[REBOL] Commercializing Rebol
From: robert:muench:robertmuench at: 15-May-2001 10:41
Hi, I'm currently developing a concept for a new business, which most likely
will be based on Rebol. Anyway, I have some points I'm not sure how these
are/can be handled (if at all):
1. Runtime Version
==================
- Is it possible to update the script included in a runtimed Rebol
application? I think one of Rebol's nice features is that it's possible to
distribute applications via the Reb. The client should be able to identify
to a /Express server and receive an encrypted Rebol script (update) in
response. IMO this feature is not needed to hide the script from users but
to build up trust between user and provider. Will you trust a Rebol script,
you don't know where it comes from?
- Can the Rebol engine be updated automatically?
2. Data storage
===============
I have been thinking about this for quite some time now. I'm not sure if it
will be possible to create 'big' business applications without using a
database. If a database is needed, than how do we sync this with the client?
Is the database needed on the client too? How do we install the DB, etc.?
Replicating databases is something I don't like. Rebol/Express has a nice
syncing feature for all kind of files. Will this concept be able to handle
databases too? I don't think so (yet). How do we handle database schema
changes?
Will it be possible just to use plain files for all kind of data? Depends on
the data-size. Currently Rebol is reading in all the data from a file. What
about 500 MB of data? Reading it sliced in pieces? How to search etc.
IMO this is a basic problem if you want to use Rebol for business
applications. At the moment we have to handle the problem like in all other
languages.
3. Constraints
==============
We had this topic in an other thread already. But still IMO this would be a
very nice feature. Maybe it's already possible? [If so please let me know
:-)]. With such a concept included into Rebol (not only for GUI stuff),
development time could be radically cut for quite a lot of applications.
What do you think? Robert
