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Melati

Melati is a tool for producing documents from databases. This is particularly good for building websites backed by a database. It is written in Java and provides the following features:

  • a generic database administration system, allowing the site manager to edit both the contents and the structure of the database through a simple web interface.
  • a templating engine, using "templets" (sub-templates) provides an easy mechanism for rendering persistent objects as interface elements (eg HTML input boxes, dropdowns).
  • a cookie-based or a HTTP-based access control mechanism.
  • full integration with POEM (Persistent Object Engine for Melati).
    POEM provides:
    • industrial-strength open source object database technology.
    • an API which enables the database to be seen as a collection of Java objects, via a (genuinely!) easy-to-use transparent persistence layer on top of JDBC.
    • a low level security model allowing restrictions to be placed on tables, rows and fields.
    • a three way unification of jdbc, sql and java metadata.

Melati's design builds on our experience with previous systems we have deployed successfully on a number of commercial sites: we feel that it enables a particularly elegant and productive way of working.