Maxscape Features
Preinstalled and preconfigured Web Application Server
Maxscape is a ready to use content management and application server for your Internet or Intranet sites. After installation you can immediately enter your content, write your applications and launch your presentation/services.
Maxscape Installation
Maxscape is quite easy to install. A step by step installation of each component (Apache, database, FCGI, ModPerl, SSL, Perl, CPAN modules, ..) is not required. Just untar the distribution files and configure the server as described in the README.install and start to implement your applications.
Various Server Operation Modes
The server can be configured to run in various operation modes. (e.g. static pages, dynamic content generation, application servers, databases, single server, server farm...)
Standardized Server Directory Structure
The Maxscape server has a standard directory structure to facilitate server use on different computers.
Fast dynamic Runtime System
The runtime system supports the Fast CGI interface for fast, dynamic page generation 'on the fly'. Because of the Fast CGI process concept the integrated database is connected only once during the initialization phase and then the connection is kept alive.
Content Database and Data model
The Maxscape data model allows to store content, templates, modules and application data in a common relational database e.g. Mysql or Oracle.
Database Tools
All possibilities of the underlying database can be used, as the content is stored in the database (e.g. search support).
Object oriented Hierarchical Page Tree
Categories, documents, templates and elements are structured in a hierarchical page tree. Variables and scripts may be defined for specific categories and can be inherited to subtrees.
Maxscape API And Application Plugin
The Maxscape kernel implements an API for dynamic content generation out of the database. The API allows access to context, categories, pages, templates, elements and other data. Application code can be either stored in the content database, as well as in files, plugged in via the application plugin mechanism.
HTML, XML And Embedded Application Software
Within page and template elements, languages (HTML, XML, ..) may freely be intermixed with (embedded) variables, as well as function and method calls of server and application software.
Sophisticated Template Technique
The system implements a sophisticated template technique to separate content from layout, thus reducing the redundancy inherent in HTML coding. Templates are grouped in template types. A global template for each template type defines elements, variables and scripts, common to each template of a template type. A special template consists of template elements, which can be inserted into each other. Document elements are then called within the template elements.
Multi Language Support
Multi language support helps to set up a site in different languages.
Individualized Content Generation
Individualized content may be generated out of a user profile, that allows to communicate directly with a single user.
Definition of User Groups and Group Views
Page and User groups are supported, to allow different views on the site
Support of Application specific Database Tables
Maxscape comes with great support to handle application specific database data relating to development, management and presentation
Content Management and Administration Surface
The content management and administration surface provides access to the content and the scripts stored in the application server databases. Several other server features can be controlled via this surface. One the client side only a web browser is required.
Command line Interface to the Database
A command line interface is provided, that lets you dump and create the content of all database tables.
Personalized User Profiling and User Administration
User profiling and administration is supported by the runtime system and the administration server
Logging Facilities, Debugging and Measurement Tools
Logging, debugging and measurement tools allows insight to what is going on
Scalable and Portable
The Maxscape server runs on a small laptop with Linux and Mysql as well, as on a high end SUN servers with Solaris and Oracle.
Robust and Stable
The robustness and stability of the servers runtime and administration system has been proved in the past years in several projects. For example the runtime system at the Vereinsbank site did not fail due to errors of the basic tools (e.g. oracle, apache) and the Maxscape runtime system, since the server's uptime from spring 1998 to winter 2001.
Portable Update/Backup Mechanism
Update/Backup to the servers file system, as well as to databases on other sites are supported. Differences between database types are masked.
Easy Adaption of existing Perl Applications
If you already have applications written in PERL, it is easy to integrate them into the system. So, they can use the server facilities such as FastCGI, server API, a.s.o.