Topincs

Topincs is a software for rapid development of web databases and web applications. It is based on LAMP and the semantic technology Topic Maps. A Topincs web database makes information accessible through browsing very much like a Wiki. Editing a page on a subject is done through forms rather than markup editing. A web database can be tailored into a web application to provide specific user groups a contextualized approach to the data.

All modeling and development tasks are performed in the web browser. No other development tools are necessary. The server requires Apache, MySQL and PHP. The client works on any standards-compliant web browser on desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones. The layout is automatically adjusted to smaller screens.

The programmatic access to data is done via a virtual object-oriented programming interface which is set up over the schema in a few minutes. It is interpreted rather than generated. Portions of the database can be pulled into memory to accelerate bulk access.

Features

Browseable data
High-quality web forms
Little to no programming
Development done in the browser, no other tools required
Client runs in any standard-compliant web browser
Virtual object-oriented programming interface
User interface adjusts to screen size
Supports desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones
Flexible data modeling

Challenges

Requires rethinking the development process and dropping many hard learned habits
Requires a familiarity with two ISO standards ISO 13259 and 19756
Forms cannot be easily adjusted in layout and behavior
Server installation difficult and prone to error

License

Topincs can be used in a private network for any purpose for free. The use in a public network is restricted to non-commercial applications.

References

Cerny, Robert (2007). "Topincs – A RESTful Web Service Interface For Topic Maps". Leveraging the Semantics of Topic Maps. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol. 4438. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer. pp. 175–183. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-71945-8_17. ISBN 978-3-540-71944-1.

Cerny, Robert (2008). "Topincs Wiki – A Topic Maps Powered Wiki". Scaling Topic Maps. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol. 4999. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer. pp. 57–65. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-70874-2_7. ISBN 978-3-540-70873-5.

Cerny, Robert (2011). "Topincs: A Software for Rapid Development of Web Databases". KMIS 2011 - Proceedings of the International Conference on Knowledge Management and Information Sharing, Paris, France, 26–29 October 2011. SciTePress. pp. 187–194. Retrieved 2013-01-24.