MiZe

• An implementation of how I think data should be handled.
• Slogan: Elevate the Unix file philosophy into the age of connectivity.

Why am I doing this?

• What annoys me about software these days is, that things are done in so many different ways.

  • e.g: Different cloud applications for syncing data (Google Cloud, OneDrive, Dropbox)
  • e.g: Every app stores the data it deals with in it's own way (the way that the developer thought is best for this particular app)

• Back when Unix came out everything was stored in one place: the file system of the computer.

  • (just as simple bytestreams/files, organized by a folder-structure)
  • and NO program stored and synced any data around in unpredictable ways.

• This philosophy is still used in every Unix/Linux machine, on a local level, but completely abstracted away (especially on mobile phones) from the user (by every app).

• I would say: The Unix file system just hasn't evolved into the age of connectivity. It is still completely the same. And I think it shouldn't be.

• MiZe aims to bring that idea of storing all data

  • in one place
  • in one predictable and simple way
  • and programs only taking data from there and not storing it everywhere in messy ways

• That's why the slogan is going to be: Elevate the unix file philosophy into the age of connectivity.

How am I going to do this?

Is not yet completely clear, but here's what I know so far:

• Using what I call "Items" instead of files
  • With "Items" being a key-value store of strings/bytestreams
  • Those "Items" have types, that give meaning to the key-value pairs.
• A server written in Rust that stores those "Items".
• A way to mount "Items" (or parts of them) into a regular filesystem.
• Web Components to show/render the contents of items in a browser (or Electron-style apps).
• Server middleware to connect external APIs (e.g. emails, YouTube, Google accounts) to this ecosystem.
• The server is one binary without any external requirements (that should run on any POSIX system)
  • This makes it very simple to deploy
  • I've previously experimented with using MongoDB to store items, but that requires a MongoDB instance to always be running that the server can connect to. And the connection can fail ... and lots of other things can go wrong.
  • I want a binary that you can simply start, which then provides a working server.