Yeah, so in my case, I wrote a blogging thing that runs in Beaker. I can run it from any of my machines and it has no server. This is great because it is insanely portable - I can setup the software on a new machine by just going to the URL. It is just "software as a service" but there is no server. It's somewhat similar to TiddlyWiki but Beaker adds automatic synchronization. (I still manage the JS code itself in git, but the blog posts are managed by Beaker.) Thank you for the question, styfle.
Look up Tara Vancil's talk on "A Web Without Servers" if you need a crystal clear explanation - don't know if I'm doing adequately. And my blog is at kickscondor.com if you're curious why I had to write my own blog warez. Also, there is a resurgence in blogging happening right now with the shakedown of social media. It's great.
1. A (current?) limitation I've noticed with Beaker is that you can only edit a site implementation (for a specific address) on a single machine. What would you do if you had multiple computers / locations that would want to make updates (JS or User Content)
2. What about errors. Don't they persist in the address's history? What if there's something undesirable that got added by accident
3. What about mobile? How could someone visit/browse on mobile without a non-distributed proxy http address
Yeah, cool - thank you for the questions, kingnight.
1. So this answer is a bit convoluted because I am still learning, wish I could keep it short. So my setup might be a bit 'naughty' because I'm currently saving the 'key' in my JS in a seperate dat. Right now I have one dat that acts as the 'admin' and one that is the actual blog - but I am going to move to hyperdb (the new solution for multi-writer support.) There are actually a couple libraries cropping up for doing this sort of thing and I'm not up on all of them. So this is more of a 'need to make up my mind' thing than a capability thing with Beaker. There are a TON of libraries and a TON of possibilities - (there's an 'awesome dat' page that just goes on and on and on...) - but I am still researching a better way (and, who knows, maybe my way is fine.) I want something that could be in place ten years from now - because I do think JS and HTML will.
2. No, files can get replaced. Not sure if that is your question. Yes the undesirable will persist in the history, but you can overwrite it. I can prevent bad content, though, by checking it in my JS code and allowing a preview first.
3. Yeah this is a problem - there is a Bunsen Browser in development, but I haven't tried it. I am honestly okay with everyone browsing through HTTPS, though - I like Beaker for the admin tool. Again, I have a browser-based blog software without needing to run a server anywhere at all.
Thanks much for the replies. I’m very interested in this and am wrapping my head around how it works and these differences so it’s great to hear perspectives from people using it.
I'm not sure how I would talk about the CSS and JavaScript - which was the most work. I will think about 'if'/'how' I can describe that. I really appreciate the encouragement. Please send me a link to your blog, if you have one. I am collecting links to personal blogs. See you around, kingnight.
If you visit kickscondor.com be sure to turn down volume first. You may find out as I did that if you visit at night its bleeps and bloops can wake up a partner :O
Thankyou for saying something tomcam - I've turned down the volume on the sample - please apologize to your person in bed. I might also consider closing down in the evenings.
