ArsDigita Community System
| Industry | Software development |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1997 |
| Founder | Philip Greenspun, Tracy Adams, Ben Adida, Eve Andersson, Jin S. Choi, Aurelius Prochazka, Brian Tivol |
| Fate | Acquired by Red Hat in 2002 |
| Products | ArsDigita Community System (ACS) |
| Parent | Red Hat (since 2002) |
The ArsDigita Community System (ACS) was an open source framework designed for building community-oriented web applications, primarily developed by engineers affiliated with ArsDigita Corporation. Distributed under the GNU GPL, this notable product was constructed entirely on the AOLserver platform. Although multiple derivatives appeared over time, only OpenACS continues to receive active development and support.
ACS provided fundamental APIs, data models, and database operations typical of community web platforms. It also included modules addressing workflow automation, CMS, messaging systems, issue tracking, project management, e-commerce, and discussion forums.
History
The initial development of ACS took place in the mid-1990s to facilitate the photo.net online community as well as a variety of Internet services for the Hearst Corporation.
Founded in 1997, ArsDigita's team comprised developers such as Philip Greenspun along with early contributors like Tracy Adams, Ben Adida, Eve Andersson, Jin S. Choi, Aurelius Prochazka, and Brian Tivol.
ACS was originally engineered using the Oracle database in conjunction with the AOLserver threaded web server. It integrated SQL, HTML templates, and Tcl scripting to merge database outputs with presentation templates. Version 3.4 introduced support for Java Server Pages compatible with Apache and Tomcat servers. In 2001, the project diverged: one faction focused on maintaining and improving the Tcl codebase while another rewrote the system using Java EE technologies.
In 2002, ArsDigita and its intellectual property were acquired by Red Hat. The Java iteration was rebranded as "Red Hat CCM," while official maintenance for the Tcl version ceased. Nevertheless, the Tcl code continued under the stewardship of the OpenACS community.
OpenACS
Open Architecture Community System delivers:
- A collection of applications that empower collaborative websites, including modules for Workflow, CMS, Messaging, Bug/Issue tracking, e-commerce, blogging platforms, chat functionality, and forums.
- A comprehensive application development toolkit offering extensive APIs and services aimed at accelerating app creation—featuring permission management, complete internationalization support, Ajax, a form builder, object modeling capabilities, automated testing frameworks, subsites functionality, and a powerful package manager.
OpenACS runs on both AOLserver and NaviServer, supporting either Oracle or PostgreSQL as backend databases.
Prominent projects leveraging OpenACS technology include dotLrn, dotFolio, dotCommunity, dotConsult, Project-Open, and Voice Online Communities.
See also
External links
- ACS download: http://www.eveandersson.com/arsdigita/acs-repository/
- Official website
- Philosophy behind the toolkit: http://philip.greenspun.com/panda/community