[From Bruce Abbott (2014.01.23.1835 EST)]
BA: Thanks, Matti. I did dabble in Java a while back but have never worked
with JavaScript. Maybe it's time I learned how!
Matti Kolu (2014.01.23.2300 CET) --
Bruce Abbott (2014.01.20.2045 EST)
Do you have a recommendation?
One thing to consider: what used to be a desktop application fifteen years
ago is almost always a web application today. *All* of the PCT
demonstrations that I've seen can be made to work in a HTML5 compatible
browser. (Basically any modern browser.) This is done using _JavaScript_ and
a combination of _JavaScript_ libraries.
The obvious advantage is accessibility: the user does not have to download
or compile anything. The demonstrations run in the browser itself. No
plug-ins are needed. As you are writing for the browser, you do not have
care about which OS the user is using. If you stick to the best practices,
you also don't have to concern yourself about which browser the user is
using, as long as it is somewhat modern.
The various libraries that you include on the page with the _JavaScript_
make it easy to work with graphics, animations and, if you need it, up to
10MB of local storage (The data is stored semi-permanently in the user's
browser. For most of the demonstrations that should be plenty of space.).
To get an idea of what the work flow looks like, here is a 15 minute video
that gives a very brief introduction to the "Raphael.js"
graphics library. You only have to watch the first five minutes or so to get
the idea:
In the video you see:
1. A typical HTML page. (Barring a few lines. Ignore the file extension.) 2.
The custom _JavaScript_ file that will end up containg most of the code
actually written. This file is included on the HTML page.
3. The jQuery library. This is included on the HTML page. It makes the
process of working with _JavaScript_ a lot more convenient.
(http://jquery.com/)
4. Raphael.js. The graphics library that is being demonstrated.
"Rapha�l is a small JavaScript library that should simplify your work with
vector graphics on the web. If you want to create your own specific chart or
image crop and rotate widget, for example, you can achieve it simply and
easily with this library."
(http://raphaeljs.com/)
5. Some typical _Javascript_: skip to 11:45 to see what a simple for-loop
looks like.
Note that the development environment is a text editor of your choice and
that there is no compiling: you simply refresh the page in the browser when
you want to evaluate the results of your changes.
Examples of available graphics & graph libraries
1. http://raphaeljs.com/ (scroll down for some examples) 2.
NVD3 - Examples (redirect)
3. http://d3js.org/ (checkout the Tetris clone on the examples page) 4.
Snap.svg - Getting Started
Local storage:
1. http://www.jstorage.info/
I am not a web developer, so the above is only a rough sketch of the
approach. There is of course the sister project of Processing,
Processing.js: http://processingjs.org/. The reason I didn't mention it is
that it seems somewhat clunky to use it if you already know that you are
only interested in writing for the browser. If you are already familiar with
Processing, as some of you seem to be, it might be a convenient approach.
Matti
···
-----
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2014.0.4259 / Virus Database: 3681/7027 - Release Date: 01/23/14