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New CodePlex Release Helps Create Blog Portals
Microsoft on Friday released free open source code that can be used by Web developers to build online blogs. The code, developed under a project called "Oxite," is available as an alpha release at the Microsoft CodePlex open source project portal.
Oxite enables blog creation plus content management in a single package, according to a description at an Oxite lab Web page. You can even use the code to build "big Web sites," according to that page.
Microsoft used Oxite code to create some of its Web portals, such as the ones used for Channel9 and MIX, Microsoft's event for Web developers and designers. After creating the MIX site, the Microsoft developers thought it would be a good idea to create a blog portal based on ASP.NET MVC (model view controller) code.
Blogs created using Oxite code support pingbacks, trackbacks, RSS feeds and gravatars (globally recognized avatars launched through a service). It also supports MetaWebLog APIs, which enables the creation, editing and deletion of blog entries via a service. It also lets users search the blog site using their browser's search box.
The Oxite code is available under the Microsoft Public License (Ms-PL), which lets users freely distribute their work and create derivative works under the same license.
Oxite comes with "SQL Server DB, local and Live search providers included," according to the Oxite lab Web page. However, you can swap out the database and search providers. Moreover, storage of database files and strings is "built to take full advantage of ASP.NET MVC."
More info on Oxite is available at the CodePlex open source site here, where you can also download the code for free.
About the Author
Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.