OStatic

Client-side Web developers work mainly in JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, displaying and manipulating data within a Web browser, while retrieving and storing that data on the server. One exciting new entry on this front is SproutCore, a new JavaScript framework that brings a full model-view-controller (MVC) approach to client-side programming. SproutCore gained a great deal of public attention in the last week, since Apple announced that its new MobileMe (formerly .Mac) service uses it.

Databases provide a great way to store information. But more important than that is their ability to retrieve information, and to do so in many different ways. Because database programmers, like all other programmers, don't like to re-invent the wheel, they often turn to reporting software, allowing them to concentrate on what they want to report, rather than how they want it to appear. One open-source reporting tool that is gaining momentum is Ruport, written in the Ruby language. Ruport is designed for use with Ruby applications, including those using Ruby on Rails.

RailsConf, the main conference for the Ruby on Rails community, took place in Portland, Oregon over this past weekend. I wasn't able to attend, which is really a shame; I was at the first RailsConf in Chicago in 2006, and learned a great deal from the talks, as well as from the other Rails hackers in the audience. While the social aspects of a conference can't easily be recreated away from the conference, it is possible to watch and read a number of the presentations and lectures from RailsConf 2008. I have been doing that over the last few days, and have a few to recommend to other RailsConf-challenged fans.

The annual RailsConf just kicked off, and as usual for conferences, news of new releases is trickling out. This year's most significant changes include two new implementations of Ruby that can run Rails, a social performance-tuning application, and a new deployment scheme for larger applications.

All in all, these present a picture of a maturing Rails, readier than ever for serious use.

While there have been some questionable strategies playing out on Wall Street recently, and the Securities and Exchange Commission continues to scrutinize the legalities of a few high frequency trading techniques, former NYSE chairman William H. Donaldson's statement to New York Times holds true: if an individual investor can't keep up with larger brokerages, it's a major disadvantage.

Marketcetera feels that open source software is an ideal way for smaller brokerages to keep up with -- and perhaps outmaneuver -- their larger competition. Marketcetera CEO Graham Miller sees open source hosted/SaaS (software as a service) trading platforms as having particular potential for investors using high frequency trading methods. And Miller isn't the only one who believes this -- the evidence is vibrantly illustrated by Sky Road LLC's integration of Marketcetera's open source, automated trading platform into its SaaS financial services product line.

The financial services market is still a largely uncharted region for open source software. Sure, there are several Exchanges around the globe that use Linux to power their operations, but the minds, the people, and the currency that bring life to the trading floors don't operate solely on a patch of real estate in New York, London or Hong Kong. Marketcetera is one of the first open source software vendors to blaze a trail in this industry, with its open source trading platform catering to buy side and algorithmic trading.

Tackling a new market often necessitates a new way of thinking and looking at problems, but having experienced advisors onboard is still crucial to successfully navigate the unfamiliar territory -- for the insight they give, and the assurance their presence can instill in potential customers. This is only one of the reasons Marketcetera is welcoming Larry Stefonic to its advisory board. Stefonic is no stranger to the software industry, having co-founded the yaSSL project, an open source internet security suite, holding management positions at Centure Software, Raima Corporation and recently serving as the executive vice president of sales at MySQL AB.

The Marketcetera team is as aware as the rest of us that economic changes are coming fast and furious, and that open source software can have an impact on a company's -- or individual's -- financial future. Honestly, one could say Marketcetera is twice as aware of open source software's financial potential.

Today, Marketcetera released the first full production release of its open source automated trading platform. Aimed at hedge fund managers, traders, brokers and dealers, the system is standardized, open, scalable and modular. This, says Marketcetera CEO Graham Miller, offers users faster deployments, better integration, and the ability to customize everything from the public APIs to data models.

Since acquiring the Koders.com code search engine earlier this year, Black Duck Software has added more than 200 million lines of code to the Koders.com search repository. Black Duck says that an analysis of search requests reveals, Ruby is now the fourth most requested language on Koders.com, after Java, C/C++ and C#. That's interesting information, to be sure, but what does it mean?