What is AppliBuilder?
AppliBuilder is a drag-and-drop visual web application builder to
create data
integration applications using Ajax widgets. AppliBuilder is designed
to allow
developers to quickly create useful web applications from a wide
variety of visual components. This brings together the power of data
integration and web components, and gives developers easy ways to
create enterprise mashups.
What is DataMashups.com?
The DataMashups.com
service is offered by Applibase to provide developers a site to use
online development with
AppliBuilder. Application developers can sign up and use the free
service once the service is launched . A paid premium service is also
planned. Only a demo
version of the service is currently available, which can be trialled at
datamashups.com.
Who is the target user for
AppliBuilder?
AppliBuilder is targeted at developers, specifically the "casual" web
developer who occasionally needs to put together a web
application.
Any developer could use this tool, but it is most suited for those
looking to quickly assemble a web application. For the experienced web
developer, the tool may get
in the way more often than help, at least until the
tool matures further. For the non-developers, other tools like Zoho Creator from AdventNet would
be more suitable. While knowledge of Javascript, SQL, CSS and
related web technologies is
needed to use all aspects of the tool, most developers should be able
get a lot done with very limited knowledge of these
technologies.
What can I do with AppliBuilder?
AppliBuilder lets you create simple web applications that mashup
(integrate) data and widgets from a diverse set of sources, including
web services, databases, files, RSS feeds, etc. The product is
designed to shift development complexity into widgets, which are visual
components you use to build your applications. The widgets
available will grow with time enabling more sophisticated applications
with less effort from the web application developer. This is an
early product and we're still figuring things out, adding
functionality, and slowly moving to where this product needs to
go. The early users will be faced with considerable uncertainty,
until we sort things out.
What are the types of
applications that can be built with
AppliBuilder?
The types of applications supported by AppliBuilder are hard to
categorize. This is a moving target, as new widgets and library
functions will be added continuously. The focus is certainly on
web/Ajax applications, though AppliBuilder would not be suitable for
all such applications. The best way to answer such question is to
look at the widgets and application examples, and then decide whether
the tool could be of help. At this early stage of the tool, the
likelihood of running into issues and limitations should be taken into
account as well.
Can I serve pages built with
AppliBuilder on my own site?
Yes, in a number of ways. You can do this with pages built on
DataMashups.com by either linking to the DataMashups site or
downloading pages to your own site. You can download all your
application
pages to your site and run them as pages from your own site. You
will need some of the files from the server on your system, and the
required files will be provided as a separate download. Finally,
you can run the AppliBuilder product on your own site and even allow
other developers to use it to build web applications.
Where can I download
AppliBuilder?
The standalone version of AppliBuilder can be downloaded from
applibuilder.org, a separate site for open source users of
AppliBuilder. An integrated version of AppliBuilder and Applibase DataCaster, a new
open-source, loose-coupled distributed database from
Applibase, is
available at applibase.com.
For the standalone
version of AppliBuilder, you will need to setup a database (currently
MySQL) for use with AppliBuilder.
Getting Started
Where and how can I use
AppliBuilder?
You can either: 1) Download and
use AppliBuilder (or DataCaster) on
your network, or
2) Use DataMashups.com
where AppliBuilder will be available
as a service.
What operating systems does
AppliBuilder support?
AppliBuilder is a Java-based product, and supports multiple systems.
However, we have tested the product with Linux and Widows so far.
What databases does
AppliBuilder support?
AppliBuilder works with the Applibase DataCaster loose-coupled
distributed database, and
with MySQL. Additional databases will be supported going forward,
and you should be able to add support for additional databases with
minimal
changes.
Can I download and run
AppliBuilder on my own site?
Yes, AppliBuilder is free to host on your own site with either
Applibase DataCaster or any other database of your choice. So
far AppliBuilder supports only two databases, our own DataCaster
database and MySQL.
AppliBuilder
Features and Issues
What are the Widgets available
with AppliBuilder?
We currently have a hastily assembled set of widgets that we are still
tinkering with. Please see the Widget Documentation page for more
information. Our goal is to constantly add to the widget library
and enhance the types, functionality and ease of use of these widgets
over time.
What kind of Widgets can I add
to AppliBuilder?
Any widget you can wrap in a HTML or Javascript snippet can be used
with
AppliBuilder. We lack the imagination to say what is and is not
possible beyond that. We fully expect AppliBuilder has a number
of gaps that will surface as developers use it in different ways. and
will move quickly to fill those needs.
How does AppliBuilder handle
differences across browsers?
For the builder and widgets, differences across browsers are handled on
a case-by-case basis. Any widget or application you create may
not work across browsers without some effort and testing.
How does AppliBuilder handle
Javascript namespace conflicts?
It doesn't. Such issues need to be avoided and tested for in any
deployment.
Can AppliBuilder support two
versions of a Javascript library?
Not really. This can create problems with widgets on the same
page that require two versions of a library. The results would be
quite unpredictable.
Why do my builder page and
generated (preview) pagelook different?
The main differences will be due to styles, which are applied only in
the generated (preview or runtime) page. Similarly, your page
functions are not active in the buiilder, only at runtime. And
some widgets do now work at build time.
How Do I
... ?
How
do I run a function when my
page is loaded?
To run a function before the widgets are rendered, simply create a body
block function. To run a function after the widgets are rendered,
create a header function using the Function menu, e.g. myfunc, and add
a body block function where you have the following line:
onloadFunctions.push(myfunc);
How
do I center content on my
generated page?
The following will work for IE and Firefox. Create two styles
with names of your choice, and enter in the Create Style form fields as
shown for each:
CSS Selector:
body Style Source:
margin:0;
text-align:center;
The width and background color can be what you decide and color
is optional.
How do I
add a new widget to
the Widget Library? The Widget Library is an
extensible library of components,
that can be
extended with new components.
Users can add widget library components, of two broad types, directly
in the builder. One
of the types of components is a component generated by custom
Javascript code, what we refer
to as a Javascript component. The other type of components is a
component generated by a block of
custom HTML code, what we refer
to as a HTML Block component, or simply HTML component.
Send any other questions you have
to applibuilder-feedback@applibase.com, or use the AppliBuilder forum.
