What Is The History of DotNetNuke (DNN) ?

In January 2002, Microsoft Corporation published a download named the IBuySpy Portal (IBS), one of a handful of “Starter Kits” ( sample applications ) that provided full source code under a liberal EULA to demonstrate how to implement specific functionality on the new ASP.NET 1.0 platform.  The kits were functional, but very simplistic, and were intended to aid programmers in developing projects of their own.

The IBuySpy Portal’s goal was to demonstrate how ASP.NET could be used to construct a dynamic, data-driven portal application. The Microsoft .NET development community quickly embraced the IBS Portal as an essential reference implementation for building their own ASP.NET applications, and a vocal developer community began to emerge.

On December 24th, 2002, Shaun Walker of Perpetual Motion Interactive Systems Inc. released a modified version of the original IBS portal application. The new application was called the IBuySpy Workshop and was released under an open source BSD license to allow for the most freedom in both commercial and non-commercial environments.  The release, which was posted as a link on the Microsoft ASP.NET Forums, included a variety of enhancements and innovations over the original IBS code, including the ability to support multiple portals from a single installation, a feature which became very popular in the shared web hosting market. 

In the weeks following the IBuySpy Workshop’s release, thousands of developers from around the world downloaded the code, provided feedback, and created the foundation for an active and loyal development community.

After a number of rapid releases, the application was renamed DotNetNuke on February 28, 2003 ( a name which was quickly abbreviated to DNN for simplicity ).  The DotNetNuke name was chosen to reflect the applications roots in the .NET (DOTNET) Framework, coupled with the term “nuke” (due to its industry wide association with open source web content management systems ).

In September 2006, Shaun Walker formed DotNetNuke Corporation, a new legal entity whose sole focus is the ongoing stewardship and management of the DotNetNuke project. Joining Shaun on the original management team were three long-time DNN community members ( Scott Willhite, Joe Brinkman, and Nik Kalyani ) who had demonstrated their commitment and value to the project over the previous 3 years.

Today, DotNetNuke continues to operate as the largest, most successful open source project on the Microsoft platform. Passing 500,000 registered users and 5.0 million downloads in late 2007, the project is gaining rapid adoption across all business sectors, including the mid-market and enterprise. With a dedicated management team, passionate developer community, and prosperous ecosystem of vendors providing add-on products and services, the DotNetNuke project continues to grow and create a wealth of opportunities.

** A full account of DotNetNuke’s formation and background – written by Shaun Walker -- is the focus of Chapter 1 in the WROX Press book, “Professional DotNetNuke 4 - Open Source Web Application Framework for ASP.NET 2.0”.

** Perpetual Motion Interactive Systems Inc. is a private corporation located in British Columbia, Canada. During the ongoing transition to DotNetNuke Corporation, Perpetual Motion Interactive Systems Inc. continues to assist in the professional management of intellectual property for the project.