A Base Start To A Server/Client

[Sieben Ochs]

NEX is the codename for my little project. Which was to reinvent a much bigger and better system than my older system. Which was dated back in 2008, when I was initially more around. The older system however was simply a in-store update system. It was fully drag and drop aware (I always hate messing with listens and notecards .. don't you). With a loadable client with product cards. Which verified and registered the items, and client to the store owner. And who could later offer these clients with the product cards. All of which included data. It maintained itself nicely in the market as a free solution. As I came back I started to notice, more and more, of a need for myself. To making this concept. Guess some things just tie in that way.

-- Short History --

Most of the below I coded many years ago in PERL. I also rewrote it in PHP just to play with the language some. P5 was a checksum method originally developed under Plan9's checksum. I thought of some added ways to using this method. Which actully worked very well when I had used it for a then simple idea for a message board. Captive Flower Message Board was a simple delivery of a board from me all in PERL. I would love to try and rewrite P5 in lsl. However, lsl is too limited for what P5 would require. I wanted to come up with a system, that worked as much as possible in-world. It still uses web server integration. For things that would either take lsl too long, cause lag, limitations, etc. The database also was written for CFMB. It was a database I had used many times over. Though until its full rewrite is completed I want to just use MySQL. I may even just abandon the database I wrote and just use MySQL. Still thinking about it all. I sort of like using my own things. =)

Current road map of NEX : (read below each for a general idea)

-- Web Server Integeration (PHP/MySQL/Checksum) --

Each in-world server, client, and relay will at times engage the web server for various storage/functions.

The data will be encoded and stored, and also validated with P5 before execution/delivery.

(simple enough eh)

-- Second Life --

Email/HTTPS support along with V2 specific functions.

The basics of this for the core system. Is that servers that are created will link together. Populating a designated "map". The relay will be scripts on the web server. Which will also perform robot activities. So data will be managed in a network, with robots that will scan and target specific datas for examination in the "grid". The servers will do load sharing and multiplexing with other objects in and out of SL. If at all possible the in-world servers will try and manage themselves, as much as they can. They will even target other on-world servers for a network topography. Each server will be connected to a out of SL system. That will do the tracking and management of the active servers on the grid as well. For the clients and relays to work with. In short itll let the servers in-world manage this as much as possible. However, if it finds any issues, errors it will enforce its rules. Of what there is and how they should exist. Like a big brother. It may sound a bit redundant with some of the things I have discussed. However, I feel a good system has redundancy in case something goes boom. Something that can assist or take over, etc. NEX will include PnP modules that will have dynamic web pages created for them for customization. V2 =). NEX I hope to grow into a web server from within SL. I know some will say "oh the lag", "it can't be done", "why not do this", and so forth. I will just simply say its a test on some ideas. SL makes for a wonderful testing ground. It may go boom. It may not. I don't ever look at something and say thats impossible. I believe everything has a end discoverable means. All it takes is testing and finding. Will never say I am smart enough to discover the end. So I call it testing. Some ideas I have I want to use from a addon in a game ("WoW") .. And that is Titan Panel (http://www.titanpanel.org/). It has given me ideas how modules will work within the system. As far as what modules to create. I had some random ideas. You can tell me if they are silly/stupid.

* A updater module

* A in-world shopping module. Yes I know we have the current shop. My silly idea was about "what if". What if we could link and manage a group of merchants we want to associate with. As in a combined shop. Where only those products from our grouped merchants can be accessed and purchased. And possibly discounted using the system. You could then use this like a normal shop with a shopping cart.

* Ad server module. Ever get tired of the ad systems all being seperate? This would require of course the ad agencies liking the idea. And allowing for a compatability layer. The module will then link and show ads from all ad services combined. And also allow the interjection of your own service. If you plan to host one with the module. If none actually like the idea. Just making a freely available ad server.

* BidBoard module. SecondAds related and owned. With this offering I want to combine and manage all the BidBoards into a central location. Which will manage the new BidBoards using multi faces. They will be able to turn off/on any BidBoard in total or singular. Blacklist owners/renters etc all from it.

If you think I have been too wordy. Or made it sound complex, it really isn't. So don't think itll do the dishes. It's just something I thought would be nice to build .. from me to you (the community).

Suggestions, comments, m&m's always welcome. If you have any thoughts or ideas on how to do something better. Please say it. And i'll do my best to see its inclusion. I may even open NEX to others, to help me build a system to offer to the rest of the community. In a much shorter time frame that is. Though, that may be a while until things are more progressed on my end. Something for others to really see in effect.

P.S. I may not be entirely non-babble free. If you think something should be worded differently/better. Also suggest that.

P.S.S. My offerings are usually what I can offer in the short time I often have, to offer them with. Blasted real life and work gets in the way. Sooooo NEX in short will take me a while between managing real life and SL. Don't shoot me for saying "I don't plan to make a career out of SL offerings. And most likely never will." If NEX ever gets fully built and takes off (unsure). I will then have to find a lead developer to replace me. Though I think this would be a wonderful thing to see if it could work effectively. Even if I later pass it off to someone else. To at least keep the project going.

Plussssss I may rewrite a lot of this later. It is after all early in the A.M. for me and I am tired. So silliness may have crept in unwantedly.

Sieben Ochs "seven"

[Reflect Solutions]

- Never enough m&m's -

[Sieben Ochs]

Also on a side note. I am not employed by SecondAds. Wili Clip (CEO) knows of my work on this and BidBoards. I am working with them, not for. Termination of that "for", can occur at any given time .. with or without warning.

Sieben Ochs "seven"

[Reflect Solutions]

[Sassy Romano]

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Sieben Ochs wrote:

P.S. I may not be entirely non-babble free. If you think something should be worded differently/better. Also suggest that.

---

I have no doubt about your skill set but may I helpfully suggest developing an "elevator pitch" and a clear statement that succinctly defines what business problem it is that you are solving?

I understand what you're doing, I have a sneaky suspicion that the bulk of your intended audience do not.

Existing thread http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Merchants/Suggestions-wanted-on-server-I-am-building/m-p/1393097/message-uid/1393097#U1393097

[Sieben Ochs]

I wrote this thread to be more in depth and not much is needed in suggestions. Though they are ok to post here. This is to serve more as a delivery concept aka my own brainstorming. Additionally the other thread is a bit drama ridden. And I do dislike drama. So I will kindly request that you remove the so not so kindly posted link .. to the other thread. Which I would rather see vanish. And will keep posting in this one as progress is made. Thanks. Otherwise it serves to me that drama is well and alive with you. I'd rather progress past that, and I hope you agree. =)

And as said before Sassy. -looks up- When one engages a server .. a server can and will solve any and all given targeted means of the end user. Or tries to. Hence the conceptualized ideas of a PnP nature and additional modules. If you need more information on server mechanics may I suggest a light read of APACHE and its modules. A servers limitations should only be what a end user seeks it to be. For example if you want only a storefront, then that is all the modules you'' want. That will enable just a storefront. If one has to ask "what problem are you trying to solve". Then honestly I believe a server may additionally not be what you are looking for.

This product, its ideas, its means of deployability, are not for the beginner or the "what do I do with this" type. This would also imply that APACHE (or any other system like it) exist in the same method, which they do not. Use of this as with any server will require more advanced knowledge, of what a server is and how to use it. If one lacks this knowledge then the server might not be for them. Simply put.

A good test to see if managing a server is for you. Simple and easy to do. Is read up on running a server and how to fully manage it. If you can read through it all, and fully understand its designation and effictivity to you. Then yes. Will my offering be as complex/complete as APACHE? No. And in a merger between PHP and lsl, never will be. Will it try to do something few systems in SL currently do? Yes. Will it be a lot of work? Yes. Do I have time to truly sit and dumb it down to pins and needles for the basic user? No. So this requires some knowledge before use.

[Niall Braveheart]

If one has to ask "what problem are you trying to solve". Then honestly I believe a server may additionally not be what you are looking for.

Not really, the question Sassy is asking is what business problem are you trying to solve for your customers, as that is the selling point for your product, whether it is a server type product or stand alone doesnt matter what is important is does it do what is needed.

 

[Sieben Ochs]

Time for bed for me as its now 7 A.M. The verification and loading mechanism for modules is almost done. To see what modules it has, or will have. Check back. And determine if its something for you. Only you can determine what modules you need/want .. I will just make them and the server. =)

I really love the way Titan Panel loads and verifies its modules.

To ask exactly what it will have .. I will not limit myself to a "this is all it has". I will also in time create a open source API. So anyone may create and distribute modules of their own. API constructing will not be basic when I get about to it. And when I feel it has matured better.

OK really off this time .. its 8 A.M. was just reading some interesting theories and solutions. Regarding RPN and generalized computing. I'll post updates and concepts as I think them/make them in this thread.

Just a idea though for library inclusion. I have always loved CPAN! (http://www.cpan.org/) .. Maybe using some sort of system to allowing people to openly share and distribute their created modules. This most certainly would aid in the interest of the system. With a open architecture. Well it would be like how http://www.curse.com is for game add-ons as well. Not sure I would like to just use the MarketPlace for all of these. In the end this is just a much further idea. More localized thought exists in creating a effective module set to start. Default set in other words.

I have always loved how openly sharable CPAN has always been. The reflective data shows as well.

The Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN) currently has 104,272 Perl modules in 24,345 distributions, written by 9,535 authors, mirrored on 268 servers.

I figure to code the servers, relays,clients on both ends (SL and web systems). The module loading mechanism. A database management. A method of packet delivery/execution. And most likely a safetynet coded into it, to soft crash a system if it critically errors (if it can). So it doesnt heavily disrupt a users service (in short a system recovery). A basic set of modules to start with (and add more later). Seems so short writing that here. Though I know this will take me all a while. This thread will serve as my posting updates to whats been done. Check back if you care to see how far it gets =)

And of course since this is directed at merchants. Comments and suggestions are welcome. As well as testers once the system gets further built.

[Chelsea Malibu]

Wow, I have no idea what you are selling and I am not about to sit and read all of this.

You seriously need to work on coming up with bullet points and an elevator pitch.  I'm a lawyer and used to reading things at length but no way will I sit here and read through this without at least having some notion as to what" A Base Start To A Server/Client" means.

Don't mean to openly bash your marketing and communications skills but you seriously need to hire someone to do this for you.

[Zanara Zenovka]

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Sieben Ochs wrote:

 

This product, its ideas, its means of deployability, are not for the beginner or the "what do I do with this" type. This would also imply that APACHE (or any other system like it) exist in the same method, which they do not. Use of this as with any server will require more advanced knowledge, of what a server is and how to use it. If one lacks this knowledge then the server might not be for them. Simply put.

A good test to see if managing a server is for you. Simple and easy to do. Is read up on running a server and how to fully manage it. If you can read through it all, and fully understand its designation and effictivity to you. Then yes. Will my offering be as complex/complete as APACHE? No. And in a merger between PHP and lsl, never will be. Will it try to do something few systems in SL currently do? Yes. Will it be a lot of work? Yes. Do I have time to truly sit and dumb it down to pins and needles for the basic user? No. So this requires some knowledge before use.

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LOL

Dude...

Sassy's business already runs several PHP/SQL server + LSL systems, so you're way off the mark there.

So you want to make a modular server-LSL system, with modular interface that can be adapted for a variety of purposes, great. (See, one sentence, not that hard.)

If you want feedback, you need to communicate the idea to end users. If you want anyone to ever use it, the same applies. Anything designed without consideration and empathy for end-users is doomed to failure.

If you just want to have a stream of consciousness ramble about development ideas, I suggest the forums are not the best place.

If you're just trying to pre-sell your product, it's also not the right place. If that were the case, every other scripter could come and 'discuss their development plans' as a thinly veiled form of advertising.

At the moment it sounds like you're trying to sell the idea of pre-fab houses that will require a licensed builder to erect. And should probably ask yourself what application there is for that. The idea in itself is not a bad one, but how can you make it worthwhile for anyone to use your system, rather than just create their own, especially if the skill set required is the same?

[Ela Talaj]

Hey, I'm the one who told him to write an RFC for whatever his idea might be. Not my fault he wrote a bad one... maybe it would improve with age

For now I still don't know what the device in question is... yeah prolly something modular. The point however is that there is nothing wrong with posting a well-defined RFC for a product, as you seem to imply. Done all the time in the industry and I don't see any reason why it would not be permissible and moreover welcome in here.

[Perrie Juran]

I read all of this and understand none of it.

[Chelsea Malibu]

Ela, I think all is everyone is doing is trying to help him better utilize the forums.  It's not an attack on what he is doing as I see it more a cry to be concise and direct with all the fluff that no one understands.  So he comes back with statements basically meaning he is smart and we are not.

Not a great way to encourage incremental sales volume or creative input.

[Sassy Romano]

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Chelsea Malibu wrote:

Ela, I think all is everyone is doing is trying to help him better utilize the forums.  It's not an attack on what he is doing as I see it more a cry to be concise and direct with all the fluff that no one understands.  So he comes back with statements basically meaning he is smart and we are not.

Not a great way to encourage incremental sales volume or creative input.

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HEY!  I understand it but i'm told that I don't, therefore I cannot *shrugs*

[Chelsea Malibu]

Well, I also know that you Sassy are not a good person to debate technology with.  You've done and created things in SL that no one has every comprehended and do it with very complex systems that go way beyond most people's skill sets. The term bringing a knife to a gunfight comes to mind lol.

I see your expertise as being proven over and over by the success of your business but as you and I know, there are a lot of people here who clearly feel they know it all but have to validate their solutions.  I much more admire those who can show us what they can create and how their solutions benefit SL and the users.

Oh well, we tried to give a little advise that would help him and he clearly finds us as being inferior beings, LOL.