Hello All, We have released "Common Desktop Infrastructure" 0.1.0 under LGPL version3. http://www.smg.co.jp/opensource/CommonDesktopInfrastructure/ http://www.smg.co.jp/opensource/CommonDesktopInfrastructure/products/commond esktop-0.1.0.tar.gz
I write the background of making this software. I think there are some obstacles of marketing for open source desktop environment, such as Linux. One of them is that it is more difficult to develop business applications in an open source environment compared to the Windows environment. So, many ISV, System Integrators (SIers), and software houses do not select an open source desktop environment as the platform for developing business applications and systems. For example, there are some barriers caused by insufficient realization of the following features. (1). Collaboration features among desktop applications - Data transfer between applications - Linking and embedding of objects - Binding of objects (2). Collaboration features between network services and desktop applications The features in (1) can be realized to some extent in a closed environment of one of the desktop component technologies for open source software, such as QtDBUS (KDE), ORBit2 (GNOME), XPCOM (Mozilla), or UNO (OpenOffice.org). However, it is impossible to interoperate across the above component technologies because standards and systems for open source desktop environments have not been established sufficiently. Therefore, desktop applications can satisfy needs by complementing each other but cannot collaborate with each other. The feature in (2) is not realized in OSS. So, we aim to realize infrastructure which resolve the problems mentioned above. I also write the architecture of this software. We act as the first step to progressively realize the system that can interoperate across QtDBUS (KDE), ORBit2 (GNOME), XPCOM (Mozilla), UNO (OpenOffice.org), and SOAP (Web Service) in order to achieve the purposes mentioned above. But, Common Desktop Infrastructure deal with only QtDBus, UNO, and SOAP at present. In this project, to achieve the purposes, D-BUS is used as a platform that links the desktop component technologies and the protocol for web services. D-BUS was selected because it was developed as a desktop common bus by freedesktop.org project and there is a tendency that increasing number of open source softwares for desktop. We have developed common component protocol and protocol converter's core based on D-BUS, in order to convert mutually data and remote procedure call (RPC). And we have introduced abstract component for interoperability. If there isn't it, the users of Common Desktop Infrastructure need to develop software or systems with considering each component. the users can develop with considering only abstract component. For example, if the users want to use mail client, they need to only use mail client component. In this case, the mail client component is mapped to the component of Kmail, Thunderbird, or Evolution according to settings. Moreover, We have made code generators which generate protocol conversion codes for each components from IDL. So, you can use Common Desktop Infrastructure by only writing IDL. In addition, you can use existing component by using code generators. Please try to use it. And any question and opinion will be welcomed. Regards, -- Daisuke Kameda Japan KDE Users' Group: President mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kde.gr.jp/~daisuke/ immodule for Qt Project: Project Maintainer http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software_2fimmodule_2dqt SMG Co., Ltd.: Engineering Creator mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.smg.co.jp/ http://www.smg.co.jp/opensource/CommonDesktopInfrastructure/ _______________________________________________ Desktop_architects mailing list Desktop_architects@lists.linux-foundation.org https://lists.linux-foundation.org/mailman/listinfo/desktop_architects