Caravan Intro

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Introduction

Caravan is a HTML-embedded scripting language with its own inbuilt Database, Web Server, Email & FTP.
And beyond....
Caravan is unlike any other conventional development platform.

Much of its syntax is borrowed from C, Java and Perl with a many unique Caravan-specific features thrown in. The goal of the language is to allow web developers to write dynamically generated pages quickly.
Another way to think of Caravan is a powerful, behind the scenes scripting language that your visitors won't see!
When someone visits your Caravan webpage, your web server processes the Caravan code. It then sees which parts it needs to show to visitors(content and pictures) and hides the other stuff(file operations, math calculations, etc.) then translates your Caravan into HTML. After the translation into HTML, it sends the webpage to your visitor's web browser.

Please read 'What is CARAVAN?'


What You Should Already Know

Before you continue you should have a basic understanding of the following:


  • HTML

  • Some scripting knowledge

What is CARAVAN?

  • Caravan is a server-side scripting language, like Microsoft ASP, JSP, PHP etc
  • Caravan scripts are executed on the server
  • You need a different mind set to understand Caravan and its features
  • Caravan itself is written in C++, making it possible to encapsulate the major technologies, which are needed for building advanced applications. It has been built completely from scratch using a totally new and unique approach.
  • It is possible to build almost any type of application by using a combination of the available objects. What is most unique to Caravan is that there are just a few object types that are required to do this.
  • There is a common source for all platforms, so all versions are released simultaneously and there are no platform specific features or anomalies.

    • Caravan has In BuiltDescription
    Application Serverwith Scripting language embedded in HTML
    DatabaseRDBMS, Search Engine, Multi Dimensional, Circular. Access the database via any browser. No external database needed
    Communication ServerEmailing, FTP, Messaging, Serial Input/ Output, HTTP, TCP/IP & XML, SOAP compliant
    Cross platformDevelop-once-deploy-on-multiple-platforms without change in Source Code or Database. Works on - Linux, All Windows (NT, 2000, XP, 2003 and above), IBM OS/2 Warp, Any flavor of UNIX.
    Remote Administration (via a browser)Maintain databases (create/modify/delete databases, tables, fields), source code, create groups and users
    Web ServerNo need for Apache, IIS  or any other web server


  • Caravan platform is an “.exe”

  • Extremely Tiny footprint: Platform < 1 MB size

  • To access caravan database you need only a browser.

  • 1 Tier architecture

  • Setting up the development environment on your or developers machine in less than a minute!

  • You can use any editor to develop Caravan based applications.

  • You can Encrypt your source code before deploying (extension .cch). Encryption is done using a separate software >> encode.exe.

  • Caravan is free to download and use for individual purpose. But if deployed for commercial use then licensing charges are applicable

What is a Caravan File?

  • Caravan files can contain text, HTML tags and scripts

  • Caravan files are returned to the browser as plain HTML 

  • Normal Caravan files have a file extension of ".html". But caravan files can have any extension. All Caravan source code files are kept in a user defined folder e.g templates. Files in this folder can have any extension, other than .html

Why Caravan

  • Caravan runs on different platforms (Windows, Linux, Unix, etc.)

  • Caravan is FREE to download from the official Caravan resource: www.nititelecom.com

  • Caravan is easy to learn and runs efficiently on the server side

Where to Start?

Download Caravan from http://www.nititelecom.com site and install on your machine

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