September 4, 2008

Consider It Open

The Axiom Stack source code has been opened. It was a fairly large undertaking to get the source out to all of you in a way that made sense and made it easy. Also, we didn't want to release the source without documentation.

So, we cobbled together a documentation tool based on JSDoc. This grabs methods within the Javascript context including the Java specific methods. This is extremely handy as we no longer have to use two tools for documentation. This means that you'll get more and better documentation as the projects progress.

Also, we had to get some licensing in place. This is important because we want you to be able to view and modify the source. Ultimately we'd like to include what you're working on in our codebase too. More heads are better than one.

In the same spirit that we provided the source to you, we'd like you to do for others. This is the reason we put the stack under the AGPL license. If you'd prefer to not reveal your secret sauce, we understand. Feel free to contact us to discuss other arrangements.

One other thing we did was to create a forum system on top of the stack. We like the phrase "eat your own dogfood". We're in the process of revamping parts of it as I type this, but it is available for use right now. Feel free to take it for a test drive, we're watching them so you can ask all the questions you'd like...unless you're a bot...then stay out.

Overall, this was a big deal for us. We wanted to give back to the community that gave and continues to give to us. Thanks, enjoy, and let us know what you think. We'd love to hear from you.

July 16, 2008

Axiom Searchable Radio and NPR

National Public Radio (NPR) has released their API and has included Axiom Software's Searchable Radio widget on their API widget page. NPR has been working on their much anticipated API release for some time. The API gives developers access to all of NPR radio's news, features and music.

Axiom Searchable Radio gives the user the ability to search, browse and listen to those stories through their iPhone®. Access searchableradio.com from your iPhone browser and dig in to thousands of pieces of content.

Axiom Searchable Radio was developed with and runs on the Axiom Stack (soon to be) open source web application server. Check the Axiom Stack for the upcoming open source release, tutorials and documentation.

July 14, 2008

Almost Ready ..

We are very close to having the Axiom Stack source code ready for the public.  The primary task left is code commenting.  Its that thing that most developers like to avoid unless they have a gun pointed at their head (and even then, they might reflect for a few minutes before deciding on bullet vs code commenting).  In addition to making the code base easier to follow for people who want to jump in and start hacking, a primary goal for us is to use JSDoc to take the Java code comments and create Javascript level API docs out of them.  There are a lot of classes to comment in order to get the Axiom JavaScript APIs fully documented.  This should all be finished pretty soon, and hopefully the source code and documentation will make it easy for developers interested in the stack to jump right in.

June 30, 2008

One Stack to Rule Them All

Are we offensively biased? Sure we are. Do we think our products are the best? Of course we do. Are we prepared to listen to the community? Can we take criticism? Will this help us? Yes, yes and you bet.

We know our product is mature; we are also mature enough to know it can be improved. That’s where you come in. Opening the source of the Axiom Stack is a big deal. We are opening our hard work, our development expertise and our lives to you. We have been living this Stack and living the process for some time. We are confident of not falling flat due to quality challenges; we know we made something good. The Axiom Stack been implemented and running on some large, high traffic websites. We’ve had some great feedback from the release of the free-for-personal-use version, which launched in March at SWSX. But, having others look into the full source is something that hasn’t been done. What’s needed is the differing points of view and having others look at it through eyes with experiences that can take it in an uphill climb to where? Well, who knows? All we do know is that we have a plan to keep it moving the right direction and with your help, it’ll go further faster and eventually rule them all.

June 28, 2008

Open it up

Well, the decision has been made and we’re excited, the work has begun and it’s only a matter of time. Axiom Stack has decided to open up its source to the outside. We are re-licensing the software under GPL. This will help us confirm what we already know, Axiom Stack is a smart choice for developers who want to build applications and deploy websites quickly and easily.

We’ve been using it and it’s deployed commercially, that’s good. This step is bound to be filled with excitement, and worry. It’ll open us up as a company so others can view the inner workings. I’m sure they’ll be disagreements amongst the newly building community…but that’s good. How else to improve what we know is already good.

It’s a big step and a good one. So go take a look. Dig around. Let us know what you think. We need a few weeks to tie up the loose licensing ends, but it’s only a matter of time before we open it up.

May 29, 2008

Networking: go on, try it you’ll like it

The term Networking has a tendency to make most developers cringe and walk the other way. I say most, there must be some that don’t mind speaking to strangers about what they do, what they’re working on, what they’re interested in doing, where they see their industry going and developing relationships with others with or without similar interests. It doesn’t sound that hard.

The scary part is that networking is actually marketing…”ah, what, marketing, not me, no no no! I develop applications, I write the best code, I use great scripting languages and I read and comment on technical Web sites”. See any similarities here?

Just getting out and talking passionately about what you do is the best marketing there is. People are interested if you are excited about your subject. People want to know what’s new about it, why it’s special and why it’ll succeed. You might also learn a thing or two.

Learn from others by listening. Now, I know what you’re thinking. You know what you’re doing better than anyone else and there isn’t anything you could possibly learn from them. But, listening to what others say about their past experiences with any software is one of the best ways to gauge your own work or product.

Networking is easier than you think and very productive for your company and brand. Seeing smart people talk passionately about their work will excite others about your work, which will turn into leads, which could possibly turn into sales. If you are passionate about your work and can talk about it, you can successfully network.

Try it, you might like it.