- Related Stories
-
Grassroots computing languages hit the big time
May 13, 2005 -
Open source's next frontier
November 22, 2004 -
Start-up pitches high-end Web apps on the cheap
November 18, 2004 -
Breaking the rules with open source
August 2, 2004 -
On the hot seat at Sun
September 15, 2003
The so-called LAMP stack of open-source software--which includes the Linux operating system, Apache Web server, MySQL database and scripting languages PHP, Perl or Python--is pushing its way into mainstream corporate computing.
One of several smaller companies betting on the LAMP stack, start-up ActiveGrid announced on Monday partnerships that, combined with new software, could help expand LAMP's appeal among big companies. Partners include MySQL, Apache management provider Covalent, Linux company Novell and PHP tool maker Zend Technologies.
What's new:
ActiveGrid, one of several start-up companies centered on the LAMP combination of open-source products, has signed support partnerships with major providers of the Linux operating system, Apache Web server, MySQL database and PHP development language.
Bottom line:
The LAMP "stack" has become a more viable alternative to Microsoft's .Net development software and Java. LAMP's emergence has been fueled by a growing third-party industry and by corporate customers' interest in open source.
The efforts of companies such as these to make LAMP more industrial strength--combined with growing interest among corporate customers in open source--are making LAMP a more cohesive and competitive offering to Microsoft's .Net and Java products, said Stephen O'Grady, an analyst at RedMonk.
"LAMP is still viewed as a collection of piece parts that aren't really certified to work together. But the various participants in that stack and on top of that stack are doing a good job of driving it forward and making it just another stack," O'Grady said.
The individual components of the LAMP stack have been around for many years. But the combination of components--or similar open-source stacks--is increasingly being viewed by vendors, customers and venture investors as a unified platform for building and running business applications. These "stacks" aren't so much vertical entities, with each element layered on the other, as they are a looser collection of building blocks that can be put together to build various types of Web applications.
Indeed, several companies are staking out businesses around the open-source software rather than aligning with Microsoft's .Net or with Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) server software and tools. In many cases, the plan is to make LAMP more battle-tested and palatable to corporate customers.
Shining a light on LAMP industry
ActiveGrid's Application Server software, set for release in July, is designed to combine several individual servers running LAMP software to tackle demanding computing jobs. The company will give away a low-end product and charge for a more functional server aimed at large corporate customers.
Covalent makes management tools for handling large installations of Apache Web servers. And a handful of services companies, including SourceLabs, Optaros and SpikeSource, are looking to provide support and application-development services to corporations.
Founder and CEO, Journyx
Meanwhile, some packaged-application companies are going with LAMP-like open-source options, eschewing Microsoft's .Net and Java.
SugarCRM, which released an open-source sales application this year, built its programs using the LAMP stack, which is included with its offering.
Another independent software vendor, Journyx, decided to build its Web-based time-sheet application with open-source components instead of Java. In this case, company engineers used Python, Linux, Apache and the PostgreSQL open-source database.
That combination of freely available software allows Journyx to let prospective customers use the software for free, which
See more CNET content tagged:
ActiveGrid,
Covalent Technologies,
Apache Software Foundation,
Apache Web server,
corporate customer
Big companies spend a lot of money on developers that don't know the langauge, or the newer frameworks, or on operations support departments that have very high taxes on just getting servers and disks installed. If you switch to LAMP, none of this will change, and it will probably get worse. The technology really isn't the problem.
And let's not get into reliability, scalability, and feature richness of databases, shall we?
I've been running my business with a LAMP setup for years and I've never had any problems with development time, reliability, or scalability as the company has grown. And yes, we've grown (approx. 600% since Jan. 2004).
An experienced PHP and MySQL developer can create the exact same applications that .NET and Java can and typically do it in less time. Plus, using PHP's built in ways of incorporating Java into PHP scripts, you get the best of both worlds when the need arises.
Corporations should embrace LAMP, as it is a much more cost-effective technology base than anything else out there.
Big companies spend a lot of money on developers that don't know the langauge, or the newer frameworks, or on operations support departments that have very high taxes on just getting servers and disks installed. If you switch to LAMP, none of this will change, and it will probably get worse. The technology really isn't the problem.
And let's not get into reliability, scalability, and feature richness of databases, shall we?
I've been running my business with a LAMP setup for years and I've never had any problems with development time, reliability, or scalability as the company has grown. And yes, we've grown (approx. 600% since Jan. 2004).
An experienced PHP and MySQL developer can create the exact same applications that .NET and Java can and typically do it in less time. Plus, using PHP's built in ways of incorporating Java into PHP scripts, you get the best of both worlds when the need arises.
Corporations should embrace LAMP, as it is a much more cost-effective technology base than anything else out there.
My resume is that Python wins. Is miles ahead of any other development software/platform. Available software for Python ( twisted, Zope/Plone, pySim, ...) ussually makes the most advanced commercial java or .net software look like an inmature prototype.
What's more important and decisive to me, once I changed to Python I have been able to complete more projects in less time, which means more money, more profits, more quality of live.
Final projects are always much less buggy, because I use around 25% of Java/C# code to do the same task and final code is much easier to read and refactor.
For example, a personalized Document Management system using Plone and Python archetypes takes around 200 lines of codes (two weeks summing up analysis, development, testing and final deployment). That same project with Java or Net could take a minimun of 3 months.
That internet monster called Google uses Python as core development platform. I don't think is a casuality that they have such a great success.
My resume is that Python wins. Is miles ahead of any other development software/platform. Available software for Python ( twisted, Zope/Plone, pySim, ...) ussually makes the most advanced commercial java or .net software look like an inmature prototype.
What's more important and decisive to me, once I changed to Python I have been able to complete more projects in less time, which means more money, more profits, more quality of live.
Final projects are always much less buggy, because I use around 25% of Java/C# code to do the same task and final code is much easier to read and refactor.
For example, a personalized Document Management system using Plone and Python archetypes takes around 200 lines of codes (two weeks summing up analysis, development, testing and final deployment). That same project with Java or Net could take a minimun of 3 months.
That internet monster called Google uses Python as core development platform. I don't think is a casuality that they have such a great success.
It is much easier to install/maintain than LAMP, and the coding for mySQL/PHP is the same.
It is much easier to install/maintain than LAMP, and the coding for mySQL/PHP is the same.
www.cpan.org
This is Perl's killer app. I have found no equal.
www.cpan.org
This is Perl's killer app. I have found no equal.
www.ostalent.com
- Open Source Talent
-
by mentalbarcode
October 28, 2005 3:42 AM PDT
- LAMP is the perfect combination for startup companies.
-
Reply to this comment
-
See all 22 Comments >>www.ostalent.com