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Users could press a button in the Browse activity (or there could be a separate activity for this) and a small tool would help them create an sugarized web app as a new activity.
Users could press a button in the Browse activity (or there could be a separate activity for this) and a small tool would help them create an sugarized web app as a new activity.
* there are a lot of web developers out there that are familiar with HTML(5), CSS and JavaScript and it would be great to take advantage of their skills.<br />
* there are a lot of web developers out there that are familiar with HTML(5), CSS and JavaScript and it would be great to take advantage of their skills.<br />
Web developers could either use the toolkit to port their web apps to sugar or build entirely new activities, while using only web technologies.<br /><br />
Web developers could either use Webified to port their web apps to sugar using only web technologies.<br /><br />
I have been inspired by [http://fluidapp.com/ Fluid], which creates custom SSBs for websites. Fluid provides a simple JavaScript API to websites with which it is very easy to extend them to provide more integration (like sounds, notifications, badges, etc.). For example, GMail in a custom Fluid SSB feels like a native application.
I have been inspired by [http://fluidapp.com/ Fluid], which creates custom SSBs for websites. Fluid has Gears and GreaseKit plugins and provides a simple JavaScript API to websites for common native calls (like sounds, notifications, badges, etc.), which makes it very easy to extend web apps to provide more integration. For example, GMail in a custom Fluid SSB feels like a native application.
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There are two main strategies for implementing this:
There are two main strategies for implementing this:
# Running a standard browser, as light as possible, that points to a small local webserver. It would use AJAX or a wrapper on top of that (like jsonrpc) to provide the bridge to python. The biggest downside would be that web developers would have a hard time hacking the toolkit itself. Another problem would be that this process could not easily be automated. Some python code would have to be written for any semi-interesting application.
# Running a standard browser, as light as possible, that points to a small local webserver (SimpleHTTPServer). It would use AJAX or a wrapper on top of that (like jsonrpc) to provide the bridge to python. The biggest downside would be that web developers would have a hard time hacking Webified itself. Another problem would be that this process could not easily be automated. Some python code would have to be written for any semi-interesting application.
# In a small controller application, embed a browser runtime (with hulahop). The resulting activity would be completely standalone and would not depend on a web server anymore. Gears would have to be installed as a plugin for xulrunner. Javascript dbus access through pyxpcom or [http://sandbox.movial.com/wiki/index.php/Browser_DBus_Bridge#WebKit_.28JavaScriptCore.29_version_notes this bridge]. It would be very similar to other efforts to bring web apps to the desktop, thus making it familiar to web developers.<br />A small utility (probably an extension to the Browser activity) would create activities out of websites.<br />
# In a small controller application, embed a browser runtime (with hulahop). The resulting activity would be completely standalone and would not depend on a web server anymore. Gears would have to be installed as a plugin for xulrunner. Javascript dbus access through pyxpcom or [http://sandbox.movial.com/wiki/index.php/Browser_DBus_Bridge#WebKit_.28JavaScriptCore.29_version_notes this bridge]. It would be very similar to other efforts to bring web apps to the desktop, thus making it familiar to web developers.<br />A small utility (probably an extension to the Browser activity) would create activities out of websites.<br />
I will be focusing on the second stragety.<br />
I will be focusing on the second stragety.<br />
* What is the timeline for development of your project? The Summer of Code work period is 7 weeks long, May 23 - August 10; tell us what you will be working on each week. (As the summer goes on, you and your mentor will adjust your schedule, but it's good to have a plan at the beginning so you have an idea of where you're headed.) Note that you should probably plan to have something "working and 90% done" by the midterm evaluation (July 6-13); the last steps always take longer than you think, and we will consider cancelling projects which are not mostly working by then.
* What is the timeline for development of your project? The Summer of Code work period is 7 weeks long, May 23 - August 10; tell us what you will be working on each week. (As the summer goes on, you and your mentor will adjust your schedule, but it's good to have a plan at the beginning so you have an idea of where you're headed.) Note that you should probably plan to have something "working and 90% done" by the midterm evaluation (July 6-13); the last steps always take longer than you think, and we will consider cancelling projects which are not mostly working by then.
I plan to get Gears integration, dbus access and a nicer js wrapper on top of that done in the first 2-3 weeks. This would create a template for web-based activities, what web developers would use when starting web activities. A small utility that generates sugarified web applications would also use that template. <br />The utility and small demo of using the APIs directly(second usage of the toolkit) could then be made in a few days, one week at most. The rest of the time could then be spent for polishing things up or for emergencies.
I plan to get Gears integration, dbus access and a nicer js wrapper on top of that done in the first 2-3 weeks. This would create a template for web-based activities, that web developers would use when making web activities. A small utility that generates sugarified web applications would also use that template. <br />The utility and a nice demo of Webified usage could then be made in a few days, two weeks at most. The rest of the time could then be spent for polishing things up or for emergencies.
<br />Milestones:
<br />Milestones:
# Webified template can load a website (hello world)
# Webified template can load a website (hello world)
I have some experience with python and I've built various things, from small utilities to websites with it. My most interesting project was helping to port a scientific application from c++ and Qt3 to Python and Qt4.
I have some experience with python and I've built various things, from small utilities to websites with it. My most interesting project was helping to port a scientific application from c++ and Qt3 to Python and Qt4.
I have also used
I have used JavaScript and HTML to build a small web game, Mousebuster (not online, get it from [http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/317039/mousebuster.zip my dropbox].
====You and the community====
====You and the community====
* If your project is successfully completed, what will its impact be on the Sugar Labs community? Give 3 answers, each 1-3 paragraphs in length. The first one should be yours. The other two should be answers from members of the Sugar Labs community, at least one of whom should be a Sugar Labs GSoC mentor. Provide email contact information for non-GSoC mentors.
* If your project is successfully completed, what will its impact be on the Sugar Labs community? Give 3 answers, each 1-3 paragraphs in length. The first one should be yours. The other two should be answers from members of the Sugar Labs community, at least one of whom should be a Sugar Labs GSoC mentor. Provide email contact information for non-GSoC mentors.