Name

YOTE

Summary

Yote is a platform for creating web based applications by bridging client side javascript with server side, automatically persistent perl objects. Yote provides javascript objects with methods that map to their server side counterparts.

See http://fenowyn.com/yote for more information.

Quickstart for OSX / Linux

In the following directions, $SITE_ROOT is the document root of your web site and $YOTE_ROOT is the directory where the Yote Build.PL file resides.

It's as easy as...

1. Ensure you have a web server that will serve CGIs

2. Install stuff and start the server

    $ ./install '/path/to/your/web/root' '/path/to/cgi-bin'

3. Write your own code (e.g. "hello world" app, website code, etc)

(Note that the yote_server is automatically started in the background in step 2. Be sure to kill this when you're done with it, or they will tend to pile up.)

Requirements

• perl version 5.10

• A webserver that can run perl cgi files

• jquery (provided with this distribution, or from http://docs.jquery.com/Downloading_jQuery)

• Some sort of server-side storage (MySQL or a writable file)

Install Yote

    $ perl Build.PL
    $ ./Build
    $ ./Build test
    $ ./Build install

Verify / install the requirements

Following is how to verify that you have each of the requirements and, if not, to get it.

• perl version 5.10

  To verify if you have this:

         $ perl -v

  If your version is too low, look at using perlbrew to upgrade:

         http://search.cpan.org/~gugod/App-perlbrew-0.39/bin/perlbrew

  (From the perlbrew docs:)

         $ curl -kL http://install.perlbrew.pl | bash
         $ ~/perl5/perlbrew/bin/perlbrew install 5.14.2  # Current version as of 2012-01-20
         $ ~/perl5/perlbrew/bin/perlbrew use 5.14.2
         $ perl -v  # Should now tell you 5.14.2

  This installs the perlbrew executable, the perl-5.14.2 executable, and all core Perl modules into ~/perl5/perlbrew/. It then sets the current shell to use the new version.

  You may also want to use cpanm (or another CPAN shell) to install additional modules for the new perl version.

• Storage

  Yote needs to store data server side. This can be in a MySQL database or a file (which will become a SQLite database). Other options, including MongoDB, are in the works -- patches welcome!

  If you want MySQL storage, verify / install as follows:

  OSX has MySQL installed by default. Verify that it's running by doing:

         $ mysql -u root

  (NOTE: For simplicity, the directions in this README connect to MySQL as 'root'. This will work and it makes these directions easier, but in general practice you should connect via a user with lower permissions.)

  Many Linux distributions come with MySQL. If it is not installed and running by default, install it as per http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.5/en/installing.html (v5.5.x is latest as of 2012-01-20).

  Once MySQL is running, create a database for Yote to use and initialize it as follows:

         $ echo 'create database yote;' | mysql -u root
         $ script/init_datastore.pl 

  !!! @@DKSNOTE: init_datastore.pl is not included in the current version of Yote !!!

• A webserver that can run perl cgi files

  OSX has Apache installed by default. To verify it is running and allow it to run CGIs, do the following:

         System Preferences > Sharing > Web Sharing 
       

  Ensure that the checkbox is checked; if so, the web server is up.

  By default, CGIs are served from /Library/WebServer/CGI-Executables/ (hereinafter '$CGI_BIN')

  By default, content is served from ~/Sites/ (hereinafter '$SITE_ROOT')

  On Linux, @@TODO

• yote.cgi

      $ cp cgi/yote.cgi $CGI_BIN/
      $ chmod 755 $CGI_BIN/yote.cgi

• jquery

  On OSX or Linux:

      $ mkdir -p $SITE_ROOT/js
      $ cp $YOTE_ROOT/javascript/* $SITE_ROOT/js

• put the Yote::WebAppServer module in your path

  On OSX / Linux:

      $ export PERL5LIB=$YOTE_ROOT/lib:$PERL5LIB

• modify the start_server.pl file

  !!! @@DKSNOTE: Can't find anything matching this name -- missing dependency? !!!

Using Yote

Start the Web App Server

Starting the Web App Server from the command line:

       $ script/yote_server

This starts the server on the default port (8008), using SQLiteIO, and writing to file ~/.yote/SQLite.yote.db.

Starting the Web App Server from a package:

       use Yote::WebAppServer;

       my $server = new Yote::WebAppServer();

       $server->start_server( port => 8008,
                  datastore  => 'Yote::SQLiteIO',
                  sqlitefile => 'yote.database' );

Coding with Yote

Client Side

       <script src="./js/jquery-latest.js"></script>
       <script src="./js/jquery.dumper.js"></script>
       <script src="./js/jquery.base64.min.js"></script>
       <script src="./js/json2.js"></script>
       <script src="./js/yote.js"></script>
       <script>
           var hello_app = $.gServ.get_app( 'Yote::Hello' );
           var result = hello_app.hello({ name:"fred" } );
           var counter = hello_app.get_counter();
       </script>

Server Side

    package Yote::Hello;

    use strict;
    use Yote::Obj;
    use base 'Yote::AppRoot';

    sub init {
        my $self = shift;
        my $counter = $self->get_counter( new Yote::Obj() );
    }

    sub hello {
        my( $self, $data, $acct ) = @_;
        my $name = $data->{name};
        my $counter = $self->get_counter();
        $counter->set_count( $counter->get_count() + 1 );
        return "hello there '$name'. I have said hello ". $counter->get_count() . " times.";
    }

    1;