Deploying Tommelise software via the Web with .XBAP

I've just completed a stripboard design program. Ordinarily, I just release the code for this sort of thing as part of my Slice and Dice app. This thing, however, is useful enough to have a wider audience, so I've made it into a stand-alone app. While 85-90% of the world's PC's use one or another Window's OS, I am fully aware that for historical reasons, the Linux OS is much more common in the Reprap user community. As a result, I am looking at offering the stripboard design program app as a browser plug-in, so to speak. For productivity, I use the free Visual Studio 2008 and it appears that I can make a client-side browser resident app out of the designer using .xbap the easiest.

I've tested an .xbap example successfully on Internet Explorer 7.0 and FireFox 3.0.11 and unsuccessfully on Chrome all operating under Windows XP SP2

The more I fiddle with Windows Presentation Foundation's .xbap mode the more impressed I get. I can write the code in any of a variety of languages in Visual Studio 2008 Express, which is free. Then I can deploy it in any server and when somebody wants to use my apps they simply open an IE or Firefox browser and link into the .xbap deployment link on my server. It downloads into their browser as a thick client and they're good to go.

I've cracked the web deployment, graphics and mouse position parts of the learning curve within a few hours. Here's my latest test .xbap.

[3dreplicators.com]

I am going to start with the stripboard designer and eventually deploy the PC-side, Slice and Dice and the control routines for Tommelise 3.0 this way. This should make deployment and software maintenance a LOT simpler than conventional installed application software. :-D

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Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something.

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

Thomas A. Edison

Interesting concept; but I have a problem for you. When I tried to launch your test app on my Mac it forces me to load my Windows XP VM and run it under there. The Windows Presentation Foundations may be cross browser capable, but may not be cross platform.

It's not a matter of "may not be" for now. It simply isn't cross-platform except on the server side.

"I have a problem for you"

I've got 90% of the market covered with Wintel. If there is a lot of interest in my apps I'll see about porting them to Linux and OS X. Otherwise, I'll just let them die for lack of interest.

I know that the mainstream Reprap team does it the other way around, but I tend to be a bit backward in that regard.

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Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something.

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

Thomas A. Edison

There is however a difference between 90% of the market and 90% of the doers and thinkers. Granted you're doing a lot and thinking more than a fair bit. However the prevalence of non-Wintel systems increases dramatically when you start hitting the maker community for a number of reasons.

Yes, I'd rather something Open and cross-platform was used, but:

a) Forrest is achieving things, and
b) He's achieving things we can learn from.
c) If he's not being outclassed, he must have something right

Vik :v)

Forest, I apologize. I misunderstood what you where trying to achieve. I thought you where writing it as a .XBAP because it was suppose to be able to run in the browser, which I read as cross platform. So I was just letting you know that it didn't run on my Mac. Since you knew it wasn't going to, I'm glad I have my Windows XP VM so I can still exploit your hard work for my own selfish benefits.

And I agree with Vik, you are achieving great things.

Had a talk with a web guru colleague of mine about XBAP. He said that XBAP is a Microsoft knock off of Firefox's Xul. I took a look at the spec for Xul. It appears to be a little less capable than XBAP and only works on Firefox, though it is truly cross platform.

My suspicion is that XBAP, since Microsoft has pushed it over to Firefox, who they loathe, just might go cross platform, too.

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Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something.

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

Thomas A. Edison

cptwinder Wrote:
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> Forest, I apologize. I misunderstood what you
> where trying to achieve.
>
Apologies aren't necessary. It's true it isn't open source, though it is free, or cross-platform at the moment. There is, however, some indication that it may well go cross-platform in the mid-term.

Mostly, what I am trying to achieve is to get useful tools that will help anybody with Reprap development ideas with a minimum of fuss. If you can use what I develop for your own selfish ends, I'll have succeeded in what I set out to do.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/18/2009 11:27PM by Forrest Higgs.

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Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something.

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

Thomas A. Edison

Hi Forrest,

... it shouldn't be a big problem which OS you're developing your apps for - with VirtualBox (or other VM's too) i can launch most other OSes when in actual need ...

On my 'WintelVista' i have actually WinXP, Win2K, Win98, DOS6.22, Ubuntu/EMC2, Knoppix (and some live-CD's too) running - not only for crossing or testing but sometimes for security or intercompatibility reasons too.

So for testing and interest i can probe with the right platform and when it's going public then the hardware can follow too ...

Viktor

Got the stripboard designer working in xbap and am pretty sure I know how to do the isolatedstorage thing that enables you to deploy an xbap without a software certificate. Mind, it would be worthwhile developing a certificate, though I'm not sure I want that responsibility at this point.

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Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something.

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

Thomas A. Edison