Xanadu News, Code, and Stuff

PHP
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Xanadu has been coming along nicely since I last posted about it and made the repository private a while ago. Since then, I’ve been focused on a huge client project and spending my remaining time working on Xanadu. Xanadu is now my core focus, as the client project has moved into maintenance.

It’s still a bit early for announcements, but if you’re interested in PHP Web Apps, get in touch… I’ll be posting more over time in this thread. :slight_smile:

Why Xanadu?

Xanadu is a platform for developing Database-Driven Web Apps that use NGINX, PHP, HTML, Bootstrap, CSS, Javascript, and MySQL.

Xanadu isn’t like other platforms or frameworks. We’re old-school developers who use a mix of procedural and object-oriented code in a way that reflects reality. Start with a Page and add Elements. The Page Body generally contains Cards with Elements like Tables, Labels, Inputs, and Buttons. Simple.

It’s been a long road. We’ve been developing Database-Driven Apps for decades with FileMaker and Xojo, both closed-source platforms. FileMaker rocks, but licensing has become expensive. Xojo has fantastic pricing but is perpetually buggy.

We landed on PHP because it is affordable, solid, and open-source.

I’m looking for like-minded developers and help small businesses convert their FileMaker or Xojo solutions.

More info: Xanadu | CampSoftware

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It would be interesting to explore Xanadu but what type of involvement you are looking for?

That said.

There are already lots of tools that allow one to build web app in PHP and these tools are mature and feature rich.

So why spend resourced on Xanadu.

For example we have used PHP Maker, PHP Runner, RAD Systems, Wappler, etc. for building web app powered by MySQL and PHP.

Personally one thing that has always bugged me is that such tools do not have build in facility to generate print ready documents (PDF). Does Xanadu, being targeted for those building database driven business web apps, support generating print ready documents (PDFs)?

BTW, We have also used WinDev for Web to build web app that require lots of features. This is the only dev tool that has a very powerful report builder that I have seen till date.

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At first, I was going to say I don’t know, but my goal is to help others in the same boat and at the same time, shift my work/income to Xanadu.

It drives me nuts that FileMaker and Xojo both started off fantastically, and down the road, they both “altered the deal” in a Darth Vader way.

I’ve been working on Xanadu for a long while now while working for a client three days a week. They have been having issues, so I started pushing more. A week ago, they ended my scheduled days to move to as-needed. So now ALL my time is going into Xanadu. Currently, I have a handful of clients who are successfully using Xanadu now, and I’d like to increase that.

I’ll be posting more about this over time…

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I’m interested in Xanadu. I want to convert my Xojo desktop app to a web app.
To be honest I’m a bit confused by your messages about Xanadu here on this forum and your website with the information about Xanadu.
In your PHP for Xojo Programmers - 0001 - Hello World you mention that Xanadu is open source. But when I look on your website the price is $900. That is a big difference and if the price is indeed $900, it’s much more expensive than a Xojo Pro license. :slightly_frowning_face:

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Hi Paul! Yes, I agree, I’ve been all over the place with what to do with Xanadu. While I want to make it open source, I’m just not sure if that makes sense, financially.

Yes, at $900, is more than Xojo, but just look at the state of Xojo… Keep in mind, for that $900, you get two hours of my time for zoom calls and source code for a year for about the cost of one day of consulting… Future years of source code are at half the price if we host your app for $100/month ( for most apps ).

With Xojo not fixing bugs in a timely manner, Xojo is likely more expensive, productivity-wise. When I find a bug, I stop and fix it.

Interestingly, Xojo closed a feature request I had after six years. All I wanted was to add WebContainers to WebListbox Cells, which I could do with an HTML div with an ID in the cell and then use JavaScript to move a WebContainer into the div. This was low-hanging fruit and shows me they don’t care.

I have a week or two to finish cleaning some rough edges. My goal is to have the website Xanadu | CampSoftware updated by August 1st. I’ll be adding a ton of info like:

  • Setting up nginx and php on Debian.
  • Generating a data entry module from a SQL Table.
  • Adding Formatting, Massaging, and Triggers.

I should say Xanadu isn’t its own language. I write PHP, which then writes html / JS / Bootstrap, and several included items in the following picture.

Xanadu works how I think. I’m an old-school procedural developer who uses objects as well. I wanted a replacement for FileMaker and then tried to make Xojo Web 1.0 work. It mostly worked but then worked stopped on Web 1.0 on in favor of Web 2.0 with no friggin upgrade path and no responsive controls. After XDC Miami in 2019, I realized Xojo was unreliable and started working on Xanadu for PHP.

Xanadu isn’t perfect, but I go back and address issues when found. If I don’t, it’ll just nag at me.

If you’re interested, we can schedule a Zoom call either before or after I update the Xanadu web pages. Posting questions here would be cool too!

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Hi Hal,

I’m sorry but I have to say no.
My company is a very small company and my desktop application is for high schools and they host applications themselves. I know that you are through with Xojo but I still develop in Xojo. Xanadu is an extra expense and I’m not sure if Xanadu will be the right tool for me to create the web application to justify the expense of $900.

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Understood! It’s not for everyone.