Community Solid Server: Goals, plans, and synergies

Community Solid Server

Goals, plans, and synergies

Ruben Verborgh

Ghent University – imec

Community Solid Server is open software
to provide people with their own data pod.

It will give developers an environment
to create and test new Solid applications.

Its modular architecture will allows us
to try out new ideas on the server side
and thereby shape the future of Solid.

Community Solid Server

Goals
Plans
Synergies

Solid servers separate apps from data
by implementing a set of specifications.

Think of a data pod as a USB stick.
- connector shape
- electrical signals
- file system format
- …
The Solid specifications ensure that
data can be accessed by any Solid app
regardless of the server it’s stored on.

All Solid servers must implement the spec,
yet that doesn’t make them all the same.

All USB sticks behave the same, but variations exist.
- different storage capacity
- different sizes and colors
- different security mechanisms
- …
Similarly, there are many ways to implement
a compatible server of Solid data pods.
- So which one do we need?

The Community Solid Server should
grow along with developers’ needs.

100% compatible with the specifications
- anticipate envisaged spec evolutions
helpful companion for app developers
- lightweight and easy to configure
support extension and experimentation
- testing bed for the future of Solid

The Community Solid Server should
accommodate the future roadmap.

storage
- file system
- database
- …
identity & authorization
search & query
…

Currently, no existing servers
support all of these goals.

Node Solid Server
- implements most of the specifications
- not easy to evolve
- not easy to extend

Community Solid Server

Goals
Plans
Synergies

The Community Server is implemented
in TypeScript for Node.js.

App developers have a JavaScript-oriented setup,
so running the server will feel familiar.
Common code can be run on either
or both the client or the server.
Typings foster collaboration
by making contracts explicit.

The architecture is designed
to realize a modular design.

It focuses on the core task of a Solid server:
authenticated Linked Data Platform requests.
We created an HTTP request flow with
processing steps and data elements.
- This inspired the object-oriented design.
We emphasize the single-responsibility principle.
- Plugging things in and out should be really easy.

The architectural diagram shows how
key components work together.

The AuthenticatedLdpHandler coordinates request processing and response generation.
Customizable components handle a dedicated task.
- Operation interface
- Authorizer interface
- …
Various ResourceStore implementations
provide and enhance different back-ends.

Community Solid Server

Goals
Plans
Synergies

The Community Solid Server is developed
in a public space as open source.

The code is available on GitHub.
We warmly invite you to participate
in discussions, code reviews, …
Don’t hesitate to send your ideas,
questions, needs, and feedback.

Implementation has already started,
and we are scaling up capacity.

Inrupt is sponsoring 2 imec researchers
and contributing 1 developer.
Planning in these unprecedented times is not easy.
Nonetheless, we have:
- basic implementation of all interfaces completed
- specific storage being implemented
- authentication and authorization on the way

The Community Solid Server is created
for and by the community.

The modular design was specifically chosen
so new modules can be independently developed.
- your own storage
- your own management console
- …
We aim to foster an ecosystem of modules.
Contributions to the core code are most welcome.

Community Solid Server

Goals
Plans
Synergies

Let us turn the Community Solid Server
into a platform for unprecedented creativity.

Community Solid Server

Goals, plans, and synergies

@RubenVerborgh

ruben.verborgh.org

Community Solid Server

Goals, plans, and synergies

Community Solid Server

Community Solid Server

Solid servers separate apps from data by implementing a set of specifications.

All Solid servers must implement the spec, yet that doesn’t make them all the same.

The Community Solid Server should grow along with developers’ needs.

The Community Solid Server should accommodate the future roadmap.

Currently, no existing servers support all of these goals.

Community Solid Server

The Community Server is implemented in TypeScript for Node.js.

The architecture is designed to realize a modular design.

The architectural diagram shows how key components work together.

Community Solid Server

The Community Solid Server is developed in a public space as open source.

Implementation has already started, and we are scaling up capacity.

The Community Solid Server is created for and by the community.

Community Solid Server

Community Solid Server

Goals, plans, and synergies

Solid servers separate apps from data
by implementing a set of specifications.

All Solid servers must implement the spec,
yet that doesn’t make them all the same.

The Community Solid Server should
grow along with developers’ needs.

The Community Solid Server should
accommodate the future roadmap.

Currently, no existing servers
support all of these goals.

The Community Server is implemented
in TypeScript for Node.js.

The architecture is designed
to realize a modular design.

The architectural diagram shows how
key components work together.

The Community Solid Server is developed
in a public space as open source.

Implementation has already started,
and we are scaling up capacity.

The Community Solid Server is created
for and by the community.