Russian Company Brings Forward Homegrown Alternative to an International Web Development Standard

Companies, including those already using this database system, can now build websites and enterprise applications on a technology stack modeled on the internationally established LAMP architecture. There is one important difference, however: the application layer in this solution is powered by a Russian platform.

Business Logic Built on Russian Technology

Khi-Kvadrat has been working toward this goal for some time. Last summer, the company released Xsquare 6.6, adding native support for PostgreSQL, MariaDB and MySQL at the platform's core. Now it has introduced another use case for the technology. LAMP is a widely used web development stack built around four components: the Linux operating system, the Apache web server, the MySQL database and the PHP programming language. All four tools were free and widely available, allowing any company to build a website or service without purchasing software licenses. Many websites and customer portals were built on this stack between 2010 and 2015, and some are still running today.

In the Xsquare-based stack developed by Khi-Kvadrat, each component of the traditional LAMP setup has an alternative. Debian serves as the operating system, NGINX replaces the Apache web server, MariaDB takes the place of MySQL, and the Xsquare platform replaces PHP at the application layer. That last component is particularly significant: the layer where business logic is implemented was developed by Russian engineers.

No Need to Write Code by Hand

MySQL has long been one of the most popular database management systems among businesses. Now that the Russian Xsquare platform supports MySQL, companies already using the database can move to the new technology stack and migrate their data into the system.

To work with Xsquare, developers need to know SQL. They do not have to run PHP code on a remote server or write client-side JavaScript. Instead, applications are built using visual development tools, with no need to write code manually.

As Konstantin Vashchenkov, chief technology officer at Khi-Kvadrat, explained, the global web development stack has long relied on a combination of open-source components and a single programming language. Russia had no homegrown alternative to the application layer in this stack. That has now changed: Xsquare can be used to build internal enterprise systems and websites, as well as to work with MySQL.

Experts say the expanded capabilities of Khi-Kvadrat's software could reduce development costs. A conventional LAMP project typically required a team of three IT specialists. With Xsquare, a single developer can handle the same task, cutting costs by more than 80%.

Simpler App Development, Faster Updates

MySQL support in Xsquare could give Russian businesses more flexibility in building internal information systems, customer-facing digital services and applications that automate document workflows. The range of tools available for enterprise application development will expand, making it possible to update services and customer portals used by insurance companies, retailers and government agencies more quickly. Russian developers will also be able to offer clients integrated solutions that combine low-code platforms, databases, cloud services and systems integration tools.

Xsquare's expanded capabilities show that Russian IT specialists do not necessarily have to replace every component of an existing IT infrastructure. A more practical approach may be to modernize systems gradually, integrating Russian-made software with databases and open-source technologies that organizations already use. The development and deployment of homegrown application software are part of Russia's import substitution effort and support the country's technological independence.

Low-code platforms dramatically increase the efficiency of in-house development teams while taking responsibility for maintaining the high quality of the products they build. These platforms generate open-source code using a microservices architecture. Producing code of the same quality by hand is a much more difficult task. Today, teams of four or five people can produce as much code as teams of 10 to 15 would have been able to produce. Just as importantly, the code is fully open and independent, and meets the highest standards for performance, openness and information security in accordance with the requirements of FSTEC [Russia's Federal Service for Technical and Export Control – ed. note]

Aleksandr Sakharov

Director of Partner Relations at Diasoft LLC