://www.nets.si/]

A private company site: [http://www.verleysen.net/]

And in packaged products by [http://www.eranova.si/] and [http://www.oria.si/]

External References

AIDA/Web Architecture [http://www.aidaweb.si/architecture.html]

AIDA/Web site [http://www.aidaweb.si/]

Free software application servers