[ANNOUNCE] New Project Morpheus Data Platform (Morpheus)

[Jason Alan Smith]

1 November 2014                                    Wichita, Kansas, USA

[ANNOUNCE] New Project  Morpheus Data Platform (Morpheus)

            An advanced data management platform for KDE


   Today I announce the start of a new project named Morpheus Data
Platform or simply Morpheus. I've been employed as a software tester
for approximately thirteen years, and I've been interested in data and
databases for most of these years. In all of this time I've worked only
with Microsoft SQL Server, but I've been aware of Open Source database
platforms, including PostgreSQL and MySQL. I'm familiar with the
graphical user interfaces available for PostgreSQL and MySQL, and I'm
familiar with the array of functionality available in Microsoft's SQL
Server Management Studio. Years ago I had written a specification,
really a list of features, for what at the time I was calling
Enterprise Data Management Studio or EDMS. I've since lost that
specification, but I still recall many of the features I had
described. Many years later, I've decided to return to that project,
reimagined as the Morpheus Data Platform. Recently, I've become
interested in the PostgreSQL database platform and GNU/Linux; the
history, philosophy, and community of and behind UNIX and its many
variants fascinates me to no end. As I've discussed in my weblog's
opening article, I have a ten-year plan to reconstruct my technical
knowledge upon a much more solid foundation and join the Open Source
community.

   This is the second of three projects by which I'll take my first
steps into the community. In addition, while I have some simplistic
knowledge of C++ syntax, this project will serve as my "Hello, world."
project with which I'll undertake a focused study of C++ and
object-oriented design--reading, of course, followed by crucial
practice on this project's source code. Being a child of two stars,
Star Wars and Star Trek, I've always been imaginative well beyond the
realm of practicality and certainly an outside-of-the-box thinker. The
Morpheus Data Platform will bring both practical and imaginative
data administration and development tools to KDE and GNU/Linux.

   So, what data management features will Morpheus bring to KDE and
GNU/Linux?

     * While the Morpheus Data Platform will fully support the
       PostgreSQL database platform, Morpheus as a data platform will
       support the management of data in all forms, from databases to
       XML files to plain text files

     * Morpheus will provide individuals and businesses an at-a-glance
       view of all of their data assets

     * Morpheus will be able to import and export data to and from an
       array of file and storage formats

     * Morpheus will integrate with multiple source code versioning
       tools, including git and subversion

     * Morpheus will provide a rich array of template options for an
       array of data creation and management functions

     * Morpheus will integrate with cloud storage providers and e-mail
       to provide rich data sharing and communication options

     * Morpheus will provide a single, unified log view that includes
       log data from all configured data assets

     * Morpheus will provide data and data health monitoring facilities
       that integrate with KDE's notification subsystem to alert users
       to the addition or modification of data and to changes in the
       health of configured data assets

     * Morpheus will provide session logging and scrollback
       features similar to KDE's Konsole so users never have to worry
       about saving queries or scripts before ending a session

     * Morpheus will provide rich management tools to monitor the health
       of local and remote database and data file assets, as well as
       provide problem resolution facilities

     * Morpheus will provide rich data organization tools especially for
       database platforms; for example, rather than viewing a list of
       tables in a database, imagine being able to organize those tables
       into folders

     * Morpheus will provide a rich metadata subsystem that will assist
       users in organizing, understanding, and using configured data
       assets

     * Morpheus will introduce database capability or .dbcap files that
       Morpheus can examine to know a database platform's supported
       features and syntax

     * Morpheus will integrate with a variety of tools that will enable
       users to easily generate test data for learning, experimenting,
       testing, and developing new databases

     * Morpheus will provide forward-thinking data backup and restore
       facilities and will integrate periodic data restore and
       verification as part of the core backup facility

     * Morpheus will integrate with a variety of social media to enhance
       core data sharing, communication, notification, and alert
       functionality

     * Morpheus will integrate with KDevelop

     * Morpheus will have a toolbar dedicated to keeping frequently used
       queries within easy reach

     * Morpheus will incorporate a variety of data visualization options
       as well as integrate with existing data visualization tools

     * Morpheus will integrate with the UNIX cron facility as well as
       other job scheduling tools to enable automated, periodic queries
       and reporting

     * Morpheus will provide tools to help with creating and maintaining
       data dictionaries for each of the configured data assets

     * Many more practical and unique features than I can think of at
       the moment without further delaying the announcement. :)

   I have experience with agile software development practices, and I'm
fascinated by product backlogs, user stories, and iterations. With that
in mind, I've setup an account at Pivotal Tracker and will be setting
up a backlog, iterations, and user stories for this project. I've also
setup an account at devZing for a Bugzilla installation. The source
code will be hosted on GitHub. I'll also be setting up mailing lists
and an IRC channel on Freenode.

   Feedback, comments, and suggestions are all welcome. Most
importantly, thank you to everyone in the KDE, PostgreSQL, and Open
Source communities for all of your hard work and dedication resulting
in excellent Open Source software solutions. This announcement was
inspired by Matthias Ettrich and his announcement of KDE in 1996.
http://bit.ly/10a0RlY

   Sincerely,

   Jason Smith
   QualityAddict


     IRC:             QualityAddict, Freenode, channel #mdp

     E-mail:          Jason.Smith at qualityaddict.org
     Twitter:         https://twitter.com/aQualityAddict
     Weblog:          http://qualityaddict.org/weblog/

     GitHub: https://github.com/QualityAddict/MorpheusDataPlatform
     Bugzilla: https://app.devzing.com/QualityAddict/bugzilla/
     Pivotal Tracker: https://www.pivotaltracker.com/projects/1195132

     Project Home:    http://qualityaddict.org/morpheus/

     Mailing Lists:   Mailing lists aren't as easy to setup as I had
                      thought. I'll announce when these are setup and 
ready for use.