Protecting code and licensing for independently deployed Rails applications...?

Rails
1

Hi All,

I’m writing a Rails application which will have reasonably regular
updates – nothing abnormal here. I face a problem, however, due to
the distribution model. Basically the application will be sold for
stand-alone “intranet” installation due to its “add-on” nature (it’s
basically a web interface for an existing, database-driven industry
standard application).

My concern(s) then revolve(s) around protecting code and update models
(registration codes, etc.) for multiple independently deployed Rails
applications. Does anyone have a good starting point for reading up
on this? Any input regarding such a process?

Best.

2

Michael Williams wrote:
[…]

My concern(s) then revolve(s) around protecting code and update models
(registration codes, etc.) for multiple independently deployed Rails
applications.

There was a thread on this topic not long ago. Probably the best way to
protect source code is to use JRuby (or Slingshot?) and compile a Java
executable, but even that’s not foolproof – apparently Java decompilers
have got pretty good.

As far as registration codes go, perhaps you can have the app contact
your company’s central database for validation…

Does anyone have a good starting point for reading up
on this? Any input regarding such a process?

Yeah, check the previous threads on the subject…

Best.

Best,

Marnen Laibow-Koser
http://www.marnen.org
[email protected]