Rochak Chauhan::Unpredictably Exciting

What is QEDWiki?

QEDWiki is a browser-based assembly canvas used to create simple mashups. A mashup maker is an assembly environment in which the creator of a mashup uses software components (or services) made available by content providers. QEDWiki is a unique Wiki framework in that it provides both Web users and developers with a single Web application framework for hosting and developing a broad range of Web 2.0 applications. QEDWiki can be used for a wide variety of Web applications, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Web content management for a typical collection of Wiki pages
• traditional form processing for database-oriented CRUD (Create/Read/Update/Delete) applications
• document-based collaboration
• rich interactive applications that bind together disparate services
• situational applications (or mashups).

QEDWiki also provides Web application developers with a flexible and extensible framework to enable do-it-yourself (DIY) rapid prototyping. Business users can quickly prototype and build ad hoc applications without depending on software engineers. QEDWiki provides mashup enablers (programmers) with a framework for building reusable, tag-based commands. These commands (or widgets) can then be used by business users who wish to create their own Web applications.

How does it work?

QEDWiki is a lightweight mashup maker written in PHP 5 and hosted on a LAMP, WAMP, or MAMP stack. A mashup assembler will use QEDWiki to create a personalized, ad hoc Web application or mashup by assembling a collection of widgets on a page, wiring them together to define the behavior of the mashup application, and then possibly sharing the mashup with others. Mashup enablers provide QEDWiki with a collection of widgets that provide application domain- or information-specific functionality. These widgets are represented within QEDWiki as PHP scripts.

When a user renders a page within a QEDWiki workspace, the QEDWiki framework processes the widgets on the server side and then generates a DHTML page that is sent to the browser for client-side processing. The framework includes a rich AJAX-enabled MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture so that each wiki page is a rich, interactive application for end users.

Radical simplification of Web 2.0 development

QEDWiki attempts to make use of the social and collaborative aspects of Web 2.0 by enabling the following basic actions:

• Assembly: Subject matter experts who may not be programmers can create Web applications to address just-in-time ad hoc situational needs; they can also integrate data and mark-up using widgets to create new utilities.
• Wiring: Users can bind rich content from disparate sources to create new ways to view information; they can also add behavior and relationships to disparate widgets to create a rich interactive application experience.
• Sharing: QEDWiki can be used to quickly promote a mashup for use by others and to enable multi-user collaboration on the development of a mashup.

Benefits of QEDWiki to specific types of users

The benefits associated with a QEDWiki deployment depend on the type of user:

• Mashup assemblers:
  • freeform data input with revision tracking
  • personal publishing
  • simplicity of virtual workspace construction
  • ease of situational application development
  • rich user experience.
• Content providers:
  • simple content sharing
  • detailed access control
  • quick, DIY content aggregation.
• Mashup enablers:
  • encapsulation and invocation of external services
  • size of potential development community (Web-oriented scripting languages)
  • open and sharable application source
  • viral application development and deployment
  • extensibility (plug-in and SOA models)
  • ability to import or stream external data sources
  • lower programmer skill required (reduced learning curve)
  • productivity increased through ability to quickly create applications and through live application prototyping.
• Mashup maker administrators:
  • an enabler for SaaS repository consumption
  • ease of installation
  • minimal start-up cost for infrastructure (LAMP/WAMP).

Version 1.3

Version 1.3 runs on DB2 Express C and includes improved installation, usability, and performance; a new widget explorer that allows import and export of both local and remote (client, server, and mixed) widgets; Mashup Hub integration; and improved widget development API. Because of the significantly re-designed archtecture, existing 1.1 accounts cannot be ported to Version 1.3.