HTTP Push Server for Streaming Real-Time Data is interesting solution for real world Ajax applications. One of these solutions is StreamHub, a highly-scalable HTTP Comet server allowing you to stream live data to a web browser without requiring any plugins or security-policy changes. It uses a technique known as Comet or HTTP Streaming to keep a persistent connection open to the browser.

HTML, Ajax, .NET and Java clients can all receive data from StreamHub. Data can be streamed into StreamHub using the Java or .NET SDKs. Early access is available to interested parties for Silverlight, Flex, iPhone and Mobile APIs. StreamHub’s highly-scalable architecture is suitable for streaming live stock quotes, real-time chat, live news delivery, online-gaming and a whole host of Rich Internet Applications.

StreamHub is available in community edition (Free), Web and Enterprise edition for commercial use. The enterprise provides additional features such Clustering, Secure HTTPS Support, .NET Adapter SDK for Streaming, Java Thick Client SDK, .NET Thick Client SDK. The clustering option is obviously not available for the web edition.

Download StreamHub community edition. Some tutorials are available to get started with StreamHub and Comet or to create a Comet Chat applications.

Microsoft IIS team released today the first beta of the Windows Cache extension for PHP (WinCache 1.0) for PHP 5.2 and 5.3. The new cache extension is a PHP accelerator that aims to increase PHP applications speed running on windows platform. The extension doesn’t require any code change, it just need to be enabled in IIS. WinCache have many directives that could be enabled/disabled in php.ini and six utility functions to return extension-specific information about the cache internals.

Joe Stagner, posted an introduction to the windows cache extension and pointed to some notes about compatibilities :

• The extension can only be used with non-thread-safe builds of PHP
• The extension can only be used when IIS is configured to run PHP via FastCGI
• The Windows Cache Extension 1.0 for PHP 5.3 can only be used with the x86 VC9 build of PHP 5.3.

The Windows Cache Extension includes 3 different types of caches. The following describes the purpose of each cache type and the benefits it provides.

FCKEditor knew lots of changes recently and version 3.0 came with a new brand name, the editor is now called CKEditor where the CK meant for Content and Knowledge (the web 2.0 fragrances) instead of taking its creator initials Frederico Caldeira Knabben. Lots of new features in addition to bugfixes, amazing performance, and accessibility compliance with W3C WCAG and the US Section 508 accessibility standard marked this new release. CKEditor got a brand new UI, now you can easily change color of the editor interface to match your website’s design in addition to skins, editor’s options are fully customizable. CKEditor interface is available in more than 50 languages.

CKEditor is released under GPL, LGPL and MPL open source licenses. Commercial license (CDL) is also available for companies interested to integrate the editor in their software or solutions. The editor is compatible with most internet browsers and operating systems including Internet Explorer 6+, Firefox 2+, Safari 3+, Google Chrome and Opera 9.5+. Languages integration is also available for JavaScript, AFP, ASP, ASP.NET, Coldfusion, Java, PHP, Python, Adobe Air … etc.

More information and download at http://ckeditor.com

SAN JOSE, Calif. – 31 Aug 2009: The OpenAjax Alliance announced today the approval and availability of OpenAjax Hub 2.0 as an industry standard for more secure Web 2.0 mashup applications. Advances in security in Hub 2.0 can help protect enterprise mashups from malicious intent, giving IT staff greater confidence in adding these features to their Web sites.

OpenAjax Hub 2.0 was developed over the past two years at OpenAjax Alliance, an organization dedicated to the adoption of open and interoperable Ajax technologies. Ajax is Web development technology based on HTML and JavaScript that runs mashups, widgets and gadgets. Mashups allow business users to drag and drop “mashed up” components to create customized Web applications in minutes.

The major addition to Hub 2.0 is a JavaScript Library for Secure Enterprise Mashups created to better protect widgets and mashups from hackers and malicious intent. It addresses concerns among IT managers that may have inhibited adoption of mashup software within companies.

“OpenAjax Hub 2.0 is a major step forward for the OpenAjax Alliance towards its mission of promoting Ajax interoperability,” says David Boloker, OpenAjax Alliance Steering Committee chairman and chief technology officer for Emerging Internet Technology, IBM. “In order to realize the potential for mashups across the industry, there needs to be standards. Hub 2.0 defines a key industry standard for how widgets can be isolated into secure containers and then how widgets can talk to each other through a mediated messaging bus.”

Here is a very good reading for the weekend, Jason Austin and Garrison Locke shared their experience on Zend DevZone since they discovered PHP the first time in 98, passing by their PHP 4 certification, ZendCon, Zend Framework, … etc. Some of the interesting point they mentioned :

- Using Classes is not Object Oriented Design
- Never edit code on the server
- A sign with the aphorism “Do not reinvent the wheel until you know everything there is to know about wheels” was prominently displayed in our office.

Read Move That Bus at DevZone.