From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,FREEMAIL_FROM, INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,38d1fe109cd56c87 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: "Vladimir Olensky" Subject: GUI, HTTP and LynxOS ( Was:Re: GNAT, LINUX, KDE) Date: 1999/11/29 Message-ID: #1/1 X-Deja-AN: 554507629 References: <81fcr1$29iq$1@news.gate.net> Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada X-Complaints-To: newsabuse@supernews.com Date: 1999-11-29T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: David Botton wrote in message <81fcr1$29iq$1@news.gate.net>... Vladimir Olensky wrote: >>Idea here is to use JAVASCRIPT within XML documents to create >>User Interface and exchange information between user form and Ada >>application. >>I think this approach is very good as along term strategy. >I agree very much with you. What is needed is a simple HTTP server written >in Ada so we don't ended up married to Explorer. >It would also be possible to set up connections between JavaScript and Ada >using either AdaApplettes or TCP/CORBA/COM connections to Ada code from a >Java proxy to the JavaScript. The approach for using WEB browser as user interface to an application via uploaded HTML (XML) documents from the embedded HTTP server is already implemented in LynxOS. In LynxOS this is a standard approach to create user interfaces to the (embedded) applications. So use LynxOS and you will have off-shelf solution. Here some quotes from Linx: ============================================================= GUI Provider A Web browser can provide an ideal environment for the graphical user interface of development tools. The GUI for these tools could be written in, say, Java. Embedded Systems and the Web Web protocols are already revolutionizing the user interface to embedded systems. In the past, in order to meet cost limits, many embedded systems had only non-graphical user interfaces, or manufacturers provided special client side software for PCs running Windows or Workstations Embedded systems can now provide powerful, user friendly graphical user interfaces to virtually any client without any client side software and only use a small amount of system resources This allows the embedded system to be accessed by a Web browser. To provide a simple graphical user interface to the system, the developer creates an HTML page that sits as data in ROM or mass storage on the embedded system. This HTML page could be only a few Kbytes of data. Pictures and icons are easily added as GIF or JPEG data. For a more powerful GUI, a Java applet can be added. The Java applet sits on the embedded system as byte code. A few tens of Kbytes of Java byte code can create an impressive user interface. The byte code is actually loaded onto the client side PC or workstation for execution and communicates to the rest of the embedded application via a socket. No Java interpreter or run time memory is required on the embedded system in order to provide networked graphics with this scheme. There is a huge memory savings over running X clients on the embedded system to provide a GUI. Benefits of Web protocol approach There are many benefits to the Web protocol approach to providing a GUI for remote embedded systems. First, no client side software need be written. The embedded system can provide a friendly user interface to any computer over a local network and even over the Internet itself. Very few resources are needed in the embedded system to provide the graphical interface, especially if the system already supports networking. Systems with local graphics can run a local browser to provide the same look and feel for both local and remote access. There is no shortage of programmers who know or wish to learn how to use HTML and Java to build first rate graphical user interfaces. Full user level interoperability to the desktop world is provided. --------------------------------------------------- http://www.lynx.com/products/whitepaper_galaxy.html =================================================== Regards, Vladimir Olensky