Re: Drafting page for W3C SocialWeg incubator "widgets and social APIs" call - feedback welcomed

+cc: sylvain@apache.org, <ate@douma.nu>, "Robin Berjon" <robin@berjon.com>,

Hi all!

This went quiet for a while, but it's time to get a call scheduled. To
remind you all: the idea is to have a special topical call of the W3C
Social Web incubator group, where we bring together people working on
Web-based widget/gadget/app platforms  and the APIs that they use. Our
particular concern is to identify areas for collaboration and further
work around 'social' aspects, such as user profiles, 'social graph'
and addressbook APIs, buddylists/rosters, groups, authentication etc.
In particular, we are interested to avoid unnecessary fragmentation
between apps written to W3C's Widget and DAP specs, and apps written
to be run inside Web-based containers such as OpenSocial and Facebook.

We have no preconceptions about what sort of convergence makes sense;
this is a fact-finding mission! The W3C SocialWeb incubator is a
purely exploratory activity. If the call helps parties working with
one Web-based technology stack better understand the work of parties
developing a similar stack, it will have been useful. If it helps us
document these differences, similarities and design tradeoffs so we
can identify some practical next steps, it will have been successful.

I'd like to find volunteers to give short intros to the W3C work (we
should cover both the DAP APIs and W3C Widgets); to OpenSocial APIs,
to Facebook APIs and also to the Apache Wookie work, which seems the
most thorough attempt so far to integrate these worlds.

Just to make this concrete: W3C's Device APIs WG is about to publish
http://dev.w3.org/2009/dap/contacts/  ... imagine a web developer who
makes widgets for a living; on phones, desktops and running inside
sites like facebook and the various opensocial containers. How can we
make such developers' lives easier in the coming months?

Harry will followup with a doodle to begin the impossible task of
finding a telecon slot...

cheers,

Dan



On Thu, Oct 1, 2009 at 9:52 AM, Scott Wilson
<scott.bradley.wilson@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Dan,
>
> I'm definitely interested - count me in too.
>
> In general I think the distinction between Mobile, Web, and Desktop widgets
> is pretty thin now and getting ever thinner - e.g. the device APIs intended
> for mobile phones apply pretty well to most notebooks/netbooks (e.g. they
> have cameras, batteries, shared address books (on macs at least),
> geolocation via Skyhook, etc.)
>
> This is partly why we developed an implementation of the W3C Widgets specs
> in a web application context even though the spec was being primarily
> written from a mobile and desktop perspective, and even though this would
> potentially compete with Shindig/OpenSocial (Apache likes competition :-).
>
> Some brief answers to the list of questions on the wiki:
>
> 1. Can W3C Widgets access an addressbook on a phone?
>
> Yes, if the implementation supports the BONDI contacts API or (in the
> future) W3C DAP
>
> 2. What implementation experience exists that combine W3C Widgets with
> OpenSocial or similar APIs
>
> Apache Wookie (incubating) is a W3C Widget engine that can also integrate
> the Apache Shindig (incubating) OpenSocial container. It also includes the
> Google Wave Gadget API to allow W3C Widgets to access shared state and
> participant information. I've also experimented with exposing BONDI device
> APIs in web widgets using Wookie, enabling a web widget to take a picture
> from a user's webcam e.g. to use as their avatar.
>
> 3. To what extent can these architectures allow for decentralised extension
> of schemas
>
> Both Wookie and Shindig support a "Features" extension mechanism that
> exposes additional JavaScript APIs at runtime to widgets/gadgets - is that
> what you meant?
>
> 4. What javascript APIs are developed / under development, and whether these
> might allow developers some code portability between widget platforms
>
> On my radar: W3C Widget Object, W3C DAP, Google Wave Gadget API, OpenSocial,
> JIL.
>
> Some providers offer shim code to slip between these as available, e.g. the
> Vodafone Betavine SDK provides a JS lib that uses either BONDI AppConfig API
> , W3C Widget API, or cookies to store preferences based on what it can find
> in the current document scope.
>
> S
>
> On 30 Sep 2009, at 15:10, Dan Brickley wrote:
>
>> Hi folks (am Cc:'ing some folk I hope would be interested in joining
>> such a call, note that this isn't an exclusive list, just a starter
>> thread....).
>>
>> http://www.w3.org/2005/Incubator/socialweb/wiki/WidgetsDiscussion is a
>> draft page for a meeting we're planning in the W3C SocialWeb Incubator
>> Group, where we hope to draw upon experience from both the W3C Widgets
>> and OpenSocial efforts, to identify possibilities for common APIs for
>> things like user profiles, addressbooks/contacts, social graph etc.
>>
>> I'm circulating it at this stage for feedback on the agenda proposal.
>> Do you think such a meeting could be useful?
>>
>> I know for example there are investigations into opening up APIs into
>> phone addressbooks for use with W3C Widgets; and in the OpenSocial
>> scene there has been an adoption of the PortableContacts protocol,
>> which operates over HTTP. And in every environment, people are
>> extending schemas with custom fields and structures. Apache have also
>> recently taken on the Wookie work, which explores the combination of
>> W3C Widgets and OpenSocial. In this context, I'd like to get relevant
>> parties together to compare notes, plans and experiences, and to
>> identify areas in which various kinds of convergence might be
>> possible.
>>
>> Feedback welcomed in this thread, or from XG members directly into the
>> wiki. Let's deal with the content first before getting into call
>> scheduling mechanics...
>>
>> cheers,
>>
>> Dan
>>
>> http://www.w3.org/2005/Incubator/socialweb/wiki/WidgetsDiscussion wiki
>> text copied below to save you clicking...
>>
>> This is an agenda-drafting page for a special session of the Social
>> Web Incubator Group, devoted to the topic of social APIs in "widget"
>> technologies.
>>
>> The agenda is being drafted by Dan Brickley, and is open to XG members
>> and interested parties, some of whom we'll invite explicitly (if you
>> want to contribute, contact Dan, danbri@danbri.org):
>>
>> =Background=
>>
>> There are two broad categories of installable Web widget: those that
>> are deployed within a Web page or site (eg. OpenSocial), and those
>> that are installed within a (typically desktop or mobile) widget
>> platform. Both allow quick and easy authoring of small embedded apps
>> using standard Web technologies, and both traditions are exploring
>> richer APIs - mainly exposed in Javascript - for making use of the
>> context within which the app is embedded. This meeting is called to
>> explore ways of avoiding fragmentation, such that application authors
>> who want to make use of user profile, addressbook/contacts and similar
>> information might make use of a common approach regardless of widget
>> platform.
>>
>>
>> =Goals of the Meeting=
>>
>> * invited short status presentations from w3c widget, opensocial and
>> Apache Wookie (which combines these) groups
>> * identify current state of social APIs (incl. user profiles, 'social
>> graph', contacts db, authentication, etc.) in at least OpenSocial and
>> W3C Widgets work
>> * document state of current published plans where such data will be
>> exposed by a widget platform to 3rd party widgets; eg. addressbook
>> APIs exposed to Mobile widgets
>> * answer or make plans for answering questions such as:
>> ** can W3C Widgets access an addressbook on a phone?
>> ** what implementation experience exists that combine W3C Widgets with
>> OpenSocial or similar APIs
>> ** to what extent can these architectures allow for decentralised
>> extension of schemas
>> ** how do these schemas relate to vcard (and which versions)
>> ** role of portable contacts
>> * What javascript APIs are developed / under development, and whether
>> these might allow developers some code portability between widget
>> platforms
>> * identify possible recommendations for final report, and
>> collaboration / prototyping opportunities
>>
>> =Where and When=
>>
>> The SocialWeb XG currently meet at 13:00 UTC. It is looking to change
>> soon to meet at 15:00UTC. If these times don't fit the schedule of
>> would-be participants, we can investigate a special-case time slot.
>> The meetings are usually conducted by teleconf using W3C's audio
>> bridge, Zakim; but also accompanied by IRC chat (irc.w3.org 6665
>> #swxg).
>>
>
>

Received on Tuesday, 19 January 2010 17:46:09 UTC