Awk on Rails is a new kind of web application development framework, with a distinction that no other framework has: Awk on Rails is fully POSIX compliant.
Awk on Rails brings the best practices of modern web application development to the ALAS stack (Apache, Linux, Awk, Shell). This stack is entirely new to the field of web development, yet already brings decades of maturity.
- Installation is a breeze — in fact, it’s unnecessary, because Awk on Rails uses commands and tools already provided by your operating system.
- Develop web applications that leverage the power of high-speed interprocess I/O pipelining, utilizing POSIX regular expressions to optimize request routing through common gateway interfaces.
- Generate your Awk on Rails application code–using awk! A sophisticated script-based front-end called wreak takes care of it for you.
- You get unlimited flexibility to customize the base application scripts, using your choice of development environment: vi or emacs.
- SQL? We got NoSQL! We don’t need no stinking SQL! Tired of being confused by relational databases? Manage your data in an “X-treme” non-relational data store exclusive to Awk on Rails. It’s called Hammock, and it’s based on the POSIX key-value system NDBM. To initialize your data store, it’s as simple as running the command: wreak hammock.
- Design and render application views using the simple and popular M4 language. We all know we need to keep application design separate and free from logic. Awk on Rails can make sure this happens!
- Embedded source code documentation is easy using a custom macro package. Create ready-to-typeset manuals with one simple command: nroff -Mawkdoc.
- Awk on Rails comes with example applications to get you started, including a blogging & content management platform AwkWord, and a syndication provider AWRY.
- Does it scale? Of course! Thanks to the power of Moore’s Law, you’ll stay ahead of the curve over the long haul.
- Development, deployment, and distribution are all powered by a convenient set of three distinct software licenses. No other framework supports this many licenses! Contributing back to the Awk on Rails project? You get to sign and submit a fourth license — at no charge!
You will soon be able to download source for Awk on Rails and join its development community, at the social source repository SCCSHub.net. As soon as we figure out whether the licenses allow us to distribute our own source code, you may be able to use it in your projects too!
Look for future Awk on Rails developments and announcements in 2010.* Also look for an innovative cloud computing extension to Awk on Rails, called VaporWare.