This document summarizes a real-time application framework called U.C.Engine. It highlights key features such as a persistent publish/subscribe server, time coding for smart archiving, an interoperable backend using third-party "bricks", and a customizable user experience with a multi-screen and collaborative widget library. The framework aims to provide an open-source and customizable platform for building a wide variety of real-time applications.

1. Project presentation
January 2011
http://ucengine.org
http://twitter.com/ucengine
http://af83.com
[ R e a l Ti m e a p p l i c a T i o n F R a m e w o R k ]

2. facts
about real time
collaboration
2

3. Fact #1: collaborative usages are diversified.
3

4. Even so, applications are focused on the tools…
4

5. …and all user interfaces are alike.
5

6. We want a customized
collaboration experience!
6

7. Fact #2: effective collaboration generates ac-
tion.
Before Interaction After
• Organize • Interact • Archive
• Communicate • ProdUCE content • Search
• Find
• Replay
7

8. But archiving features are non-existent.
8

9. We want
smart search
and analytics
capabilities!
9

10. Fact #3: Collaboration technologies are various
and evolving
10

11. Packaged solutions cannot ship best-of-breed
tools for each features
11

12. We want a technology
agnostic platform…
12

13. and we want
an open-source
ecosystem. !
13

14. Huge variety of possibilities
Meetings Conferences Live events
Project management Idea generation E-learning Customer support Medical diagnostic
Product demonstration User research Games Analytics Interactive web TV or radios
14

15. What can
you do
with
U.C.Engine
15

16. Build a huge variety
of real time applications
Meetings Conferences Live events
Project management Idea generation E-learning Customer support Medical diagnostic
Product demonstration User research Games Analytics Interactive web TV or radio
16

17. Such as, a live concert application…
17

18. A conference application…
(Design by faberNovel)
18

19. And of course, a web meeting application.
19

20. And even more…
> UC Engine: Who knows what you can think of ?
20

21. Our wish list:
A customizable real time collaboration experience
Smart archiving, search and analytics capabilities
A technology agnostic and interoperable platform
An open source ecosystem
21

22. Main
Features
22

23. A persistent publish/subscribe server
The core conducts in real time the massive flow
of interactions and contents.
The core is a publish/subscribe server with persistence written in Erlang.
It exposes a ReSTful HTTP API with JSON as its primary exchange format
and can store the broadcasted events in a database.
23

24. A time coder for smart archiving
24

25. Publish Subscribe Server
Client
Client Client
25

26. Persistent Publish Subscribe Server
Client
Client Client
26

27. An interoperable backend
U.C.Engine REST API
allows you to pick and
seamlessly integrate
third-party bricks.
Example of bricks:
Video server
Micro blogging or SMS
File converter (for file sharing)
Text translators
Semantic analyzers
VOIP
what ever you need…
27

28. Keep things simple
Client
Client Client
28

29. Technology agnostic
Ruby client
JS Client JS Client
29

30. Need some server side logic? ...
Deamon
Ruby Client
JS Client JS Client
30

31. ... Bricks are made for that!
Ruby Brick
JS Client JS Client
31

32. The (not so original) chat example
Brick
You Dude (the)
32

33. Bricks are services
Brick
You Dude (the)
33

34. Protocols, Protocols, Protocols...
.n ew
ge
sa
Brick
s
me
at. .new
ch ate
l
a ns
a t.tr
ch
.new
ge ch
ssa at.
t.me tra
ns
cha lat
e.n
ew
You Dude (the)
34

35. An adaptable UX framework
Custom lightweight
clients can be built with
the UX framework.
Client libraries provided:
• Javascript
• Ruby on Rails
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36. A multi-screen UX
Depending on the usage
context, several frontends
can live together:
• web browsers
• mobiles
• tablets
• video projectors
• web TV
• whiteboards
36

37. A collaborative widget library
Widgets are end-user features
available as jQuery UI widgets.
They allow easy integration of new
custom features to the frontend
application.
U.C.Engine provides several
widgets such as conversations,
file sharing, whiteboard, video,
replay and search.
More to come in 2011…
37

38. A collaborative widget library
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39. U.C.Engine technology benefits
Scalability Customization
Erlang core UI framework
JS library
JQuery widgets
Interoperability Persistence Dev friendly
Rest API Timeline Rest API, language agnostic
Bricks Database UI framework, jQuery
Open source
39

40. we are an
open
source
believer
40

41. U.C.Engine is a young open source project
Open source licenses:
• Engine is AGPL
• UX framework is MIT or GPL
41

42. Our home:
http://www.ucengine.org/
• Fork the code:
https://github.com/AF83/ucengine
• Find documentation:
http://docs.ucengine.org/
• Discuss and propose:
http://groups.google.com/group/ucengine
42

43. Contributions
are welcome!
• Engine patches
• UX framework patches
• Additional libraries
• Additional bricks
• Documentation patches
43

44. This is just the
beginning…
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