Ether
1. What is Ether?Ether is a "Collaborative Text Editor" similar to Sub-Etha edit.
The basic idea this Editor focuses on is being able to change the same document "online". People can host a certain document on their machine. Other people can connect to this document in one of two ways:
1. They automatically see all the documents hosted on the local network as soon as they open the application. (This is possible using bonjour.)
2. They connect to a document by typing in the IP address (or DNS name) and the port name.
After connecting to the document as told above, the users start typing in the document. Every individual collaborator is given a different color and anything he/she writes is shown in his/her color, so that everybody can see which change was made by whom.
The following is a screen shot of the program in which two users are typing:
screen1.bmp
Such an editor allows true eXtreme programming for programmers who would like to avoid contact with other humans at all cost :)
2. How to install?
1. You need the "Discovery" package. You can install it as follows:
- Open the "SquekMap Package Loader" from the "open..." menu in World.
- Find the "Discovery (0.1d)" package. Right-click and say "install".
3. Download java.txt into your squeak working directory. (this is used for simple syntax highlighting. You can add or remove words from this file)
4. Create a sample file in your squeak working directory to open later in the editor. (hw.java is a sample file you can use)
5. Run our application using "EtherApplication init".
3. How to use?
When you open the application, you can do two things:
1. Create a document using "Create Document" button in "LaunchPad" window. This will ask you the name of the document you want to create.
2. Or connect to an already existing document in the following ways:
2.1. All existing documents in LAN will be automatically shown in the "Documents" window. Just click on the one you want to connect.
2.2. Use the "Connect to server" button in "LaunchPad" window. This will ask you the IP (or DNS) of the machine you want to connect and the port number.
After you create a document or connect to one, two new windows pop up.
- First one is the "Collaborators" window. This shows you the list of people connected to the document printed with everyone's own color (colors are assigned by the server).
- The second one is the editor window titled with the document you just created or connected.
After all this happens, you can start typing in the editor. Whatever you type will be shown in your color.
When you want to disconnect from a document, you close the editor window. This will close the editor and the "Collaborators" window.
If you want to close the whole application, you click on the "Exit Ether" button in "LaunchPad" window. This closes any editors or windows (related to Ether of course) open.
For those who would like to improve the project or are interested in our design, DesignDiagrams.pdf gives some overview of some parts of our class structure.
Project Members:
Doshi, Jigar
Ziftci, Celal
Mehta, Viral
Gupta, Ishaan
screen1.bmp
Ether.st
java.txt
hw.java
DesignDiagrams.pdf
Link to this Page
- Class projects last edited on 2 April 2008 at 5:20:59 pm by vpn3-144241.near.uiuc.edu