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After my WMTC talk, a freshman at UNO came up to me to ask about the idea of cloud computing for the implementation of the software of Project 114. He was offering his programming (PHP-server side) service. (I'm feeling more like old technology except for the titanium plate I now have in my shoulder after my bicycle accident.) Rik and I have talked about cloud computing in general terms, but I think we have far to go between crawling and flying. The problem is that web (and programming) technology is changing very fast and THAT is a big problem. However, splitting the (fixed) calculations from any sort of GUI front end at least isolates the technological changes from the more stable marine design calculations. The calc engines can have long shelf lives, but there will still be change in the other end.

Another way to talk about the goals of Project 114 is to generalize marine calculations (or anything in engineering) as a combination of frameworks and a set of common "plug-ins."  The plug-ins are the "calc engines" that can be written by anyone and the frameworks are the open source code (or Excel tools) that can analyze one calc engine or provide automatic sequencing tools for many calc engines.  In theory, the framworks and the calc engines can be located anywhere on the web, like CFD programs on fast computers that perhaps charge a small fee-per-use. Project 114 currently shows how engineering analysis will change so that anyone can mix and match calc engines to solve almost any new problem without writing a line of code. It's currently being done with Excel all on your own computer, but that could evolve into an optional cloud-based, cross platform model.

I've been reading more on all of these technologies, like XML, JavaScript, and Node.js. It's a very fast-moving world where it's hard to weed out the hype from the technology that will last. For now, I think that a framework model based on open source spreadsheet code is one that works and one that can evolve into the future. It's too easy to get distracted by things like Python and "Ruby-On-Rails." They might provide great solutions in the future, and with open source frontends, someone might be able to provide better frameworks that work with existing calc engines.

Now I'm off to study XML Schemas, SourceForge, GitHub, BitBucket. and more. These are no longer the days of single stand-alone apps. Supposedly, I will eventually be able to create a plug-in where I could display my latest hydrofoil design on a screen on my refrigerator tied to the web. So much for magnet art. Maybe it will be a magnet-backed screen with Bluetooth instead.

After my WMTC talk, a freshman at UNO came up to me to ask about the idea of cloud computing for the implementation of the software of Project 114. He was offering his programming (PHP-server side) service. (I'm feeling more like old technology except for the titanium plate I now have in my shoulder after my bicycle accident.) Rik and I have talked about cloud computing in general terms, but I think we have far to go between crawling and flying. The problem is that web (and programming) technology is changing very fast and THAT is a big problem. However, splitting the (fixed) calculations from any sort of GUI front end at least isolates the technological changes from the more stable marine design calculations. The calc engines can have long shelf lives, but there will still be change in the other end.

Another way to talk about the goals of Project 114 is to generalize marine calculations (or anything in engineering) as a combination of frameworks and a set of common "plug-ins."  The plug-ins are the "calc engines" that can be written by anyone and the frameworks are the open source code (or Excel tools) that can analyze one calc engine or provide automatic sequencing tools for many calc engines.  In theory, the framworks and the calc engines can be located anywhere on the web, like CFD programs on fast computers that perhaps charge a small fee-per-use. Project 114 currently shows how engineering analysis will change so that anyone can mix and match calc engines to solve almost any new problem without writing a line of code. It's currently being done with Excel all on your own computer, but that could evolve into an optional cloud-based, cross platform model.

I've been reading more on all of these technologies, like XML, JavaScript, and Node.js. It's a very fast-moving world where it's hard to weed out the hype from the technology that will last. For now, I think that a framework model based on open source spreadsheet code is one that works and one that can evolve into the future. It's too easy to get distracted by things like Python and "Ruby-On-Rails." They might provide great solutions in the future, and with open source frontends, someone might be able to provide better frameworks that work with existing calc engines.

Now I'm off to study XML Schemas, SourceForge, GitHub, BitBucket. and more. These are no longer the days of single stand-alone apps. Supposedly, I will eventually be able to create a plug-in where I could display my latest hydrofoil design on a screen on my refrigerator tied to the web. So much for magnet art. Maybe it will be a magnet-backed screen with Bluetooth instead.