The document discusses the concept and future potential of collaborative web spaces, emphasizing their role in enhancing web sharing and collaboration, particularly in educational contexts. Key components include the development of a web space configuration language for easier sharing and collaboration, as well as various scenarios such as cloning, broadcasting, and co-editing. It highlights the need for standardized formats and a roadmap for achieving runtime independence in these web spaces.

1. Towards Collaborative Portable Web
Spaces
Stéphane Sire (speaking)
Evgeny Bogdanov
Matthias Palmér
Denis Gillet
www.role-project.eu/mupple09

2. Mashup & Widgets progression
Source: Source:
www.programmableweb.com eco.netvibes.com/universes
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3. What are we talking about ?
Page ?
Mashup ?
Tab ?
Space
Universe ?
Dashboard ?
Container ?
Portal ?
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4. What is a Web Space ?
Components + Data-Flow wiring Mashup
Widgets + Grid Layout Tab, Universe, etc.
Web Space
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5. Web Spaces are the next big stuff in Web Sharing !
TODAY
• Pages : blogs, wikis
• Videos : YouTube
• Slides : slideshare
• Widgets : widgetbox (embed with cut & paste)
• Mashups : Yahoo pipes (embed with cut & paste)
TOMORROW
• Full Web Spaces Sharing
• enabler for collaboration
• especially for learning
• e.g. “learn english” web space
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6. Scenarios of Collaboration with Web Spaces
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7. Portability Scenario
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8. Cloning Scenario
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9. Broadcasting Scenario
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10. Co-Editing Scenario
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11. What to share ?
Mashup Widget Composition
list of components list of widgets
data-flow wiring of layout
components
component settings widget preferences
widget states
third party user’s data on external services
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12. Current State of the Art
• Some scenarios already possible at the widget or mashup level
• most of the time limited to cloning or broadcasting
• most of the time with knowledge of Javascript required
• Yahoo Pipes example :
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13. Example:
broadcasting a mashup dashboard on www.afrous.com
<script type="text/javascript"
src="http://resource.afrous.net/release/2.1/js/afrous-dashboard-include.js">
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
afrous.config = { SITE_KEY : '7e0cd16c11ff3ffe8ad75dfc981b37ee'};
window.onload=function() {
afrous.dashboard.showDashboard(
{ el : 'dashboard',
id : '4bf13a9aef4428fe235ed090d3cf112d',
hideDrawer : true });
}
</script>
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14. Example: sharing a widget on Netvibes
Copy of the
Widget
configuration
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15. Our first implementation: iGoogle !
Cloning
Space Level
Broadcasting
Co-Editing
Widget Level
Portability
Space Level
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16. Our first implementation (Cont’d)
Broadcasting
scenario
Co-Editing
scenario
Social Gadget
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17. Our first implementation (Cont’d)
Cloning
scenario
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18. iGoogle : the most complete implementation up to date
Scenario Solution Widget Space Level
Level
Portability “Export / no yes
Import
settings”
Cloning “Send my ? yes
settings”
Broadcasting “View my yes no
content”
Co-Editing “View and yes no
edit my
content”
• But all these features are not cross-platform
• No fine grain control other what is shared and when and
by Who
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19. Portable Collaborative Web Spaces Roadmap
1. Common agreement on a Web Space configuration language
• e.g. extension of OPML from news feeds to Web Spaces
• e.g. Widget gallery format on W3C mailing list
• e.g. GadgetTabML from Google
2. Extension of the language to support collaboration
• what to share
• when to share
• who to share with
• how to share it
3. Agreement on architecture for achieving runtime independence
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20. Example of a Web Space configuration language
<GadgetTabML version="1.0" xmlns="…/GadgetTabML/2008">
<Tab title="Accueil" skinUrl="skins/sampler.xml">
<Layout iGoogle:spec="THREE_COL_LAYOUT_1" />
<Section>
<Module type="RSS">
<UserPref name="numItems" value="3"/>
<ModulePrefs xmlUrl="http://…"/>
</Module>
<Module type="REMOTE">
<ModulePrefs url="http://gocomics/…/gc.xml"/>
<UserPref name="defaultIdx" value="1" />
<UserPref name="selectedTab" value="comments" />
<UserPref name="mycomics" value="9|32"/>
<UserPref name="favoritesIdx" value="0" />
</Module>
<Module type="RSS">
<ModulePrefs xmlUrl="http://…" />
</Module>
<Module type="WEATHER">
<UserPref name="temperatureUnit" value="F"/>
<Location name="New Orleans" country="US" language="en" />
<Location name="San Diego" country="US" language="en"/>
</Module>
</Section>
...
</Tab>
</GadgetTabML>
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21. Extension of the configuration language for collaboration
• What ?
• unit of sharing: whole space, widget, individual setting (or state)
• maybe layout and stuff like that
• When ?
• refresh rate
• page reload
• COMET
• With Who ?
• participant lists
• How (scenario) ?
• update rule:
• Broadcasting
• Co-Editing
• No sharing
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22. Proposition for XML based configuration languages
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23. Example
<GadgetTabML version="1.0" xmlns="…/GadgetTabML/2008">
<Tab title="Accueil" skinUrl="skins/sampler.xml">
<Participants owner="alice">alice@kth.se bob@epfl.ch charlie@epfl.ch dave@kth.se</Participants>
<Layout iGoogle:spec="THREE_COL_LAYOUT_1" />
<Section>
<Module type="RSS">
<UserPref name="numItems" value="3"/>
<ModulePrefs xmlUrl="http://…" sharing="BROADCAST" refresh="ASYNC"/>
</Module>
<Module type="REMOTE" participants="alice@kth.se bob@epfl.ch">
<ModulePrefs url="http://gocomics/…/gc.xml"/>
<UserPref name="defaultIdx" value="1" />
<UserPref name="selectedTab" value="comments" />
<UserPref name="mycomics" value="9|32" sharing="BROADCAST"/>
<UserPref name="favoritesIdx" value="0" />
</Module>
<Module type="RSS">
<ModulePrefs xmlUrl="http://…" />
</Module>
<Module type="WEATHER" sharing="EDIT" refresh="SYNC">
<UserPref name="temperatureUnit" value="F" sharing="NO"/>
<Location name="New Orleans" country="US" language="en" />
<Location name="San Diego" country="US" language="en"/>
</Module>
</Section>
...
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24. Towards an Open Architecture for sharing Web Spaces
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25. Conclusion
• The vision is here
• one mainstream software editor seems to have embraced it…
• how to convince others to join in ?
• how to avoid multiple non-compatible formats to emerge ?
• W3C Web Apps work stops at Widget Level
• Enabling technologies are appearing
• Google Wave Federation Protocol & Client-Server Protocol
• DOM Server-side Event (HTML 5 ?)
• OpenSocial (participant lists : towards an OpenGroup) ?
• Lot of Opened Issues
• usability (esp. how to design widgets for collaboration ?)
• How to share the vision from now ?
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