WhiteFrost

Engine and the site were updated.

Engine for Web Applications (v 1.9.6)

Version 1.9.6 includes a number of procedural updates in anticipation of version 2.

Version 2 will include the groundwork for Distributed Web Application Components (DWAC), something that I've been working on for a while. DWAC is similar to gears and gadgets in that they encapsulate a product, but different in that they are meant to run as a self-contained distribution (framework being made available, of course). Most important is the existing features of engine, particularly application components and templates, make it very easy to build out new DWACs.

Other V2 features: A specific section for monitoring, including performance, behavior (aka: IMNMotion), and customer monitors.

Web Site

Some style changes were made to improve browsing experience.

Account Manager 4 and Core Web were updated.

Account Manager 4

Account Manager 4 was updated to include spool and ticket factories, as well as degraded pagination for non-rich lists to facilitate better robot discovery.

Core Web

Core Web uses the spool and ticket factories to provide basic protection against cross-site request forgery (CSRF) requests. The implementation is included in the SecurityToken control. Static content pages that use the session gizmo will automatically register for the ticket. The intent is to establish contextual residency for a session prior to allowing an particular action.

Pages inheriting from the CorePage class can validate against a submitted ticket before continuing. Tickets may be general purpose, or may be restricted to specific URIs.

Some style changes were made to improve browsing experience, and to alter the window gizmos.

JavaScript Profiler 2.0 was updated to include better detection of embedded functions typical of libraries and frameworks.

JavaScript Profiler 2.0 is available for download (JavaScriptProfiler.zip). Version 2.0 includes integrated support for Function Monitor and the latest version of Active Source.

JavaScript Profiler is a context menu extension for Internet Explorer, and is useful for exploring the live DOM and profiling JavaScript functions.

Account Manager 4-B1 is available for download (AccountManager4.zip - Source - 1.3MB). The download includes the Core Web project, and Vault 2 reference implementation. API Documentation is also provided online (built with Doxygen).

Please Note: This is a BETA. Some of the features are not complete.

• Page controls were updated to use links.
• Account Manager 4Account Tags and Account Roles configuration added to administration dialog.
• Raw HTML no longer permitted in Blog and Forum articles. A BB style syntax may now be used.
• Changing password via Web UI now requires confirmation of existing password to prevent scripted attacks.
• Failed login attempts are now blocked for the session and/or ip address.

A new Projects Index was added to replace the old tools page.

The new version of the Engine for Web Applications project page will be made available soon. The latest source code, a relaxed license, and compiler, are available in the Engine Compiler download. The compiler is .NET 2.0 application. (Note: the references are in Windows paths, and need to be updated for non-Windows systems using Mono).

It's 2008, and everything must go! Or, at least change. WhiteFrost.com has brought high-tech humanities and artistic drivel for six years. Feel free to peruse the pre-blog what's new document for historic updates made during the first three years. Past projects have included a premium Web / AJAX toolkit, Behavior monitoring (hence, IMNMotion.com), and an open source, easy-to-use account manager library for Web sites.

But, now it's time to get serious.

Engine for Web Applications (client framework), IMNMotion (usability monitoring), and Account Manager (backend framework) were merely the groundwork. And, you're staring at the betas of the next two big projects: Account Manager 4 and Core Web.

Account Manager 4 is more robust and easier to use than Account Manager 3.5, which translates as having no upgrade path. Like the current version, the next version is easily swappable between .NET and Mono, SQL and MySQL, and Windows and Linux. The new version introduces several community-orientated features, such as: Blogging, Forums, and Media Management.