XTuple
Encyclopedia
xTuple is an Enterprise Software company, author of three products branded under the name xTuple ERP. The PostBooks
Edition of xTuple ERP is a Free and Open Source Software (FOSS
) application, available for download from SourceForge
on the PostBooks project page. The Standard and Manufacturing Editions are commercially licensed Enterprise resource planning
solutions. All three products are built on the same Open source
technology foundation, and share the same code base. The Standard and Manufacturing Editions have more functionality for larger companies and those companies needing more manufacturing capabilities.
The company spent several years building its product, and settled into a release cycle of roughly one major release every twelve months. The version 2.0 of OpenMFG (released in 2006) added Master Production Schedule, multi-currency, and CRM, filling the most obvious gaps in its claim on true mid-tier ERP functionality.
In 2007, the product received a 5 star rating from the Channel Web Network, specifically for integrating Customer relationship management
(CRM) functionality into its generally manufacturing oriented ERP package, and also when it became a finalist in the eWEEK Excellence awards. The company further gained attention in July 2007 when it simultaneously announced the change of their corporate name from OpenMFG to xTuple and the launch of the PostBooks open source project at the O'Reilly Open Source Convention
in Portland, Oregon. The project was originally to be released under the "xTuple License," a derivative of the Mozilla Public License
, but xTuple was quickly criticized for introducing "yet another" open source license variant. However, at that very same conference SocialText
announced the release of the new Open Source Initiative
approved Common Public Attribution License
(CPAL). Two days later xTuple switched PostBooks to CPAL and became the second company to adopt this license which is the license in use today.
More recently xTuple has extended its business model to include database services which it calls XTN which include remote backup, upgrade and optimization of user hosted PostgreSQL databases.
, allowing for a variety of client interfaces and scalability unbound by client-side limitations. The primary interface today is a graphical user interface (GUI) client that operates on Windows, Linux/Unix, and Macintosh platforms.
, a C++ toolkit for application development. It lets application developers target all major operating systems (Windows, Linux/Unix, Mac) with a single application source code. Qt provides a platform-independent API to all central platform functionality: GUI, database access, networking, file handling, etc. The Qt library encapsulates the different APIs of different operating systems, providing the application programmer with a single, common API for all operating systems. The native C APIs are encapsulated in a set of object-oriented C++ classes.
. Whenever any kind of transaction is taking place in the system - a financial account being credited or debited, a piece of inventory being moved, or an order being taken - that is happening in a Postgres stored procedure, trigger, or function. This approach makes it relatively easy for other client software besides the xTuple ERP graphical client to access business functionality, typically through well-defined APIs built with database views.
Postbooks
PostBooks is an open source accounting and enterprise resource planning business system geared toward small to medium sized businesses. It is released under a CPAL license and is thus free software...
Edition of xTuple ERP is a Free and Open Source Software (FOSS
Foss
Foss may refer toPeople*Foss , people with the last name Foss*Foss Shanahan , New Zealand diplomat*Foss Westcott , English bishop...
) application, available for download from SourceForge
SourceForge
SourceForge Enterprise Edition is a collaborative revision control and software development management system. It provides a front-end to a range of software development lifecycle services and integrates with a number of free software / open source software applications .While originally itself...
on the PostBooks project page. The Standard and Manufacturing Editions are commercially licensed Enterprise resource planning
Enterprise resource planning
Enterprise resource planning systems integrate internal and external management information across an entire organization, embracing finance/accounting, manufacturing, sales and service, customer relationship management, etc. ERP systems automate this activity with an integrated software application...
solutions. All three products are built on the same Open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
technology foundation, and share the same code base. The Standard and Manufacturing Editions have more functionality for larger companies and those companies needing more manufacturing capabilities.
History
xTuple began its life as OpenMFG developing and building its flagship product of the same name beginning in the year 2000. OpenMFG was a commercially licensed ERP system targeted toward small to midsize manufacturers. The company adopted a "community code" model, meaning that customers who purchase or subscribe to licenses for the product have access to view and modify the source code. Unlike open source software, however, the code was not made publicly available.The company spent several years building its product, and settled into a release cycle of roughly one major release every twelve months. The version 2.0 of OpenMFG (released in 2006) added Master Production Schedule, multi-currency, and CRM, filling the most obvious gaps in its claim on true mid-tier ERP functionality.
In 2007, the product received a 5 star rating from the Channel Web Network, specifically for integrating Customer relationship management
Customer relationship management
Customer relationship management is a widely implemented strategy for managing a company’s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes—principally sales activities, but also those for marketing,...
(CRM) functionality into its generally manufacturing oriented ERP package, and also when it became a finalist in the eWEEK Excellence awards. The company further gained attention in July 2007 when it simultaneously announced the change of their corporate name from OpenMFG to xTuple and the launch of the PostBooks open source project at the O'Reilly Open Source Convention
O'Reilly Open Source Convention
The O'Reilly Open Source Convention is an annual convention for the discussion of free and open source software. It is organized by the publisher O'Reilly Media and is held each summer in the United States.-Notable events:...
in Portland, Oregon. The project was originally to be released under the "xTuple License," a derivative of the Mozilla Public License
Mozilla Public License
The Mozilla Public License is a free and open source software license. Version 1.0 was developed by Mitchell Baker when she worked as a lawyer at Netscape Communications Corporation and version 1.1 at the Mozilla Foundation...
, but xTuple was quickly criticized for introducing "yet another" open source license variant. However, at that very same conference SocialText
Socialtext
Socialtext Incorporated is a company based in Palo Alto, California that produces enterprise social software, comprising an integrated suite of web-based social software applications including microblogging, user profile, directories, groups, personal dashboards using OpenSocial widgets, and shared...
announced the release of the new Open Source Initiative
Open Source Initiative
The Open Source Initiative is an organization dedicated to promoting open source software.The organization was founded in February 1998, by Bruce Perens and Eric S. Raymond, prompted by Netscape Communications Corporation publishing the source code for its flagship Netscape Communicator product...
approved Common Public Attribution License
Common Public Attribution License
The Common Public Attribution License is a free software license approved by the Open Source Initiative in 2007. Its purpose is to be a general license for software distributed over a network...
(CPAL). Two days later xTuple switched PostBooks to CPAL and became the second company to adopt this license which is the license in use today.
More recently xTuple has extended its business model to include database services which it calls XTN which include remote backup, upgrade and optimization of user hosted PostgreSQL databases.
Technology
The two tier design of the xTuple solutions intentionally places the burden of transaction processing on the server - specifically the database server. All the business logic resides in the procedural language of the open source database PostgreSQLPostgreSQL
PostgreSQL, often simply Postgres, is an object-relational database management system available for many platforms including Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, MS Windows and Mac OS X. It is released under the PostgreSQL License, which is an MIT-style license, and is thus free and open source software...
, allowing for a variety of client interfaces and scalability unbound by client-side limitations. The primary interface today is a graphical user interface (GUI) client that operates on Windows, Linux/Unix, and Macintosh platforms.
xTuple ERP GUI Client
The GUI client is written in QtQt (toolkit)
Qt is a cross-platform application framework that is widely used for developing application software with a graphical user interface , and also used for developing non-GUI programs such as command-line tools and consoles for servers...
, a C++ toolkit for application development. It lets application developers target all major operating systems (Windows, Linux/Unix, Mac) with a single application source code. Qt provides a platform-independent API to all central platform functionality: GUI, database access, networking, file handling, etc. The Qt library encapsulates the different APIs of different operating systems, providing the application programmer with a single, common API for all operating systems. The native C APIs are encapsulated in a set of object-oriented C++ classes.
xTuple ERP Server/Business Logic
The xTuple applications make heavy use of Postgres' embedded procedural language, called PL/pgSQLPL/pgSQL
PL/pgSQL is a procedural language supported by the PostgreSQL ORDBMS. It closely resembles Oracle's PL/SQL language....
. Whenever any kind of transaction is taking place in the system - a financial account being credited or debited, a piece of inventory being moved, or an order being taken - that is happening in a Postgres stored procedure, trigger, or function. This approach makes it relatively easy for other client software besides the xTuple ERP graphical client to access business functionality, typically through well-defined APIs built with database views.