openFIRST

openFIRST

Screenshot of a simple page
Developer(s)	The openFIRST team
Stable release	1.2 / April 12, 2004
Operating system	Cross-platform
Type	Content management system
License	GPL 2
Website	www.openfirst.org

openFIRST is an integrated set of modules which may be used together to create or enhance a web site. It is directed towards teams participating in the FIRST competition. The software is written and maintained by a group of students that are members of FIRST teams across the world. The code and mailing lists are hosted by SourceForge.

Compatibility

openFIRST is compatible with Linux, Microsoft Windows, and any other operating system that can run PHP. It is compatible with the Apache, Microsoft IIS, Sambar, and other webservers. It can use MySQL, ODBC, and Microsoft SQL Server as its DBMS. Both PHP and access to a database are required.

Founders; History

The openFIRST project was founded by Tim Ginn (team 1006) and David DiBiase (team 1049) in 2003. However, due to rules set by FIRST relating to its website award, both of the founders no longer work on the code (since they have graduated high school). The current lead developer is Wikipedia editor Jamie Bliss (Wikipedia username "Astronouth7303") (team 1227).

Current efforts

The current aim of the openFIRST developers is to "modernize" the internal structure. Previously, it was semi-compatible with PHP3, and could be described as "hackish". The openFIRST code now in CVS is object-oriented to a degree, and harnesses some of the features of it. This renovation also adds a number of other features, such as an editor box shared between modules, settings saving and loading API, and skining.

External resources

• openFIRST Project Site - contains the main project details
• openFIRST project page on SourceForge
• openFIRST Bugzilla Server - bug reports and feature requests
• openFIRST Update Server - update facilities
• #openfirst on IRC server chat.freenode.net