83 <div class="demobutton"><a href="/media/informl.mov">Screencast</a></div> <div class="demobutton"><a href="/skep">Demo</a></div> <div class="demobutton"><a href="/doc/pages/download">Download</a></div> <p><img title="by loma lakamera" src="/images/informl-picnic.jpg" height="240" alt="" width="360" /></p> <p>Informl is an open-source <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki">wiki</a> with some unique capabilities. In addition to traditional wiki features, you can create forms and work with data from the responses without doing any programming or writing any <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML">HTML</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS">CSS</a>. This means you can create (and deploy) simple, database-backed web applications in minutes. Informl is built using <a href="http://www.rubyonrails.org/">Ruby on Rails</a>, with an eye toward broader integration into Rails projects.</p> <hr /> <p>Links: <a href="/media/informl.mov">screencast</a>, <a href="/skep/">demo</a>, <a href="/sandbox">sandbox book</a>, <a href="#" pageref="features">features</a>, <a href="#" pageref="to-do">to-do</a>, <a href="#" pageref="FAQs">FAQs</a>, <a href="#" pageref="discuss">discuss</a>, <a href="http://rubyforge.org/mailman/listinfo/informl-talk">mailing list</a>, <a href="#" pageref="download">download</a>, <a href="#" pageref="install">install</a>, <a href="#" pageref="get involved">get involved</a></p> <p>Email us at <a href="mailto:informl@folklogic.com">informl "at" folklogic.com</a>.</p> <p><a href="http://blog.folklogic.net/david">David sometimes blogs about Informl</a></p> <hr /> <p>Wikis are great for creating text on web sites, because you can just write without worrying about HTML, FTP, CSS, etc. You just bring up a browser, type the text you want, hit submit, and voilà! -- your text is on the web. Though you will need to learn some wiki-specific mark-up, it's usually pretty simple, so it won't get in your way.</p> <p>Now, what if you want to move beyond just creating pages with text and images and want to add some radio buttons -- and maybe a comment field so readers can let you know how much they like what you wrote? Normally, you'd have to drop out of the wiki and do some programming (HTML, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_%28programming_language%29">Java</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Php">PHP</a>, <a href="http://www.rubyonrails.org/">Rails</a>, etc.) to set up the forms, collect the input, store it, and view the results. What if you didn't have to do that? What if you could just create the form directly with the wiki and all the rest of the work was done for you?</p> <p>Well, that's what we are trying to do with Informl. It's a souped-up wiki that allows you to create web forms using wiki mark-up. Once you've created a form, people can fill it out, and the information is stored in a database. The results are immediately available -- you can view the results of individual form submissions as well as tables summarizing information from all the submissions -- and templates for both individual and summary result output are automatically created whenever you create a page with a form.<br /></p> <p>The information from forms is also integrated in the wiki itself, so once you've created a form and have some submissions, you can reference information from the submissions in other wiki pages. For instance, you may want to create a summary page of only the negative responses so you can concentrate on what needs to be improved -- or a page of just positive responses for when you need a morale boost.</p> <p>Sound interesting? Want to know more? Take a look at Informl in action by watching the <a href="/media/informl.mov">screencast</a> and trying out the <a href="/skep/">Sun King Demo</a> and <a href="/wine">Wine Store Demo</a> or by playing in the <a href="/sandbox">sandbox</a>. You can take a look at the list of current <a href="#" pageref="features">features</a> and our <a href="http://storytracker.folklogic.net/projects">project planning</a>.</p> <p>What do you think you might want to use Informl for?</p> <table class="definition"> <tr><th>work</th><td><input name="field[work]" type="checkbox" value="t" /><input name="field[work]" type="hidden" value="f" /></td></tr> <tr><th>home</th><td><input name="field[home]" type="checkbox" value="t" /><input name="field[home]" type="hidden" value="f" /></td></tr> <tr><th>company intranet</th><td><input name="field[company_intranet]" type="checkbox" value="t" /><input name="field[company_intranet]" type="hidden" value="f" /></td></tr> <tr><th>project website</th><td><input name="field[project_website]" type="checkbox" value="t" /><input name="field[project_website]" type="hidden" value="f" /></td></tr> <tr><th>personal website</th><td><input name="field[personal_website]" type="checkbox" value="t" /><input name="field[personal_website]" type="hidden" value="f" /></td></tr> <tr><th>club website</th><td><input name="field[club_website]" type="checkbox" value="t" /><input name="field[club_website]" type="hidden" value="f" /></td></tr> <tr><th>marketing surveys</th><td><input name="field[marketing_surveys]" type="checkbox" value="t" /><input name="field[marketing_surveys]" type="hidden" value="f" /></td></tr> </table> <p>What specifically do you think you might use Informl for?</p> <p><textarea name="field[use_case]" rows="5" cols="50"></textarea></p> <p>What other features would you like Informl to include?</p> <p><textarea name="field[comments]" rows="5" cols="50"></textarea></p> <p><input type="submit" value="submit" /></p> <p>Acknowledgements: Informl builds on some great open source software projects, including: Ruby and <a href="http://www.rubyonrails.org/">Ruby on Rails</a>; the <a href="http://dev.rubyonrails.org/svn/rails/tools/i2/">i2</a> wiki; <a href="http://code.whytheluckystiff.net/hpricot/">hpricot</a>; and the <a href="http://projects.jkraemer.net/acts_as_ferret/wiki">acts_as_ferret</a>, <a href=" http://svn.techno-weenie.net/projects/plugins/restful_authentication/">RESTful Authentication</a>, and <a href="http://robsanheim.com/brain-buster">BrainBuster</a> plugins.</p> 4 2007-09-17T16:32:57+02:00 825 76 <div class="demobutton"><a href="/media/informl.mov">Screencast</a></div> <div class="demobutton"><a href="/skep">Demo</a></div> <div class="demobutton"><a href="/doc/pages/download">Download</a></div> <img src="/images/informl-picnic.jpg" title="by loma lakamera" width='360' height='240' alt='' /> Informl is an open-source [wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki) with some unique capabilities. In addition to traditional wiki features, you can create forms and work with data from the responses without doing any programming or writing any [HTML](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML) or [CSS](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS). This means you can create (and deploy) simple, database-backed web applications in minutes. Informl is built using [Ruby on Rails](http://www.rubyonrails.org/), with an eye toward broader integration into Rails projects. ----- Links: [screencast](/media/informl.mov), [demo](/skep/), [sandbox book](/sandbox), [[features]], [[to-do]], [[FAQs]], [[discuss]], [mailing list](http://rubyforge.org/mailman/listinfo/informl-talk), [[download]], [[install]], [[get involved]] Email us at [informl "at" folklogic.com](mailto:informl@folklogic.com). [David sometimes blogs about Informl](http://blog.folklogic.net/david) ---- Wikis are great for creating text on web sites, because you can just write without worrying about HTML, FTP, CSS, etc. You just bring up a browser, type the text you want, hit submit, and voilà! -- your text is on the web. Though you will need to learn some wiki-specific mark-up, it's usually pretty simple, so it won't get in your way. Now, what if you want to move beyond just creating pages with text and images and want to add some radio buttons -- and maybe a comment field so readers can let you know how much they like what you wrote? Normally, you'd have to drop out of the wiki and do some programming (HTML, [Java](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_%28programming_language%29), [PHP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Php), [Rails](http://www.rubyonrails.org/), etc.) to set up the forms, collect the input, store it, and view the results. What if you didn't have to do that? What if you could just create the form directly with the wiki and all the rest of the work was done for you? Well, that's what we are trying to do with Informl. It's a souped-up wiki that allows you to create web forms using wiki mark-up. Once you've created a form, people can fill it out, and the information is stored in a database. The results are immediately available -- you can view the results of individual form submissions as well as tables summarizing information from all the submissions -- and templates for both individual and summary result output are automatically created whenever you create a page with a form. The information from forms is also integrated in the wiki itself, so once you've created a form and have some submissions, you can reference information from the submissions in other wiki pages. For instance, you may want to create a summary page of only the negative responses so you can concentrate on what needs to be improved -- or a page of just positive responses for when you need a morale boost. Sound interesting? Want to know more? Take a look at Informl in action by watching the [screencast](/media/informl.mov) and trying out the [Sun King Demo](/skep/) and [Wine Store Demo](/wine) or by playing in the [sandbox](/sandbox). You can take a look at the list of current [[features]] and our [project planning](http://storytracker.folklogic.net/projects). What do you think you might want to use Informl for? work:: [] home:: [] company intranet:: [] project website:: [] personal website:: [] club website:: [] marketing surveys:: [] What specifically do you think you might use Informl for? ::use_case::[50x5<>] What other features would you like Informl to include? ::comments::[50x5<>] ((submit)) Acknowledgements: Informl builds on some great open source software projects, including: Ruby and [Ruby on Rails](http://www.rubyonrails.org/); the [i2](http://dev.rubyonrails.org/svn/rails/tools/i2/) wiki; [hpricot](http://code.whytheluckystiff.net/hpricot/); and the [acts_as_ferret](http://projects.jkraemer.net/acts_as_ferret/wiki), [RESTful Authentication]( http://svn.techno-weenie.net/projects/plugins/restful_authentication/), and [BrainBuster](http://robsanheim.com/brain-buster) plugins. 2007-09-17T16:32:57+02:00