clearString is a complete platform to create websites without manually writing code ...and is the fastest way to build custom websites and create new web applications. It uses a comprehensive array of 'components' that you use to configure page behavior. Construction is fast, reliable and repeatable. clearString provides structure and function independent of your design and creatives.
We eat our own dog food w. This site, and the associated support and technical documentation sites, registration system, license system, email system and ecommerce are all constructed only using clearString.
Whoever you are
clearString manages the complex, skilled and time-consuming aspects of commercial web development projects so that anyone can design, build and publish HTML websites and data-driven applications without writing code themselves.
Components are configured to manage web-page behavior without you hand writing the code. Configuration is set in custom dialogs, component by component. You retain full control. clearString installs and manages its own relational database and manages the IIS web server without any user involvement. The code clearString creates and uses is fully compiled - for maximum speed - rather then being interpreted. It will generate fully compliant W3C valid HTML, XML, Javascript / AJAX for execution by the clients to produce cross-browser websites and applications.
clearString abstracts the coding language layer completely, replacing it with a graphical, browser-based, configuration interface. All development is performed via a browser interface for which the system is browser agnostic, site creators can use Firefox, Safari, Chrome,and IE on Windows, Mac or Linux machines.
Embedded fields and components - a different approach
The Feed-Query-View data model that clearString uses manages all functions of data collection, query writing and display for you. All you need to do is configure - clearString writes the code and deploys it automatically. You never have to write SQL-queries and debug them - clearString does that for you. Although designed as a fully integrated 'stand-alone' package, clearString can also import and export data from other databases or data-feeds.
clearString has been designed for web implementation from the ground up. This makes it different from other data app software where you see simplistic 'grid-style' form construction and display. clearString works by making every field, query and result embeddable on a webpage. This gives you total control over display.
Whole components can be embedded on webpages, and nested within Vews - all driven by Queries. This gives you powerful functionality - the bug-free equivalent of thousands of lines of hand written code - wrapped and embedded on a webpage with a single click.
Deployment is easy. One installation on the Cloud or on your own machine will host and manage an unlimited number of users, apps and websites - each fully independent from each other.
The best way to see how Feed-Query-View works is to look at an example
See how codeless web app development works in this 3 minute video
Portable and Maintainable
Websites and applications created using clearString are fully exportable so they are easy to transfer. They can also be cloned by their owner and then adapted to be used in multiple situations. clearString sites can be easily maintained by anyone - even without reference to the original designer. clearString abstracts the coding layer so that functionality is readily understood and configured.
Speed and efficiency
This component construction method and the ability to embed powerful functionality easily onto web surfaces makes it possible to create, and readily replicate, almost any business model in a fraction of the time and expense of conventional methods.
clearString's ability to create websites without manually writing code, or worry about hosting or data management means that you can quickly and easily create highly complex applications without a team of programmers.
New web based products and services can be created in clearString just as quickly, without large up-front programming costs. This enables novel services to be created by new entrepreneurs without a large budget for application development.
Managing web application development
clearString Platform
VS
Typical CMS System
clearString Manages all this:
The designer can concentrate on:
CMS Tools Typically do just this:
The designer is responsible for all this:
Site structure Coding and programming Content management Data management User management Security Hosting Maintenance Revenue management
Business concept Graphic design
Content management User management
Business concept Site structure Graphic design Coding and programming Data management Security Hosting Maintenance Revenue management
100% control over data
One clearString installation hosts an unlimited number of websites - with clearString you can create your own Cloud which means you can know exactly where your data is stored and who has access to it.
This makes clearString the best solution for business, legal or any other applications where data is sensitive, either for commercial or privacy reasons. Your users have the benefits of Cloud operation, while you retain 100% control over your own data. Think of it as a Cloud-of-One without requiring any specialist technical knowledge.
Removing barriers to entry clearString in 2011 stands in relationship to web development much as Microsoft Windows™ did to computer management in 1985.
It's not that Windows enabled you to do something that was not otherwise possible - after all, DOS was already there and you can do all sorts of arcane things from the command-line. No, the magic of Windows was that it made it possible for just about anyone to manage their computer themselves - without having to learn a new language, and just as important, without breaking it if they did something wrong.
Although all clearString functionality can be done without scripts and coding, if you have a custom application that you need to include in a page, that can easily be added by changing to the Source view of the page from within the Text Editor. You also have direct access to head-tags and scripts area using the Behavior Editor.
Why not just use open source solutions, for example, PHP on Linux?
Setting all the legal reasons to one side, there are three serious practical problems with the custom coded, open source solution: Coding, Platform and Support
Coding People use PHP for web development because it seems easy and there have been so few practical alternatives ...but nearly all such development is unmaintainable.
It is a simple fact of life that the only person who can debug or revise a custom coded solution is the person who wrote it. If you build a business on hand crafted coding and scripting then you have placed your entire fortune in the hands of that person. They can hold you to ransom or just abandon you.
clearString writes, maintains and optimizes the markup to create efficient, stable, cross-browser compatible web applications that work every time, can be easily maintained and can be easily extended for future product development.
Platform clearString does not require expertise in Linux.
The user and the designer are never aware of the operating system. All operations - designing, building and management are done via the web browser of their choice - Windows, Mac or Linux. Every organization can maintain a Windows server without specialist involvement. There are no versions of Linux that are suitable for non-technical users. If you are trying to use your website for something you rely on - such as your business - then Linux is simply not there yet for the average business.
Support Getting timely support is a major issue with OpenSource development.
Without a financial imperative there simply is not the incentive to go back and fix broken programs. This leaves users on their own with just peer-support. OpenSource may be free, but you don't want to build your business model on software that isn't there yet.
OK - But aren't there any other existing solutions?
No - nothing that is affordable. 'Off the shelf' or template packages don't suit: how could they, as by definition yours is a new venture, and outsourcing overseas falls into a morass of mis-communication and worries about Intellectual property rights. Do you really want to share your business model with some firm half a world away?
Technical notes
Not a Desktop Application clearString is not a desktop application. It is not 'installed' on your personal computer. It is a cloud-style integrated development environment, or platform where you own the server.
This means that you build applications and websites and manage all aspects of clearString using a standard web-browser (Firefox, Chrome, IE, or Safari). clearString is installed once on a Windows computer that then becomes the 'server'. That server hosts an unlimited number of websites and allows design access to an unlimited number of users. The server can be virtual or real, local or hosted, or Cloud-based such as Amazon AWS: clearString works the same.
Markup management & Page Source clearString manages the markup (source code). This ensures that the sites you build are easy to maintain, and can be maintained at any time in the future by someone unfamiliar with the construction process.
The source code delivered is not formatted to be human readable. The entire markup is is compressed for transmission. A human readable (indented) version of the page source is available via the Text Editor.
W3C Compliance clearString produces XHTML-compliant code, however clearString does not take a position on W3C site validation, and does not enforce W3C compliance. It is for the site designer to make pragmatic decisions.
CSS vs Tables clearString creates data-rich web-pages that work with all browsers, as cost-effectively as possible without compromising on site-design. clearString makes extensive use of CSS and provides a graphical user-interface called the 'Behavior Editor' to make CSS management straightforward.
ClearString supports both DIV positioning and Table positioning in page layouts at the designers discretion. clearString Layout Elements use Tables for structural layout to provide scaling and cross-platform compatibility, while using the minimum markup. Designers may opt to use No Layout Elements.
Accessibility clearString makes it straightforward to provide 'text-only', screen-readable congruent (self-managing) alternate pages for Section 508 accessibility, or the equivalent.
