'''OpenACS''' is a [framework] for building web sites.  It's emphasis is building community-oriented web sites, and it comes with many pre-built packages such as: bulletin boards (forums), news, classifieds, ecommerce, etc.  It has a strong [templating] system and [database] api.

It runs on the [AOLserver] and [NaviServer] web servers, and requires either a [PostgreSQL] or [Oracle] database.

Home page: http://www.openacs.org

----

'''Books and Articles''':

See SysAdmin magazine, Feb 2003, pages 41-45 for the article
"The OpenACS E-Commerce Solution", by [Rafael Calvo] and [Mark Aufflick].

See a series of articles on OpenACS (and also Zope), by
[Reuven Lerner] in Linux Journal, starting in issue 101.

   * At the Forge: Introducing AOLserver[http://linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6164]
   * At the Forge: OpenACS[http://linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6223]
   * At the Forge: OpenACS Packages[http://linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6275]
   * At the Forge: Creating OpenACS Packages[http://linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6337]
   * At the Forge: OpenACS Templates[http://linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6377]

----

''''Some notable users''':

   * http://www.openacs.org
   * http://www.greenpeace.org
   * http://www.photo.net (an early, popular, and highly customised site)
   * http://www.travelerstales.com (most functionality hidden in admin pages)
   * http://www.pps.org

----

'''History''':

The precursor to OpenACS is [ACS], the [arsDigita] Community System. There we have the connection to [Philip Greenspun], the operator of http://photo.net, and author of two books about database backed websites in which he uses the beginnings of ACS as his examples.

----

'''Packages and Extras''':

OpenACS includes many useful packages by default, with even more available at the http://openacs.org web site.  Here are some maintained at other locations on the web:

   * http://www.jsequeira.com/projects/portable.nsd/

I've written a binding that allows you to run OpenACS code using Tom Poindexter's [FastCGI] library.

It doesn't yet support the full OpenACS toolkit,  but by avoiding unsupported API calls you should be able to write high performance web applications in TCL that run under either AOLServer or Apache.

(7oct2003 [JJS])

   * [Project/Open]

Is an extremely ambitious-looking project-management/[CRM]/[ERP] open source package built on top of OpenACS.

[SEH] -- 1/12/05

----
!!!!!!
%| [Category AOLserver] | [Category NaviServer] | [Category Application] | [Category Internet] |%
!!!!!!