cross-posted from: https://infosec.pub/post/46083169
Hello,
I’m here to ask for guidance on an ongoing project. A number of years ago I wrote an Articles of Association for a worker’s cooperative as I think it should run. The main difference between a conventional co-op and mine is that a conventional co-op tends to have no hierarchy while in mine there is a CEO who gets elected periodically based on their business plan. The theory is that this brings democratic ideals into the workplace without sacrificing the productivity gains that result from hierarchical teamwork. You can read more detailed information on my Beehaw Post.
To put it into practice I need to create an open-source enterprise application server with applications specifically designed for the management of these companies. I created a block diagram to show you what I envision (attached to the post), and this represents my ideal “wish list” for what it should include.
The controls listed at the bottom will determine the permissions everyone has on the network and will be used to design GUI screens. I was going to draw connectors to each of the services but it would have turned into spaghetti.
I’m pretty decent with local programming including database and GUI design, but I lack experience with network programming.
So far I think I need to use XMPP for the messaging client and SSH for the rest. Since I’m most comfortable in Python I was going to look into Paramiko.
So my question is, where should I go in my research? Is there a particular component in the diagram you think I should try to build first?
Thanks in advance for any help, Juniperus
You sound a little confused here. An enterprise application server or EAS is a piece of software that can host applications, but doesn't bring any with it. EAS are complex programs that have to implement and support a multitude of specifications for the apps that are going to run on them. Many of them are already open source, and there should be very little need for new ones.
What you seem to want is some ecosystem of software that may or may not run on an EAS, which satisfies your list of high level requirements.
Yes definitely a beginner with anything networking or web design.
Modular is good though, ideally I would like to bring them all together as one package to share as open-source. I don't know how that would work with permissions for the applications, but I imagine it would be OK with most (foss) licenses.
There are also some things that might need customization. For example, the value of someone's vote is determined by the equity recorded in the accounting books, so those two applications will need to share information.
In any case you have given me some direction and I appreciate it, thanks.