iLiad The iLiad OS Project roadmap discussion - Page 2

Mr. Goodbar · 11-13-2008, 08:31 AM

I believe Adam B. indicated that one of the iLiad's that irex donated would be loaned out to open inkpot to facilitate the port to the iliad.

quickhand · 11-15-2008, 11:35 AM

Hello. I'm madshelf's main developer. While right now, madshelf is only keyboard-controllable, it would be a simple matter to make it touchscreen ready. In case you're keeping track, recently madshelf has gained large library support (info extracted from files is stored in an sqlite database), the ability to assign custom text tags, and an advanced file-filtering system. More features are on their way. Cheers!

jharker · 11-15-2008, 01:44 PM

Here's a crazy question. Keep in mind this is very long term. Might it make sense to parallel and/or eventually merge this project with the OpenInkpot project?

The way I see it, each project has things the other project needs. OpenInkpot is working on various GUI programs that are specifically tailored to e-book readers. Meanwhile, iLiadOS has all of the hardware-specific drivers necessary to run programs on the iLiad. Rather than have OpenInkpot repeat a lot of work, it might make sense to have OpenInkpot focus on the GUI, while iLiadOS works to provide a standardized API and base filesystem for the iLiad. Then we could just drop the OpenInkpot GUI on top of the iLiadOS base!

Right now, I think a lot of the iLiad's hardware management is extremely non-standard. But it doesn't have to be this way. We can work to modify the drivers and eventually provide standard linux-style interfaces for the buttons, battery, touchscreen device, etc.

I only just learned about OpenInkpot recently, so I don't know anything about their development path. But it seems like the best way to make a widely-applicable reader software would be to make it modular, with a single high-level GUI (reader & library applications, config programs, etc.). Then you could have a set of interchangeable low-level filesystems for a variety of different reader hardwares. They would interface through a standard API for controls (keys, touchscreen, battery readings, etc.). The low-level stuff would take care of power management and hardware drivers. The high-level applications would just be changed slightly depending on the hardware UI configuration (buttons, touchscreen, etc.)

I know Adam is already thinking along these lines, because OpenIliad has loaned an iLiad to the OpenInkpot devs for testing. But we could actively lend out expertise to speed up the process.

Of course, in the near future we should continue working to improve the iLiad's existing applications, to provide improvements for current users of the device. But maybe we could aim to standardize the base drivers for use by OpenInkpot in the long run?

What do you think?

quickhand · 11-15-2008, 05:25 PM

It should not be a problem reusing the UI from Openinkpot - it is already separate from the hardware implementation. The openinkpot project uses EFL (Enlightenment Foundation Libraries). Madshelf uses EWL. So, all that should be required to run openinkpot's apps on the Iliad is to port the EFL - presto, you're done! I only do app development, so for the deeper, more kernelly stuff, I'm not the man to talk to. But it seems to me, reusing OI's apps would not be difficult.

jharker · 11-15-2008, 07:53 PM

Great! That sounds remarkably straightforward. After we release v3.0, I imagine we'll be looking for replacements for the original iLiad frontend software. It seems like OpenInkpot could easily fit the bill.

omro · 11-20-2008, 02:58 AM

I used to have a Sharp Zaurus and saw what happened to it when Sharp ditched it. The developer community seemed to fracture into various different camps over what should be done for it. That was a huge shame, because there was so much duplication of effort and so many different ROM versions that the average user didn't know what to go with. They also spent years faffing around with releases that were so full of bugs and usability issues that you had to be very skilled with Linux and very patient to correct them, again alienating the average user.

So, as someone who doesn't yet own an iLiad and who unfortunately isn't a developer, I'm very cheered to see that there is potentially one single development vision for this project, so bravo to you all. Please keep it that way :-)

Despite my criticism above and the fact that when I abandoned the Zaurus platform, no stable and userfriendly build existed, the different groups working on the Zaurus had managed to do some serious work on its core software and had updated to a relatively recent Kernel. One splinter group created OpenEmbedded and Angstrom and these were meant to be cross platform. Perhaps it might be an idea to approach these developers and see if any of their effort with the Zaurus can in anyway be borrowed for the iLiad?

Just a thought

nekokami · 02-27-2009, 02:42 AM

Sorry I've been out of the loop for so long, but I'd like to get back into iLiad improvement. (Not fast enough to code, but at least I can test....) Just wanted to ask: where would task switching go in the roadmap as outlined here? We know it's an often-requested feature. I looked around at the tickets but didn't see it.

11-15-2008, 01:44 PM	#18
jharker Developer Posts: 345 Karma: 3473 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Device: iRex iLiad v1, Blackberry Tour, Kindle DX, iPad.	Here's a crazy question. Keep in mind this is very long term. Might it make sense to parallel and/or eventually merge this project with the OpenInkpot project? The way I see it, each project has things the other project needs. OpenInkpot is working on various GUI programs that are specifically tailored to e-book readers. Meanwhile, iLiadOS has all of the hardware-specific drivers necessary to run programs on the iLiad. Rather than have OpenInkpot repeat a lot of work, it might make sense to have OpenInkpot focus on the GUI, while iLiadOS works to provide a standardized API and base filesystem for the iLiad. Then we could just drop the OpenInkpot GUI on top of the iLiadOS base! Right now, I think a lot of the iLiad's hardware management is extremely non-standard. But it doesn't have to be this way. We can work to modify the drivers and eventually provide standard linux-style interfaces for the buttons, battery, touchscreen device, etc. I only just learned about OpenInkpot recently, so I don't know anything about their development path. But it seems like the best way to make a widely-applicable reader software would be to make it modular, with a single high-level GUI (reader & library applications, config programs, etc.). Then you could have a set of interchangeable low-level filesystems for a variety of different reader hardwares. They would interface through a standard API for controls (keys, touchscreen, battery readings, etc.). The low-level stuff would take care of power management and hardware drivers. The high-level applications would just be changed slightly depending on the hardware UI configuration (buttons, touchscreen, etc.) I know Adam is already thinking along these lines, because OpenIliad has loaned an iLiad to the OpenInkpot devs for testing. But we could actively lend out expertise to speed up the process. Of course, in the near future we should continue working to improve the iLiad's existing applications, to provide improvements for current users of the device. But maybe we could aim to standardize the base drivers for use by OpenInkpot in the long run? What do you think? Last edited by jharker; 11-15-2008 at 01:46 PM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
iLiad The iLiad OS Project	jharker	iRex Developer's Corner	145	12-09-2013 12:44 PM
iLiad iLiad Power Use: A discussion (or, Leave your stylus at home)	jharker	iRex Developer's Corner	27	11-13-2008 06:19 PM
iLiad The iLiad OS Project UI discussion	Antartica	iRex Developer's Corner	51	11-05-2008 04:10 PM
project: clock for iLiad	yokos	iRex	30	10-22-2007 07:37 PM

11-13-2008, 08:31 AM	#16
Mr. Goodbar Wizard Posts: 1,005 Karma: 98078 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Mini 4	I believe Adam B. indicated that one of the iLiad's that irex donated would be loaned out to open inkpot to facilitate the port to the iliad.

11-15-2008, 11:35 AM	#17
quickhand Connoisseur Posts: 54 Karma: 1202 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: Hanlin V3, Sony prs-505, Hanwang n516	Hello. I'm madshelf's main developer. While right now, madshelf is only keyboard-controllable, it would be a simple matter to make it touchscreen ready. In case you're keeping track, recently madshelf has gained large library support (info extracted from files is stored in an sqlite database), the ability to assign custom text tags, and an advanced file-filtering system. More features are on their way. Cheers!

11-15-2008, 05:25 PM	#19
quickhand Connoisseur Posts: 54 Karma: 1202 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: Hanlin V3, Sony prs-505, Hanwang n516	It should not be a problem reusing the UI from Openinkpot - it is already separate from the hardware implementation. The openinkpot project uses EFL (Enlightenment Foundation Libraries). Madshelf uses EWL. So, all that should be required to run openinkpot's apps on the Iliad is to port the EFL - presto, you're done! I only do app development, so for the deeper, more kernelly stuff, I'm not the man to talk to. But it seems to me, reusing OI's apps would not be difficult.

11-15-2008, 07:53 PM	#20
jharker Developer Posts: 345 Karma: 3473 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Device: iRex iLiad v1, Blackberry Tour, Kindle DX, iPad.	Great! That sounds remarkably straightforward. After we release v3.0, I imagine we'll be looking for replacements for the original iLiad frontend software. It seems like OpenInkpot could easily fit the bill.

11-20-2008, 02:58 AM	#21
omro Addict Posts: 373 Karma: 452000 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Hamilton, On Device: Kobo Aura HD	I used to have a Sharp Zaurus and saw what happened to it when Sharp ditched it. The developer community seemed to fracture into various different camps over what should be done for it. That was a huge shame, because there was so much duplication of effort and so many different ROM versions that the average user didn't know what to go with. They also spent years faffing around with releases that were so full of bugs and usability issues that you had to be very skilled with Linux and very patient to correct them, again alienating the average user. So, as someone who doesn't yet own an iLiad and who unfortunately isn't a developer, I'm very cheered to see that there is potentially one single development vision for this project, so bravo to you all. Please keep it that way :-) Despite my criticism above and the fact that when I abandoned the Zaurus platform, no stable and userfriendly build existed, the different groups working on the Zaurus had managed to do some serious work on its core software and had updated to a relatively recent Kernel. One splinter group created OpenEmbedded and Angstrom and these were meant to be cross platform. Perhaps it might be an idea to approach these developers and see if any of their effort with the Zaurus can in anyway be borrowed for the iLiad? Just a thought

02-27-2009, 02:42 AM	#22
nekokami fruminous edugeek Posts: 6,745 Karma: 551260 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northeast US Device: iPad, eBw 1150	Sorry I've been out of the loop for so long, but I'd like to get back into iLiad improvement. (Not fast enough to code, but at least I can test....) Just wanted to ask: where would task switching go in the roadmap as outlined here? We know it's an often-requested feature. I looked around at the tickets but didn't see it.

Advert

Advert