Built.
Tested.
Evolving.
Nód Glas is an actively developing technology project. Node 01 began as a local Python prototype and has evolved into a functioning Flask application demonstrating community communication, authentication, persistent SQLite storage, SDG classification, search and basic impact analytics.
Start small.
Build something real.
Nód Glas was developed using an iterative approach rather than attempting to build the entire system at once.
The initial objective was to establish a small, understandable technical foundation that could be expanded as new ideas, requirements and experiments emerged.
This resulted in a development process centred around prototyping, testing, debugging and refinement.
From concept
to working node.
Concept
Establish the core Nód Glas concept around sustainable technology, digital sovereignty, resilient infrastructure and community-focused communication.
Architecture
Define a lightweight application architecture using Python, Flask and SQLite, with the WordPress presentation layer kept separate from the Node 01 application.
Prototype
Develop the first functional Node capable of handling users, authentication, community messages, SDG tags, search and persistent SQLite data.
Testing
Test authentication, sessions, database operations, message submission, search, SDG analytics and application behaviour through repeated development iterations.
Deployment
Deploy the working Flask application as Node 01 through the project’s cPanel/Passenger hosting environment and make the prototype accessible through a live web demonstration.
Expansion
Continue developing the wider Nód Glas concept through further experimentation with security hardening, sustainability, resilience and future multi-node systems.
The original
development stack.
The original Node 01 prototype was developed locally using Windows 10, Python and a web browser. The current public demonstration is separately deployed through cPanel/Passenger.
Windows 10
Local development and testing environment.
Python
Core application programming language.
Flask
Lightweight web application framework providing routing, requests and application logic.
SQLite
Embedded database providing persistent local storage without requiring a separate database server.
HTML / CSS
Lightweight browser-based interface for interacting with the Node.
Web Browser
Direct testing of the application’s routes, authentication, posting workflow and user interface.
What Node 01
can actually do.
Node 01 has progressed beyond a visual concept and currently operates as a functioning Flask web application and live demonstration prototype.
Flask session-based authentication provides controlled access to community posting functionality.
Community users and messages are stored using SQLite.
Authenticated users can submit community needs, ideas and information.
Posts can be associated with selected Sustainable Development Goals.
Existing messages can be searched by keyword, user or SDG category.
The application provides basic live counts of posts associated with selected SDG categories.
Build → break →
understand → improve.
Development of Node 01 involved practical troubleshooting rather than simply producing a theoretical design.
The application was repeatedly tested through its complete user workflow, including launching the application, authentication, session handling, database operations, message submission and display.
Deployment testing also exposed differences between a local development environment and a hosted WSGI environment. These issues required configuration changes, application revisions and repeated testing before the live Node became a functioning public demonstration.
Node 01 is
a working prototype.
Current implementation: Node 01 · v0.3 · Working Prototype · Active Development
Local build.
Live demonstration.
The original development work was carried out locally using Windows 10, Python and a web browser. Once the application was functioning, it was adapted for the project’s hosted demonstration environment.
The public demonstration uses cPanel and Passenger/WSGI to serve the Python application. The WordPress site remains the presentation and documentation layer; Node 01 is a separate Flask application with its own SQLite data layer.
The prototype
is only the beginning.
Node 01 establishes the first practical implementation of the Nód Glas concept. Future development can build upon this foundation without requiring the original architecture to be discarded.
Expand authentication, credential protection, input validation, CSRF protection, logging, secret management and application security.
Explore administration, configuration and monitoring capabilities for independently operated nodes. These capabilities are not part of the current Node 01 prototype.
Investigate mechanisms for securely exchanging or synchronising information between nodes. Node 01 does not currently implement node-to-node synchronisation.
Explore the possibility of connecting multiple independently operated nodes into a wider network. Peer-to-peer networking remains a future development goal.
Conduct controlled measurements of processing, memory, network traffic and energy/resource consumption so that sustainability claims can be supported by evidence.
Small enough
to understand.
Open enough
to evolve.
Nód Glas is being developed as an experiment in practical, sustainable and independently controlled technology.
Node 01 demonstrates the first working implementation. The architecture is intentionally straightforward so that each component can be understood, tested and developed independently.
The project remains in active development. The current prototype is therefore not presented as a production-ready finished product, but as a functioning foundation for future experimentation, testing and expansion.